Author: chris

Discussion

Observation Reconnaissance

Research supports the contention that formative assessment has a direct impact on student learning (Volante and Beckett, 2011) which is also a goal of action research. Formative assessment of data is a reevaluation process that is conducted by the researcher for the purpose of continual improvement (Buczynski & Hansen, 2014). The function of this practice is to help researchers and leaders make adjustment that will best inform and change educational outcomes (Mills, 2014). This research, paired with the successful exercise of leadership practices improves the teaching and learning process because it causes us to respond to the needs of the educational environment. In this discussion, you have the opportunity to think about this iterative process of your research process.

Initial Post: Buczynski and Hansen (2014, p. 31) share important points to consider regarding effective leadership practices that yield results in the differentiated learning environment. This is affectionately termed, the change leader which is what you are becoming! Here, you discuss the status of your action research implementation focusing your discussion on the following questions:

Are you closer to answering your research question(s)? Why or why not?To what degree are your data collection instruments yielding the information you’d hoped for in answering your research questions? Why or why not? andHow have your leadership skills been put to work specifically, as you have participated as a researcher?

Assignment

To complete the following assignment, go to this week’sAssignment link in the left navigation.

Formative Evaluation – Interpretation

In EDU671, you identified the type of data, the frequency of collection, tools and have also explored topics related to ethical consideration of this information. You are in the process of collecting data for your action research in the field at this time.

Be reminded that you’re the approved Action Research Informed Consent allows your implementation of this action research intervention or innovation in a specialized setting as follows:

Those currently employed in a classroom setting.Those currently employed in a non-classroom or educational setting.Those not employed but implementing the intervention or innovation with family members, yourself, or your own children.You are also in the final week of your action research intervention. Through this process, your experience reinforces action research as being cyclical (Buczynski & Hansen, 2014; Mills, 2014) and for the best outcome we must engage in critical reflection of the data (Volante & Beckett, 2011).

Vital to the process of collecting data is the continual alignment to your research question(s). Equally important is how you will systematically collect multiple sources of data and present the finding to arise at comprehensive conclusions at the termination of your study. The quality of your data analysis is a strong predictor of the ease with which you can manage the data but how you can develop sound findings at the end of your study. Consider: How will you triangulate this information? How will you continue to build upon this information in order to make sense and correlate your data to your outcomes?

The focus of this assignment is to reflect on the data and to prepare for how to analyze in order to answer the research question. We want to answer the question of “So what?” (Mills, 2014, p.132) This is a critical stage of your action research! In this assignment, you evaluate the main themes emerging from your data thus far and how they are or are not supporting your research questions. For example, depending on what you are seeing in the data, you may have assessed that your research question should have been stated in a slightly different manner in order to more authentically capture the specific data. Or, perhaps the data tells you that one of your questions was irrelevant or that an additional question with a slightly different focus should have been asked.

Construct your assignment to meet the content and written communication expectations below.

Content Expectations

Themes (2 points): Describe the themes emerging from the data collection.Personal Experiences (2 points): Analyze how the preliminary findings relate to your personal experiences using specific examples.Implications. (3 points): Describe the implications of your data that can be used to answer your research question(s).Written Communication Expectations

Page Requirement (.5 points): Three-to-four pages, not including title, references, and appendix pages.APA Formatting (.5 points): Use APA formatting consistently throughout the assignment.Syntax and Mechanics (.5 points): Display meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar.Source Requirement (.5 points): Use no less than two scholarly sources in addition to the Buczynski and Hansen (2014) and Mills (2009) textbooks, providing compelling evidence to support ideas, and if applicable, reference to original project if enhancement of existing project occurred. All sources on the reference page need to be used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

Discussions

Leadership Conference Poster Session

This discussion provides an opportunity to connect your personalized leadership strengths and motivation with your skills as a leader to further develop into an efficient change agent. Being an effective leader who successfully implements change in a school or other organization can be a challenge! Kouzes and Posner (2007) claimed “leadership is an identifiable set of skills that are available to all of us, not just a few charismatic men and women” (p.20). While this may be true, it takes work and inspiration to learn about yourself and the characteristics that build an effective leader. There are multiple theories that indicate that effective leaders can be cultivated through the deliberate acquisition of certain skills (Senge, 1990). According to Senge (1990, p.3):

…organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.

By cultivating these abilities and knowing our own strengths, we can become leaders who can have a significant impact on our classroom, school site, or other organization. You previously read chapter two of Buczynski and Hansen (2014), which discussed the various types of leadership and the mix of behaviors and other skills that are necessary to be an effective leader. Lord and Hall, as cited in Buczynski and Hansen (p. 57) suggest the “leadership role must become part of one’s self-identity.” Chapter two is an effective source of information for this discussion as well.

Digital poster presentations are increasingly the norm in the field of education as well as other professions. The use of technology in these types of forums is becoming essential in staying updated and competitive in the field. It is essential that you have experience in creating a digital poster presentation. Here you imagine you are presenting a high quality digital presentation to a group of key stakeholders regarding your action research. Therefore, the purpose of this discussion is to link your personalized leadership motivation into your skills as a leader in order to further develop into an efficient change agent. In this case, the change you are instigating is conducted through your action research. This process, in turn, greatly affects your followers, and the organization in which you work. Being motivated to understand and invest in your strengths and areas of challenges greatly informs your practice (Rath & Conchie, 2008).

Initial Post: Imagine you are selected from a large pool of applicants to participate in a distinguished conference poster session focusing on leadership strategies in action research. Your goals are to create a one page digital poster that includes three leadership and motivation themes identified from this week’s readings and your experiences, including a one-sentence explanation of each selected theme, and stating the ways leadership and motivational traits are represented in your action research study. Be sure to design the poster so that it is professional in appearance and therefore appropriate for presentation at the conference poster session. As you create your poster, consider what you have learned about what makes professional presentations effective and appealing to an audience. In this case, there will be well-known authors, experts in the field, and influential participants present including stakeholders in your own action research study. Use Glogster, Word, PowerPoint, or other software of your choice to create the poster and post the link to the flyer in your initial post or attach the poster to your initial post, whichever is most appropriate for the technology you chose.

Assignment

Ongoing Analysis and Reflection

Action research methodology can provide valuable assessment information regarding the outcome of your research. The major purpose of this assignment is to begin to identify significant themes that are becoming evident in the implementation of your action research project and your data collection. The key is to begin to discover trends in your data without making premature decisions; however minor adjustments can be made next week. Action research provides correlative and data driven information that can be used to make positive changes in the teaching and learning environment (Buczynski & Hansen, 2014); Mills, 2014). Additionally, thinking about the key stakeholders and their role in your research is important as well. In summary, this assignment is a preliminary interpretation of the various data obtained thus far. Without committing to initial assumptions, you are to begin to identify the key patterns that are emerging.

To prepare for this assignment, view the Silva (2011) video,Action Research @ a Glance. Next, construct your written assignment to meet the content and written communication expectations stated below.

Content Expectations

Video Reflection (2 Points): In at least one paragraph, reflect on the knowledge you gained or that was reinforced for you by watching the Silva (2011) video.Research Question (2 Points): Analyze to what extent your research question(s) is still answerable or worth answering and how you might defend that your research question(s) is/are worth answering.Data Collection (3 Points): Justify whether your data collection techniques will provide the kind of data you need to address your questions and whether you are effectively filtering out data that you do not need.Written Communication Expectations

Page Requirement (.5 points): Two pages, not including title and references pages.APA Formatting (.5 points): Use APA formatting consistently throughout the assignment.Syntax and Mechanics (.5 points): Display meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar.Source Requirement (.5 points): Include at least two scholarly sources providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the references page need to be used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

To participate in the following discussion, go to this week’sDiscussion link in the left navigation.

Action Research – What it Means to You

You already learned that action research is a type of inquiry used to describe professionals studying their own practice for the purpose of inspiring the change process. According to the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory as cited by (“Action Research”, n.d., para 1), “Action research is inquiry or research in the context of focused efforts to improve the quality of an organization and its performance. It typically is designed and conducted by practitioners who analyze the data to improve their own practice.” This week you begin the implementation of your action research. Congratulations! You have spent a considerable amount of time in the thoughtful planning and development of your study. Now is the exciting time to begin collecting data. Furthermore, in one of the discussions in Week Four, you explain key leadership styles, strategies and responsibilities of the school personnel, community organization, or own children with which you are observing during the implementation of your action research project.

Initial Post: Include a paragraph describing your interpretation of the Action Research (n.d.) quote above for this discussion including how it specifically relates to your action research proposal. Then, in one-to-two paragraphs, explain the ways you envision your research might assist with implementing the change you desire in your selected organization. Start by stating briefly what the intervention/innovation is then explain the ways you envision it implementing a desired change.

Guided Response: Respond to at least two peers. In responses, consider asking questions of your peers about their responses to encourage further conversation. Select responses that resonate with your own thoughts and comment on similarities to your own initial post. Provide specific recommendations and feedback regarding their actual intervention/innovation. Comment on their thoughts regarding how their research might promote the positive change they envision. Ask questions if anything is unclear to you. Again, though two responses is the basic expectation, for deeper engagement and learning, you are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have given to you including the instructor before the last day of the discussion to further the conversation while also giving you opportunities to demonstrate your content expertise, critical thinking, and real world experiences with this topic.

Assignment

To complete the following assignment, go to this week’sAssignment  link in the left navigation.

How is My Research Relevant? A Work in Progress

Recall, action research focuses on enabling teachers, researchers and leaders to be continuous learners (Mills, 2014). By this, action research is considered a “work in progress” (Brydon-Miller, Greenwood, & Maguire, 2003, p. 10) and is considered a “common formative assessment” (Buczynski & Hansen, 2014, p. 352). The process of deliberate and repeated fine-tuning to the design is critical to successful implementation of action research. Therefore, part of the purpose of this assignment is to ensure relevancy of your research and to deepen the research endeavor. Your final project in this course involves preparing a comprehensive presentation of your findings. This assignment is the first step in putting your final project together. Through the collaborative conversations that occur during this week’s discussions, you will gain helpful information from classmates that may prompt a need for refining your research design as it evolves.

Remember, it is important that the data collection is aligned with the research question(s), which was required in the matrix from EDU671. Therefore, another purpose for this assignment is for you to use this assignment as an opportunity to revise and adjust the data collection portion of your study. Effective action research practice includes ongoing and deliberate thought in order to positively inform your study. Revisions are required as part of this action research process. Consequently, incorporating this information is essential to a comprehensive data collection process and presentation of findings that is due in Week Six. For this assignment, you summarize the necessary modifications you made to your action research between the proposal process from EDU671 to this second week as you begin implementation of your study. Please address each of the components listed below in the content expectations and write your paper to meet the written communication expectations below. If modifications were not needed to a particular component, share what was in place originally and label it with the words NO CHANGE.

Content Expectations

Research Focus (1 Points): Describe the current area of focus for the research including required revisions thus far.Literature (2 Points): Synthesize the literature you have found in addition to your matrix developed in EDU 671 that supports your proposal.Defining Variables (1 Points): Describe your defining variables in specific and operational terms.Research Questions (.5 Points): State your research question(s) in a list format making sure that there is a clear relationship through clear and concise wording to the action research project.Intervention/Innovation (2 Points): Analyze the intervention/innovation as it pertains to the connection of the action research project to the field of education, the specific community, non-educational, or individual personal issue in which you are studying.Data Collection (.5 points): Describe the type of data collection tools to be used in the study.Written Communication Expectations

Page Requirement (.5 points): Two-to-three pages, not including title and references pages.APA Formatting (.5 points): Use APA formatting consistently throughout the assignment.Syntax and Mechanics (.5 points): Display meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar.Source Requirement (.5 points): Include a minimum of two scholarly sources in addition to the course textbook, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the references page need to be used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

1. Must be two to three double-spaced pages in length (excluding title and reference pages), and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Must include a title page with the following:
   1. Title of paper
   2. Student’s name
   3. Course name and number
   4. Instructor’s name
   5. Date submitted
3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
   1. Begin with an introduction to the selected topic in which you define all concepts that will be discussed in the paper.
   2. For example, if you select “How do memory and intelligence change as we age?” as your topic, you will need to define the terms memory, intelligence and aging.
4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
   1. Conclude with an answer to the selected question. Did the evidence you surveyed answer the question satisfactorily? Include your analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the available evidence.
   2. If possible, suggest the course that future research should take if answers to the selected question are less than conclusive.
6. Must use at least two scholarly sources, all of which must come from the Ashford University Library or Google Scholar.
   1. It is important that you ask yourself if the articles specifically address the selected topic. It is not always easy to find the right articles. Thus, give yourself some time to search before you finalize your selection.
   2. You may reference your textbook and other required materials from the course; however, these will not fulfill the resource requirements.
7. Must briefly summarize each article including the purpose of the investigation, its methodology, and results.
   1. If possible, select peer-reviewed articles that summarize the evidence available in a given field of study (e.g., meta-analysis combines the findings of different studies to uncover trends, commonalities and differences).
   2. Order the articles in the way you think you will discuss them in your paper. Then develop a summary of the scientific evidence that answers the question you selected.
8. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
9. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
   1. The reference section will be the final page of the paper.

Case 4 is in two parts delivering SQL and data warehouse topic of personal interest.

Part I

In this Case Assignment, you will write the SQL statement to work on the community library database for Part I and discuss discus business intelligence for Part II of the assignment. Following are the tasks you are required to perform for Part I.

Populate data to the tables in your database.

Retrieve the contact details of library customers.

Retrieve the contact details of library customers who live in certain city.

Update the residence information of a certain customer.

Retrieve names and phone number of customers who have overdue books as of a certain date.

Describe what you have learned in this assignment.

Write a paper (3–5 pages) that includes your SQL statements and screenshots of the queries in OpenOffice.

Part II

When you have finished examining these materials, prepare a 3-5 page paper discussing the following.

Data warehouse and business intelligence

In preparing the paper, you may wish to think about questions such as:

What are the differences among database and data warehouse?

What are the data warehouse technologies?

Relationship between data warehouse and business intelligence.

Assignment Expectations

Use information from the modular background readings as well as any good quality resource you can find. Please cite all sources and provide a reference list at the end of your paper.

Part I LENGTH: 3 pages typed and double-spaced.

Part II LENGTH: 3-5 pages typed and double-spaced.

Both parts should be submitted in a single paper properly labeling each part.

Demonstrate the ability to work with SQL data manipulation language.

Communicate effectively with audience.

Your ability to consolidate ideas from reading materials and your understanding on data warehouse and business intelligence

Some in-text references to modular background readings. (Will provide after handshake, must use some of provided background readings)

Body of paper should be at least 7-8 pages.

The president of your company has recently announced the need for a greater effort to incorporate innovation and entrepreneurship into organizational strategy, and has asked you to list the requirements necessary for this to happen. You list the following requirements:

• Ongoing environmental monitoring
• An entrepreneurial climate
• Encouragement of entrepreneurial behavior
• A strong customer/stakeholder focus

Explain why each of these is important along with your plan for achieving them.

Submit your answers in a 4- to 5-page Microsoft Word document.

Name your document: SU_MBA6710_W2_A2_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

Submit your document to the W2: Assignment 2 Dropbox by Wednesday, November 4, 2015.

Cite any sources using the APA format on a separate page.

Pay close attention to the following when preparing your speech:

• Clear thesis: What is your perspective?
• Clear connection to international issue: How does this extend beyond the US?

• Introduction: attention-getter, relevance to audience, thesis statement, preview.
• Conclusion: signal end of speech, summarize main points, decisive close.
• Supporting materials: include a minimum of five source citations throughout your speech. Support each main point with a variety of supporting material: examples, statistics, testimony, narratives, definitions. All five of your sources must be printed. For this type of speaking, books and newspapers are often the best sources to turn to.
• Quality of argument: Rational? Logical? Compelling?
• Typed, proofread formal outline.
• Required to use PowerPoint as visual aid (must email to instructor before speech)
• References Page: 5 sources, typed and following the 6^th edition of the APA Style Manual. Must all be PRINTED sources (you can access originally printed sources online through library databases, etc. in which case they will count as printed).
• Delivery: Your delivery will count more for this speech. You should have eliminated verbal fillers, have little to no fluency hiccups, make eye contact for 75% of the speech, have vocal variety (rate, pitch, volume), and appropriate gestures.
• Practice, practice, practice!!! (6-10 times)

CRITERIA FOR A GOOD FINAL SPEECH:

Important: A good idea, it matters to society, it is interesting to you as the speaker and you make it interesting and relevant to the audience by telling them why this topic effects them. Cogent: A good argument, invitational, evidence based, a clear and warranted claim.

Clear: Easy to follow, well organized, appropriately signposted, complete.

Well presented: Conversational, interactive, articulate, respectful.

Lasting: MEMORABLE!

(You are expected to have mastered speech organization, so this speech will be strictly graded on substantiation of argument, quality of argument and support, oral citation of sources, delivery)

Generating Persuasive Speech Ideas: 

You should spend much time thinking about your topic area. You want to make sure it’s broad enough to get some good research, but narrow enough to be manageable. You also want to make sure that you can make it relevant to the audience and that it’s a current topic that people are discussing and debating. You want to care about your topic, but you also want to be able to approach it in a way that’s going to make people want to listen to you without your personal politics/emotions taking over.

PowerPoint Guidelines for Persuasive Speech

1) You must use Slideshow during your persuasive speeches

2) You will be using Slideshow as a “visual aid” not a “presentation aid”

– Keep your presentation simple

– You must include some text and some picture(s)

– At minimum, you must have two slides

– At maximum, you may have five slides

– Only have your slide displayed when it is relevant. This means you will need to insert a black slide to have showing behind you when you are not speaking about something that is on your Slideshow.The black slides do not count toward your 2-5 slides.

– Do not have more than 6 lines of text per slide

Read chapter 6: The Democratic River
Explain what the democratic river means and also, explain the advantages(Big Changes)of the 4 things:
1-Eerie Canal
2-Advantages of steam boats over sailboats
3-Railroads
4-Loss of Manor System

This week, you will prepare a research report that thoroughly answers the following two exercise questions.

Exercise 3 of Chapter 1 on page 49:
Draw the route diagram (Something similar to Figure 1.2 on page 8) identifying each node for the following data that was obtained using a trace routing tool. What is the average time a packet takes to travel from noc2 host to netman host?
noc2% traceroute netman.cc.gatech.edu
traceroute to netman.cc.gatech.edu (130.207.8.31), 30 hops max, 40 byte packets
main-rtr.gcatt.gatech.edu (199.77.147.1) 1.045 ms 1.012 ms 0.971 ms.
130.207.251.2 (130.207.251.2) 2.198 ms 1.404 ms 1.837 ms.
netman.cc.gatech.edu (130.207.8.31) 3.528 ms 1.671 ms 1.602 ms.
Exercise 18 of Chapter 1 on page 51:
As a network engineer in a Network Operations Center, you are following up on two trouble tickets. You do not have a network management system and you have to use the basic network tools to validate the problem before you can resolve them. Please explain what tools you would use in each case and how it would validate the customer complaint
(a) Trouble Ticket 100: Customer says that when he receives messages, the message is periodically missing some characters.
(b) Trouble Ticket 101: Customer in Atlanta complains that when she tries to log into the system server.headquarters.com in New York, she gets disconnected with a time-out. However, her colleague in her New York office reports that he is able to access the system.

I’m sending two attachments. One with the full direction with an example of a diagram and the other is the project report template. This is where you add the information too.
———-
Added on 31.10.2015 20:14
I attach the research paper, the lab report and direction. Please read all three attachment first before starting the assignment