I think that my GAME plan is coming along quite well. I now have some great collaborative learning experiences planned for my students. They are really excited about the technology integration that I have done thus far, and are looking forward to more. I have continued my Internet research and have found some absolutely fantastic interactive sites that I can use for my upcoming units. I am also becoming more comfortable with actually using the technology that I want my students to use, such as blogs and podcasts. I have been meeting regularly with the digital arts teacher and she has been patiently explaining how our school programs can be used and allowing me to experiment with it all. I am also still conducting my research when I have time. I think it is important to continue this because there is so much available and you just never know what you may find!!
I have no problems finding the resources and information that I need to continue my GAME plan. If I do get stuck, I will have no problem asking my colleagues for a little help! I do not think that my Action plan needs any modification. I think it needs an addition. After learning about assessments this week, I think it is necessary to add in an action plan for assessment. I plan to try out all four types of assessments that we learned about this week, when the time is right. In addition to learning these new assessment formats, I found learning about the abundance of assisstive technology available what interesting. I want to look further into these technologies to see what may be beneficial for my students. I have not come up with any new questions that I have not already found the answer to through research, reading, or colleagues.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Carrying out my GAME plan
Resources:
To begin carrying out my GAME plan, I am going to need more access to the variety of technology that can be used. Internet access is a major obstacle in my classroom. There are not enough computers for each student to use, therefore, I will need to find a way to enable the students to have access to computers weekly. I will also need to figure out for myself how to use the different tools that I plan to use. For example, I need to explore the various websites that I want my students to use so that I will be prepared to model for them how to use these sites. I also need to do my research. I need to find the benefits of the various technologies that I plan to employ. To do this, I will spend time researching the pros and cons of different websites and tools that I want to use. I also want to work collaboratively with both the library/media arts specialist and the digital arts teacher in my school. They are both very knowledgeable when it comes to using technology in the classroom and can be a powerful resource.
Additional Information:
Some additional information that I may need to know to carry out my GAME plan would be, most importantly, my students learning needs and preferences. I need to be able to recognize what my students need in order to successfully incorporate technology that would be useful for them into my instruction. Students all have various learning styles and abilities and to get the most use out of technology in the classroom, the tools should coincide with the learners' needs. I also want to find out what my students' level of ability for technology use is. Some students may not be that good at using these new tools and will need additional instruction. Some students will be more advanced and may even teach me a thing or two! I also will need to know how much access each student has to computers and the Internet at home. It would not make sense to incorporate these technological tools into the classroom and then have students not be able to reinforce what they have learned at home.
Steps that I have taken:
To begin carrying out my GAME plan, I have already taken a look at a variety of websites that I want to begin using in my classroom. But, I am not just looking at them. I have been really exploring the sites and checking the background of the sites' creators. I want to find out as much as I can about the site so that I am prepared to use it with my students. I have also began discussions with the digital arts teacher in my school to work on my GAME plan. I want to discuss ideas with her that will enable me to meet the diverse needs of my students through the use of technology. She has an abundance of information and ideas that we will be discussing. Also, to further my GAME plan, I have made a schedule for my students to get into our computer lab during my class once a week. That is all that we have room for right now, but eventually I would like to make that more or get enough computers in my classroom for all of my students. I feel that I am off to a good start to carry out my GAME plan. I have a long way to go and a lot to learn and am excited about where this is all headed!!
To begin carrying out my GAME plan, I am going to need more access to the variety of technology that can be used. Internet access is a major obstacle in my classroom. There are not enough computers for each student to use, therefore, I will need to find a way to enable the students to have access to computers weekly. I will also need to figure out for myself how to use the different tools that I plan to use. For example, I need to explore the various websites that I want my students to use so that I will be prepared to model for them how to use these sites. I also need to do my research. I need to find the benefits of the various technologies that I plan to employ. To do this, I will spend time researching the pros and cons of different websites and tools that I want to use. I also want to work collaboratively with both the library/media arts specialist and the digital arts teacher in my school. They are both very knowledgeable when it comes to using technology in the classroom and can be a powerful resource.
Additional Information:
Some additional information that I may need to know to carry out my GAME plan would be, most importantly, my students learning needs and preferences. I need to be able to recognize what my students need in order to successfully incorporate technology that would be useful for them into my instruction. Students all have various learning styles and abilities and to get the most use out of technology in the classroom, the tools should coincide with the learners' needs. I also want to find out what my students' level of ability for technology use is. Some students may not be that good at using these new tools and will need additional instruction. Some students will be more advanced and may even teach me a thing or two! I also will need to know how much access each student has to computers and the Internet at home. It would not make sense to incorporate these technological tools into the classroom and then have students not be able to reinforce what they have learned at home.
Steps that I have taken:
To begin carrying out my GAME plan, I have already taken a look at a variety of websites that I want to begin using in my classroom. But, I am not just looking at them. I have been really exploring the sites and checking the background of the sites' creators. I want to find out as much as I can about the site so that I am prepared to use it with my students. I have also began discussions with the digital arts teacher in my school to work on my GAME plan. I want to discuss ideas with her that will enable me to meet the diverse needs of my students through the use of technology. She has an abundance of information and ideas that we will be discussing. Also, to further my GAME plan, I have made a schedule for my students to get into our computer lab during my class once a week. That is all that we have room for right now, but eventually I would like to make that more or get enough computers in my classroom for all of my students. I feel that I am off to a good start to carry out my GAME plan. I have a long way to go and a lot to learn and am excited about where this is all headed!!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
My G.A.M.E. Plan
I plan to strengthen my confidence in the following NETS-T standards:
1. Develop technology enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
2. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote students learning and creativity.
My Goals are to integrate technology into my instruction to enhance student learning, meet the needs of my students diverse learning styles by developing authentic learning environments, and make my classroom instruction more student-directed. The Actions I will take will enable these goals to be met. First, I will develop authentic learning environments where students are in control of their learning. They will be participating in activities where they are collaborating with other students and developing their creative thinking skills. They will be creating their work for real audiences on a global scale and learning to communicate effectively with authentic audiences from all over the world. I will also take into consideration the diverse needs of my students and their various learning styles. I will learn as much as I can about technology so that I can make decisions about what kind of digital tools will best enhance my students learning experiences. I want to ensure that I am integrating the most effective technology into my instruction so that the students are receiving the best possible learning experience. Monitoring the effectiveness of these goals and actions will be done by using formative assessments. Throughout the learning experiences, I will question my students to gauge their learning and understanding of the concepts incorporated with the technology. This will, in turn, help me to monitor the effectiveness of my integration of technology. To Evaluate the instructional effectiveness of my plan, I will reflect upon my teaching to try to determine what was successful and what was not. I will also be assessing the students' learning. I need to consider what strategies and technology integration worked and what needs modifications.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Friday, April 23, 2010
Reflection - Technology in the classroom
As my first step towards integrating technology into my classroom, this course has proven to be abundantly helpful. I have learned many different ways to make technology part of my everyday teaching strategies. This course has introduced me to some very easy and relevant options for integrating technology into the classroom. For example, I have learned to use blogs, wikis, and podcasts. These are tools that the students are excited about using and are relevant to their 21st century learning. This course has also forced me to rethink several of my teaching strategies. I now ask myself if what I am teaching is going to be useful for the students in the 21st century workforce that they will be entering. If the answer is no, I now know that I must find a way to remedy that. As a result of this course, I am also reevaluating the way I look at my students and the way I think about my future students. I now realize that the students I am teaching today are different than I was as a student. I can no longer teach them the way I was taught. My old models of teachers are no longer relevant because we have entered a new age of teaching and learning. The most important thing that I have learned throughout this course is to think of ways to use technology to “do things differently, not just doing different things” as Dr. David Thornburg stated (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). This is essential knowledge for teaching in the 21st century. We can no longer use technology to do the same old teaching in different ways. We must change the way we teach to help our 21st century learners be successful in life.
With having obtained this knowledge, I find myself wanting to expand that knowledge base. There are so many options out there for me to use to become a more technologically savvy individual. I feel that actually using the resources that I have learned in this course is one way to expand my technological knowledge. I found that when we were exploring the educational weblogs that are available I was being led to a variety of other technologies that can be used in the classroom. Contained in many of these blogs were resources that are invaluable and only need to be put to good use. There is great knowledge in the educational blogs that can be found on the internet. I also plan to research more professional development classes that are geared towards using technology in the classroom. The information and training is available, I only need to take the next step and find it.
I have set two long term goals for myself that will hopefully transform my classroom environment to a more technology friendly place. One is easily obtainable and will be used very soon. The other is a bit loftier and may take some serious time and effort to get going. The first goal is to set up and use daily a classroom blog. I think that blogs are one of the most useful ways to keep your students connected to the classroom and engaged in their learning. This classroom blog is going to be used for every class and will hopefully get the students excited about something they are doing in school. The second goal is more like a mission. There are not enough computers in my school. There is also not enough access to the internet. My mission and long term goal is to rally in my school to allow students more access to the internet and more technology in the classrooms. I know that this is going to be a huge undertaking, but I am up for the challenge. I know that I will have many teachers, and parents, on my side. It might not happen within two years, but I hope it doesn’t take too long! Our students are losing out on valuable 21st century skills because our schools are afraid to make the transition into this new age of information and technology.
With having obtained this knowledge, I find myself wanting to expand that knowledge base. There are so many options out there for me to use to become a more technologically savvy individual. I feel that actually using the resources that I have learned in this course is one way to expand my technological knowledge. I found that when we were exploring the educational weblogs that are available I was being led to a variety of other technologies that can be used in the classroom. Contained in many of these blogs were resources that are invaluable and only need to be put to good use. There is great knowledge in the educational blogs that can be found on the internet. I also plan to research more professional development classes that are geared towards using technology in the classroom. The information and training is available, I only need to take the next step and find it.
I have set two long term goals for myself that will hopefully transform my classroom environment to a more technology friendly place. One is easily obtainable and will be used very soon. The other is a bit loftier and may take some serious time and effort to get going. The first goal is to set up and use daily a classroom blog. I think that blogs are one of the most useful ways to keep your students connected to the classroom and engaged in their learning. This classroom blog is going to be used for every class and will hopefully get the students excited about something they are doing in school. The second goal is more like a mission. There are not enough computers in my school. There is also not enough access to the internet. My mission and long term goal is to rally in my school to allow students more access to the internet and more technology in the classrooms. I know that this is going to be a huge undertaking, but I am up for the challenge. I know that I will have many teachers, and parents, on my side. It might not happen within two years, but I hope it doesn’t take too long! Our students are losing out on valuable 21st century skills because our schools are afraid to make the transition into this new age of information and technology.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
P21 Analysis
When I first began exploring this site, I found it to be a bit confusing. The layout is what is the most confusing about the website. Once I figured it out a bit and was actually delving into the information on the site, I realized that this site is a very powerful and informative one. P21's mission seems to be to educate teachers on how to bring our students into the 21st century. There are many resources that can be found on P21's website. The online tools, which include a toolkit of teaching strategies, route 21 (an online interactive tool), videos, and twitter links are all very valuable resources. There is also an abundance of publications and reports that focus on the websites mission to teach students the necessary 21st century skills. The links also include state intitiatives and other events and news related to P21/
As I was skimming through some of the articles and publications on this site, I was particularly intrigued by a report called "Beyond the 3 R's: Voter Attitudes Towards 21st Century Skills". This article appealed to me because I often wonder what American taxpayers feel about the way education is going in our country. I am going to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I hear so many parents and taxpayers in my area complain about school taxes. I always think to myself that these people must not really care about how their children are being taught. This article has proven me wrong. According to this report, 99% of voters think that schools are not teaching the necessary skills needed for the 21st century. 42% of voters think that other countries are doing it better. The voters polled listed reading comprehension, computer and technology skills, and critical thinking and problem-solving skills among the top three skills that schools are not teaching but are very important. I am surprised by this poll because I always thought that Americans were not aware of what was needed for our students to thrive.
The implications of the P21 website and many of the articles that I read are simply this: 21st century skills can no longer be just add-ons to any curriculum. These skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving skills, need to be taught in every academic area. This website is implying that we need to change what we are teaching and the way we are teaching it. The old rules no longer apply.
As I was skimming through some of the articles and publications on this site, I was particularly intrigued by a report called "Beyond the 3 R's: Voter Attitudes Towards 21st Century Skills". This article appealed to me because I often wonder what American taxpayers feel about the way education is going in our country. I am going to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I hear so many parents and taxpayers in my area complain about school taxes. I always think to myself that these people must not really care about how their children are being taught. This article has proven me wrong. According to this report, 99% of voters think that schools are not teaching the necessary skills needed for the 21st century. 42% of voters think that other countries are doing it better. The voters polled listed reading comprehension, computer and technology skills, and critical thinking and problem-solving skills among the top three skills that schools are not teaching but are very important. I am surprised by this poll because I always thought that Americans were not aware of what was needed for our students to thrive.
The implications of the P21 website and many of the articles that I read are simply this: 21st century skills can no longer be just add-ons to any curriculum. These skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving skills, need to be taught in every academic area. This website is implying that we need to change what we are teaching and the way we are teaching it. The old rules no longer apply.
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