Week 7

I believe that the (NET-S) and the (NET-T) are very closely linked because both educators and students need the same skills to both learn and teach using technology. I would use the GAME plan as a strategy to approach a new technological tool. The GAME plan provides and organized method for students to seek the learning of a new skill.

For instance, the second standard discusses, “Communication and Collaboration” in which “Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others (IST).” To teach this standard, I would have my students create their own GAME plan to approach the learning of this new skill. I would model how to create their plans, by showing and discussing one of my own GAME plans. Students will outline their goals, list their actions, learn how to monitor their progress, and evaluate their success. I would specifically have them create this plan for working with wikis on a collaborative project. Through this process my students can attack and be eager to learn about each every standard.

The GAME Plan is an excellent tool because it allows students to organize their actions and goals before they approach a new topic of learning. The GAME plan is an essential part of learning technology because it takes both the educator and a student through a learning process. Technology is constantly changing and both educators and students must adapt and learn these new skills.


References

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.

Week 6- GAME Plan Progress

I have learned many things that can improve my instruction and better prepare my students for the future workplace. I must infuse my existing lessons with technology to not only better prepare them but to increase motivation for learning. I have achieved some of my goals already, but there is still much that I want to do with technology. For instance I am planning on creating a wiki or using NING, so I can collaborate on a project with another teacher in my school district. This week’s resources addresses the benefits of using NING because it allows students to create blogs, upload media, manage their work, and interact with one another (Laureate Education, 2010). We are planning a field trip in May and we what students to work on and discuss the topic before we go on our field trip to see an exhibit on Pompeii. This way, they have the prior knowledge to really enjoy and understand the exhibit. Since one of my goals to collaborate with another teacher, I believe that collaborating with someone in my district first is a great start but I have to extend my collaboration to other schools and even countries.

Another goal I have for myself is to research and practice with Windows Movie Maker so I may use this software in my class as well. I am planning on using the extra time I have on my spring break to practice using it before I introduce it to my students.

Learning with technology never stops. The positive side of this is that technology is constantly changing and improving, making our lives easier, but the negative is that it takes time to learn how to use new technology. My biggest obstacle at the moment is to find time to learn and become proficient in these new skills, but this is a goal I will accomplish.

References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). “Spotlight on Technology, Social Networking and Online Collaboration, Part 1”.[Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. . Baltimore : Author

Week 5- GAME Plan

I am steadily working towards my goal in infusing technology into my classroom. So far my actions have taught what work s and what doesn’t work for my classes. Trying new strategies is always a learning experience and must be tweaked many times before the lesson achieves its ultimate goal. Dr. Ertmer discusses the importance of reflection for the students to gage their progress and understanding, but educators also need this reflection on their own work (Laureate Education, 2010). I constantly reflect on my lessons to analyze by successes and failures. Lately my students have been asking me many questions about current events, so I want to cater to their interests and let them explore their own learning, For instance my students were just asking me questions about Libya and the events that have taken place there. I began answering their questions but then I began to think about making it into a project since they were so interested in it. In our curriculum I was currently discussing the French Revolution and how the French were inspired by the US to over throw their king and want self government. As a project I had students review the events that are taking place in Libya and analyze how they compare or contrast to what occurred during the American Revolution, and the French Revolution. My students were to research these topics in their texts and internet and create a presentation in PowerPoint analyzing the comparison and differences between them. Students were encouraged to include video clips from new stations from the present day and create their own new report themselves as if it was taking place in present time.

I have learned that my students could be extremely creative when their interests were catered to. They not only learned about the content but also about current events. They were so excited about their projects they were discussing it with their friends and getting them involved in their projects. Project based learning can be a great tool, but educators must be creative and find topics that let students explore their own learning.

References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). “Spotlight on Technology, Project Based Learning Part 2”.[Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. . Baltimore : Author

Progress in the GAME plan

Blog Response- Week 4

I believe that I am gradually achieving my goals of my GAME plan. One of my goals was to increase professional ties with other educators via the internet and I have made that connection by participating in blogs in this course. I am finding much information about infusing technology into my lessons. I have found new resources to use in the classroom by reading and responding to others’ blogs. Interacting with each others with blogs has been a great opportunity to learn new ideas and get support and assistance from other teachers on how to enact those ideas.
I have also used project-based learning linking concepts from the community by having my students complete a project about a new law that is affecting them. Dr. Cennamo explains that students learn to perform skills within the context of a real-world situation (Cennamo, 2009). The town that they live in is now strictly enforcing a curfew, so I had students analyze the positives and negatives associated with this legislation.

I do not need to modify my plan because I believe that this plan is guiding me to new tools that I can use in my classroom. I have learned that using technology in the classroom is possible even when an educator does have limited sources. I had written a response about the scarcity of resources in my school district and many of my colleagues responded with excellent suggestions on how to effectively use the minimal sources I have. As per Dr. Cennamo, “ A single computer connected to a display, either a projector or a large monitor, can be a valuable resource for supporting your instruction (Cennamo, 2009).” I now think of innovative ideas to use this computer and my four student computers.

New questions that I am looking for war d to answer include: What technology can be brought into the classroom with a small budget? And, How accessible is video editing software? Is it something that needs to be purchased or are their free versions educators can access?

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

Resources for GAME Plan

The biggest challenge I have when it comes to achieving my goals that I set in my GAME plan is to overcome the scarcity of resources. I work in an urban school district and unfortunately we do not have the same resources as other schools. For instance we have 2 computer labs, but a teacher cannot take their classes there because computer classes are being taught there all day. We also have computers in the library, but there is only 20 computers, so a full class cannot access the computers. We also have a lap top cart but it is dominated by the Math classes who use the computers for software that was recently purchased to assist students to pass the standardized test we have in our state. As a district who is suffering from low test grades, our main concentration has become making our students proficient and teaching for a test rather than encouraging creativity.
Since I am in the History department, I have little access to the technology because Math and English have priority to the computers, so I have to think creatively when I want to infuse technology. For instance, I have 4 students computers in my room, so many times I have students work in groups of 3-4 and 1 group member can access the computer at a time while other are working with other resources such as texts or books I have prepared for them ahead of time to address the project we need to research. For the most part I used the computer as a mind tool. Dr. Cennamo explains that “Mindtools are computer applications that enable learners to represent, manipulate, or reflect on what they know rather than reproduce what someone else knows (Cennamo,2009).” I also take my students to the library but pair them up so there are enough computers for everyone and they both have some computer access.
To truly fulfill my goal, I need to address the scarcity of computers and present the problem to my colleagues, so we may come up with a resolution. I understand the importance of using software to reinforce mathematics skills taught in the classroom, but the other subjects cannot fall to the waist side. We do have small budgets allotted to our academy from our district, so I believe we could make a change by purchasing some less expensive desktop computers rather than lab tops and allot a room for an additional lab where teachers can sign in their classes If our budget is not enough, we could run a fundraiser or have dances to raise the additional money. Another problem that we do incur is that we do not have a full time teacher to run the lab and ensure that the computers do not get damaged. For this we can schedule teachers to have a duty in this room rather than hall duty, to make sure that students are using the computers appropriately.

In conclusion, knowledge of technology in my school district is not the main problem but rather access is our road block. As per Cennamo, “ the primary roles that a computer can serve are: computers as a tutor, computers as a mind tool, and a computer for a support for reflection and conversation (Cennamo, 2009). Educators in my school district must come together to resolve this problem and allow our students to learn through technology and both test scores and grades will be positively affected.

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

GAME PLAN- Confidence

Technology is here to stay, so educators must begin to look at its existence as a tool rather than a hindrance. The National Educational Technology Standards demonstrate a variety of skills that both educators and students must possess to be fully proficient in technology. Educators need to strengthen their confidence in using technology and exploring to avenues of teaching using technology. Many of the indicators I am familiar with, but I have not fully achieved some standards.

One area that I would like to strengthen my confidence in is to “engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources (National Education Standards for Teachers, 2008). I do not use this strategy often but I would like to start because it provides students with real world issues and motivates them to learn because it gives them a purpose. My action plan to fulfill this goal includes researching particular topic, related to Social Studies in their own community and cater projects to address problems that they feel affect them directly. To monitor students’ progress I would have students complete a final project in which I can use a formative assessment. I would evaluate the success of this strategy by having students complete reflective entries to a classroom blog. In this manner I can assess what the students like or disliked about the project.
Another area of interest that I need to increase my confidence in is engaging in professional growth and leadership communities via the internet. I am constantly searching for new ideas for lesson plans but I do not have lessons in which students or educators can connect to other school districts via Skype. I would like to create relationship with other educators to form a situation in which students can interact and share their learning with students in different states or even just different districts. To fulfill this goal, I would do an internet search t find another classroom who might want this type of learning connection. I would also be interested in creating a wiki in which my classroom so I can collaborate with different classrooms. As per Dr. Cennamo, “Wikis are a great tool when students need to complete a task together—whether they are doing research, writing a paper, or planning a presentation (Cennamo, 2009). I would then monitor the students y have them complete reflexive assignments which will provide me with information that can be used to not only assess the content but also provide and insight into their interests in working with other students.
Educators must explore the technological tools that are available to them and have the confidence to try new things. There are many tools out there for educators to use but educators must be open-minded to experiment and have the knowledge to infuse them in their lessons.

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Reflection: Final Blog Posting

Technology is a growing component of the educational field since our world is becoming more and more infused with it. As per Richardson, “results of a Netday survey released in March 2005 assert that technology has become an indispensable tool in the education of today’s students (Richardson, 2006).” As our society changes, educators must adapt their lessons to reflect these 21st century skills.

This course has helped me develop a plan to enhance my lessons with technology to better prepare my students for the 21st century. It has also helped me improve my own technology skills by teaching me how to create a wiki and a blog. This course has opened my eyes to the resources available on blogs that teachers can use in their classrooms. For instance in my search on weblogs during the first week of the course, I discovered a range of web blogs that offered ideas for lesson plans for my History classes and resources such as interactive games and other simulations that can motivate students in their learning.

I continue to expand my knowledge of technology integration by continually reading literature about new technological innovations in the educational world. I feel that if educators can keep in tune with literature and new innovations, they can best serve the students and increase student achievement overall. Other literature that is essential to teaching 21st century learners is the study of millennial learning styles. Dr. Dede addressed the fact that 21st learners are accustomed to different skills such as writing as revision and working collectively (Laureate Education, Inc, 2007). Knowing how to teach different learners is essential for the classroom.

There are two long-term goals I have set for myself for transforming my classroom environment in where technology is integrated to meet instructional goals and increase student achievement. My first goal is to create a class blog, in which students can actively participate in classroom discussion from their homes and continue their learning beyond the classroom. As per Dr. Dede, “ the real power of technology is outside of the classroom (Laureate Education, Inc, 2007)” I plan on accomplishing this goal by beginning my next school year with a blog and teach students how to use it. If students can take what they learned in class and extend it beyond the classroom, they can truly take education to a new level.

My second goal for myself for transforming my classroom environment is to infuse more technology into each and every lesson. I want to use more simulations, interactive games, and steaming videos to enhance the motivation in the classroom. I plan on accomplishing my goal by actively seeking out new resources to use in the classroom, such as the ones I discovered when I searched on web blogs.

In summary, this course has opened up my eyes to new ideas on how to use technology in the classroom. I will take everything I learned in this classroom and use it to increase motivation and enthusiasm in the classroom as well as increase student achievement. As an educator I understand that technology is here to stay, so we must adapt and teach our students 21st century skills to prepare students for the workplace.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2007). “The Changing Role of the Classroom Teacher: Part 3”.[Motion picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore : Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2007). “ Millennial Learning Styles”.[Motion picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore : Author.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.