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
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Arianna,
ReplyDeleteI admire your goal of helping students create solutions to real world problems. In my seventh grade English classes, students are always questioning the purpose of an assignment. They are so connected to the entire world with their devices and technology that they are becoming increasingly frustrated with having to "power down" as Marc Prensky noted in this week's article. When technology is in place in school, it allows students to understand content because it acts as a hook for engagement. (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer,2009) Wikis are a good place to start as they allow for so much collaboration. Does your school have a career day? Students can create brochures and generate interest via Facebook and Twitter.
The recent earthquake in Japan has gotten me thinking as to how students can reach out to schoolchildren in Japan. YouTube? Skype? I am such a technological novice that I am not sure where to start. But one of the great advantages of so many tools is that it offers us so many opportunities to connect.
Reference:
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
Hello
ReplyDeleteArianna,
ReplyDeleteI think helping students explore real-world issues and create solutions to authentic problems using digital tools and resources is a powerful goal for a social studies curriculum. As I read over your GAME plan, I wondered if you had heard of using Voicethreads to promote conversations and collaborative thinking around images, videos, documents, etc. I was introduced to VoiceThreads during one of my Walden courses, and although I have no experience with creating or participating in one, I was struck by the potential for stimulating critical thinking about a topic or issue.
Perhaps you could create Voicethreads to introduce students to topics and then after students have been exposed to a few teacher-generated threads, they could collaborate both inside and outside of the classroom by creating their own Voicethreads that explore an issue and offer solutions by selecting their own quotes, textual passages, images, and narration.
If you have not already been exposed to Bill Ferriter’s Voicethread “Why Do People Hate?”, you can check it and other samples out by accessing http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/w/page/17791585/Voicethread#SampleVoicethreads.
Good luck with your goals and your GAME plan,
Mary
Arianna,
ReplyDeleteConfidence is a key component to integrating technology into the classroom. I feel that I do a decent job with integrating various forms of technology into the classroom, but these are primarily ones which I am comfortable with. I tend to get more nervous about using/implementing need forms of technology when I have not used them before partially because I have limited time to study these new technologies, but also as a high school teacher, making even the slightest errors in front of a classroom of teenagers can be a grave mistake.
I like that you are making it a goal to introduce real-world problems to your students. Simply incorporating technology into the 21st century allows students to be engaged in a real-world practice. How will you plan to utilize technology with your students and their Social Studies projects?
Wikis are an interesting tool that I am not very familiar with creating. Do your students have a hard time recognizing the difference between sources that are credible and not credible? Also, I would be concerned that wikis would be blocked at my school as well as Skype which you mentioned. How do you plan to get around these barriers if they are an issue at your school?
~Ellen Kehs
Arianna and Ellen,
ReplyDeleteIn regards to filters blocking wiki sites, my district blocks Wikispaces, but does not block Pbworks. I suspect this is because Pbworks does not mention wiki in the URL. Just a suggestion that may work for you.
Mary Martin
Thank you for all the great ideas that were posted on my blog. I love the idea of contacting the children in Japan to take about how they are feeling about and dealing with the recent tragedy. This is a great example on how we can use current events and create a teachable moment.
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of using voice threads. They can be used to enhance presentations or to post to classroom websites, so students can share their ideas with audience.