It’s been a couple of weeks now since I devised my GAME plan. I set two major goals for myself. Now, I didn’t think I would suddenly meet these two goals over night. I would have been kidding myself to think so. This is especially true as the school where I teach is on the 4X4 block schedule, so the classes I am currently teaching are almost over. This does mean that I will get all new classes when the second semester begins in January. So, while I haven’t achieved these two goals to their best yet, I am making some progress toward getting things in place. I am taking baby steps, it seems, but I am learning quite a bit and hope to have a real handle on things so that I can really put this plan into place with the next semester.
I have gotten started on my first goal, having my students respond to discussions in a discussion board on my web page. I’ve gotten the discussion section of my web page set up and got my students all registered into the discussion group. I have made one discussion assignment. So far, for this goal, I am finding all the information I need to get it up and going, and I don’t think I need to make any adjustments to the goal. I have learned how to create the discussion group and how to be more efficient with the sign-up process for my discussion groups. I have learned how to best do this next semester with my next classes. I have, how ever, come across a few questions or concerns about this goal during this initial trial run. How can I get my students to give me more in-depth responses to the discussion prompts? Do I need to form my prompts better to illicit deeper thinking and more detailed responses? Do I need to address this directly? I have thought about providing a list of questions that must be addressed but I was afraid I would be leading them and not allowing them to do the critical thinking they need to do on their own. My second question is: How do I get my students to respond to other students posts with more than just the cursory “I agree” or “That’s a good point” that I seem to be getting? Should I also provide an outline or list of questions for this part of the assignment? Any input from my colleagues here would be most appreciated. I am also not sure what I should do to follow this up or make it all connect back in my classroom. Any suggestions here would also be welcome.
My second goal is one that I haven’t gotten very far yet. This goal is to have my students produce podcasts and video casts that can posted for other students to listen/view and respond to. So far, I have determined that I can upload such casts onto my current web page. I found it would require more storage space, so I upgraded from the free web page to a subscription page with more storage. What I am still not sure of is how to best record the audio. I have the software needed, that’s not the problem. My concern is with the recording itself. I’m sure my classroom is not going to be a very quiet place to do the recording and the microphone I have would pick up lots of noise. I need to use one, though, rather than the headset because I plan to have my students do this in small groups. Does anyone have any ideas here? I suppose I could have my students record in pairs rather than in a group, so I could use the headset, I would just need two of them. My biggest concern is the background noise. I want my students to record during my class, I’m just not sure how to do this. Any tips or suggestions?
As you can see, I’m working on it, I’m just taking baby steps. Well, like the saying goes, one day at a time.
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Wesley,
ReplyDeleteStarting small is a great way to start- it is better than never starting at all! I would love to take a look at your webpage- and see how you have set everything up! Is it open to the public? To address your question, I think a good way to get a deeper response from your students would be to give them examples. You can post a discussion thread response or have a nother teacher post one. You can take student examples that you are looking for and analyze it together. I am sure your students have a lot to say, but maybe they need to be directed and shown a model first. Also, you can make a rubric for discussion posts and explicitly tell your students what is expected of them. Take our Walden rubrics as a starting point!
When it comes to your second goal, maybe you can have a rotating schedule in class where 2 or 3 groups record per day. During that time, the other groups could be quietly working in the hall, in the library, or a different computer lab. I am not sure what your school has available in terms of more room or whether your students would work well without your total supervision, but you could experiment with different set-ups! Good luck with your GAME plan- it sounds like you are on your way!
Connie
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteIt is honorable that you are trying new things in your classroom, and as you state, these changes will not happen overnight. I do believe that you are headed in the right direction when it comes to the online web discussions with your students. I have done this with my government students and have had some great success. In order to address your concerns regarding the student responses, I would suggest that you provide a rubric as to what exactly you are looking for in their responses. You might also get involved and post your own comments for your students to read and model in their own work.
Recording class lectures and class periods is something that I am trying to implement in my own classroom. Part of the problem is figuring out how to have a quality recording and omitting some of the background noise. I would suggest looking into a wireless microphone that can be attached to your computer and simply clipped onto your shirt, which will record your voice. At the same time, you can also edit out background noise depending on the software you decide to use. This will take some time to figure out, and I am glad to know that there are others out there having similar issues. Good luck on achieving your goals and let me know how things turn out.
Mike Palo