Week 7 - Taking it all in...
I almost feel that I have dropped the ball here. I have been really pushing myself to stay on top of things during this course. I knew I would have to because of the amount I was tackling this school year and the time of semester this course would be taking place. I was feeling pretty good about myself then realized as I was finishing my lesson plans I have to have turned in to my principal by 8 tomorrow morning, I forgot to do my blog for this week. I guess I just let myself get buried under the piles of grading along with finishing up a novel unit and preparing for final exams I will be giving Tuesday and Wednesday.
So, here I sit looking over my GAME plan. As I do, I feel that I have made some real progress toward fulfilling these goals. If anything, I have done some real research. I learned about some tools such as schoology.com and Ning. I have discovered the importance of making this effort to find ways to help my students become more engaged and gain more ownership into the content and the lesssons.
I worry that I took a major setback with the schoology site. I have high aspirations for what I want to do with this site. I set up an account with schoology planning to use this site for educational networking with my students. I hoped to perhaps even have them use the site as a place to create facebook-like pages for characters in novels we study. This might happen but I wasn’t able to give it the attention I need to. By the time I got my account set up, I got bogged down with some things in my classroom and the schoology site took a back seat. My last day for this semester is Thursday, the 23rd, so I am hoping to do some work on it while I’m out and perhaps have some things ready when I get my new students on January 4th. As for Ning, this site may also be a real place for me to do just what I was describing, but Ning is currently blocked from on my district’s network. I have requested the block be removed but so far, I have been told it can’t because the term “social networking” is part of the description of the site.
As I said, I have ideas that may have partially been there before beginning this GAME plan, but have been really thought through and even taken root. While I would have liked to have gotten much further, I do believe the beginnings have taken place and I will only go further toward fulfilling my goals.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Back to the drawing board - Revising my GAME plan
If I learn anything during this when it comes to technology, it is that for all I think I know, I am constantly finding more I don’t know and more I need to learn. I have already learned so much by developing my GAME plan. I have definitely learned as I have been working with my GAME plan that I need to view my lessons with scope. In the past, I often viewed my lessons and assignments singularly. This has already taught me to look at how I can have several assignments layered, building upon what I have my students to learn.
In last week’s blog, I mentioned turning my attention to developing a schoology page on which I could have my students create mock “facebook” pages. I am still working on this. I did run into some obstacles, but I am getting back up. My first obstacle was getting my account verified. Seems the email was not getting to me because of my district’s filter. I did start playing with this concept once I finally got the account verified, but just as I got my class started up, I ran into some deadline issues with our yearbook and I must admit, my schoology page took a back seat.
While this could seem poor time-management on my part or at the least just an unfortunate postponement, I think it may be working for the best. I had not really looked ahead and so I have just this week learned about Ning. Ning will allow my students to blog, upload files and images to enhance their posts, and communicate safely with each other and their teachers during assignments (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). This may be something else I can try out to get my students to doing some social networking with assignments. It’s funny how this stuff comes around. I have been thinking and trying to develop some incorporating of social networking into my lessons for some time now. I wrote about it in our last course. I have thought I was kind of stepping out there with the idea, then discover we have a lesson on it and even an application involving it. This is something I am really determined to use. I am even more excited about is my need to pause with schoology gave me the chance to discover a “facebook” template just yesterday. I was in a meeting and mentioned what I was doing or rather wanting to do with social networking and pointed out that, of course, I can’t get my students actually on facebook in my class (the site is blocked from our district’s network) so I was trying to come up with an alternative. That’s when the A.P. coordinator in our meeting said she had a template she could send me. I got it today and am already trying to decide how this could work for my goal.
As I get my new students in January with the next semester, I want to take this goal even a step further. I want to actually use blogging, wikis, and even social networking as methods of turning work in that would have traditionally been done by the old paper-and-pencil method. I believe this will not only bring my teaching more in line with 21st century methods but also generate more interest for my students.
Looking forward beyond even the next semester, I want to set another goal for myself. I would like to begin to “communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats” (ISTE, 2008). I would like to begin communicating with my student via digital methods from texting to discussion posts online. I would like to make regular posts on my class web page for parents. I would like to do these in blog format so they can reply to me. I would also like to begin attaching video and audio casts to these blog posts as well, bringing parents into my classroom. I also think I could go further and have students doing similarly to teach each other. This goal is far more reaching and would take a great deal of time to achieve, but I really think it is where I would like to go next.
References:
ISTE. (2008). The ISTE NETS and performance indicators for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Davis, P. (Speaker). Spotlight on Technology: Social Networking and Online Collaboration, Part 1. [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD.
In last week’s blog, I mentioned turning my attention to developing a schoology page on which I could have my students create mock “facebook” pages. I am still working on this. I did run into some obstacles, but I am getting back up. My first obstacle was getting my account verified. Seems the email was not getting to me because of my district’s filter. I did start playing with this concept once I finally got the account verified, but just as I got my class started up, I ran into some deadline issues with our yearbook and I must admit, my schoology page took a back seat.
While this could seem poor time-management on my part or at the least just an unfortunate postponement, I think it may be working for the best. I had not really looked ahead and so I have just this week learned about Ning. Ning will allow my students to blog, upload files and images to enhance their posts, and communicate safely with each other and their teachers during assignments (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). This may be something else I can try out to get my students to doing some social networking with assignments. It’s funny how this stuff comes around. I have been thinking and trying to develop some incorporating of social networking into my lessons for some time now. I wrote about it in our last course. I have thought I was kind of stepping out there with the idea, then discover we have a lesson on it and even an application involving it. This is something I am really determined to use. I am even more excited about is my need to pause with schoology gave me the chance to discover a “facebook” template just yesterday. I was in a meeting and mentioned what I was doing or rather wanting to do with social networking and pointed out that, of course, I can’t get my students actually on facebook in my class (the site is blocked from our district’s network) so I was trying to come up with an alternative. That’s when the A.P. coordinator in our meeting said she had a template she could send me. I got it today and am already trying to decide how this could work for my goal.
As I get my new students in January with the next semester, I want to take this goal even a step further. I want to actually use blogging, wikis, and even social networking as methods of turning work in that would have traditionally been done by the old paper-and-pencil method. I believe this will not only bring my teaching more in line with 21st century methods but also generate more interest for my students.
Looking forward beyond even the next semester, I want to set another goal for myself. I would like to begin to “communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats” (ISTE, 2008). I would like to begin communicating with my student via digital methods from texting to discussion posts online. I would like to make regular posts on my class web page for parents. I would like to do these in blog format so they can reply to me. I would also like to begin attaching video and audio casts to these blog posts as well, bringing parents into my classroom. I also think I could go further and have students doing similarly to teach each other. This goal is far more reaching and would take a great deal of time to achieve, but I really think it is where I would like to go next.
References:
ISTE. (2008). The ISTE NETS and performance indicators for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Davis, P. (Speaker). Spotlight on Technology: Social Networking and Online Collaboration, Part 1. [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good
Evaluating my GAME plan progress - week 5
Isn’t it interesting how things seem to come around in cycles? A week ago as I paused to evaluate my progress thus far, I had taken some steps, small steps mind you, but steps nonetheless toward my first goal of having my students participate in on-line discussions as we read a work of literature. However, I had not really done anything of any significance with my second goal beyond some research. Well, a week later, it seems I am now getting somewhere with my second goal.
My second goal is to design and develop assessments for digital-age lessons that assist my students to make real-world connections with 21st century technologies (ISTE, 2008). I have several things in mind I would like to learn to incorporate into my lessons. The last two weeks, my thoughts have been focused on learning to have my students produce pod casts and video casts. While this is something I would really like to work toward and have real plans for such, I need to also be looking into other methods of getting my students using technology in my lessons. It just so happens that one of the assignments I have been dabbling with and have tried a few variations of is an assessment I conduct as I conclude my lesson on indirect characterization. As I have been working the past week, I have had the epiphany to develop this lesson with a technology-based assessment. I had some ideas skulking about in my head but I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Then, as fate would have it, I read Melissa’s week 4 blog, in which she discussed her use of Schoology (Provost, 2010). I had to go check out the site. While looking it over, it occurred to me that this site might just prove to work for me as a place to have my students create “mock” facebook pages for characters in the novel we are reading. I could feel the ideas ricocheting about in my head. This has potential.
While I’m not there yet, I started just this Monday with my fourth block students on Schoology. I am basically using them as a trial run with this, a test drive. It may not be the final version of this assignment, but this will definitely be a big step toward my goal. I’m sure I’ll have to make adjustments but I think I’m on to something here. I’ll definitely let you guys know how it goes.
p.s. Thanks Melissa!!!
References:
ISTE. (2008). The ISTE NETS and performance indicators for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved
from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx
Provost, M. (2010). Monitoring my game plan progress. [blog]. Retrieved from http://mprovost.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/monitoring-my-game-plan-progress-week-4/ on November 27, 2010.
Isn’t it interesting how things seem to come around in cycles? A week ago as I paused to evaluate my progress thus far, I had taken some steps, small steps mind you, but steps nonetheless toward my first goal of having my students participate in on-line discussions as we read a work of literature. However, I had not really done anything of any significance with my second goal beyond some research. Well, a week later, it seems I am now getting somewhere with my second goal.
My second goal is to design and develop assessments for digital-age lessons that assist my students to make real-world connections with 21st century technologies (ISTE, 2008). I have several things in mind I would like to learn to incorporate into my lessons. The last two weeks, my thoughts have been focused on learning to have my students produce pod casts and video casts. While this is something I would really like to work toward and have real plans for such, I need to also be looking into other methods of getting my students using technology in my lessons. It just so happens that one of the assignments I have been dabbling with and have tried a few variations of is an assessment I conduct as I conclude my lesson on indirect characterization. As I have been working the past week, I have had the epiphany to develop this lesson with a technology-based assessment. I had some ideas skulking about in my head but I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Then, as fate would have it, I read Melissa’s week 4 blog, in which she discussed her use of Schoology (Provost, 2010). I had to go check out the site. While looking it over, it occurred to me that this site might just prove to work for me as a place to have my students create “mock” facebook pages for characters in the novel we are reading. I could feel the ideas ricocheting about in my head. This has potential.
While I’m not there yet, I started just this Monday with my fourth block students on Schoology. I am basically using them as a trial run with this, a test drive. It may not be the final version of this assignment, but this will definitely be a big step toward my goal. I’m sure I’ll have to make adjustments but I think I’m on to something here. I’ll definitely let you guys know how it goes.
p.s. Thanks Melissa!!!
References:
ISTE. (2008). The ISTE NETS and performance indicators for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved
from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx
Provost, M. (2010). Monitoring my game plan progress. [blog]. Retrieved from http://mprovost.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/monitoring-my-game-plan-progress-week-4/ on November 27, 2010.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
One Day at a Time - My GAME plan progress
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Let's Get It Started In Here - Carrying out my GAME plan
What a GAME plan I have, huh? When I first looked back over what I had written, my assessment was that my plan was too simplistic, not sophisticated enough. I have to admit, I rather felt ashamed I hadn’t come up with a more grandiose plan. However, my plan sets goals that I really want to accomplish, goals I truly believe I need to achieve for my students. That in mind, I returned to my plan to really think about the goals I had set and begin to study just how I am going to meet my goals. What resources would I need? Will I need to collaborate with anyone or call upon an expert or two? Do I need additional information? As I pondered these questions, I realized that my plan wasn’t so simple after all.
I realize that although I already have a class webpage, I still need some resources. Most likely, the resource that will best aid my plan is other teachers. I believe there are some other teachers here on my campus who have set up discussion boards and made these types of assignments recently. Not only should I look at their pages and see first-hand what they are doing and just how they have them set up, but I would benefit from information they can give me about their sites and their experiences. Some of the information I could get from these fellow educators would consist of their strategies of implementation and grading. How do they assign the discussions? Do they have to make groups, create log-ins or passwords? What sites are they using other than the site we host our classroom web pages? This information will help me make the decisions as I develop my assignments and get things set up on my webpage. I also think it would be good to gather information from my students. I will need to inquire about who has done a discussion post assignment before. I will also need to find out about internet access out of school. This information will help me as I determine the amount of time I give my students to complete the assignments. This same information from my students will be just as important as I develop lessons utilizing other items such as podcasts and video casts. I will also need to find out who has experience in using web design software. Finally, I will need to gather information about web design software that will be best to have my students use in my classroom. I will also need to make a contact with the web master at my high school so we can post our web pages my students make. I will need to investigate into the best way to post podcasts and video casts that my students can access on my campus. Basically, I have several contacts to make and a good bit of information to gather.
While I have really just begun, I have at least gotten started. All teachers in my district use the same site to create our individual web pages. I am sure our district does this to have some uniformity in the web pages and to make the links to our pages form the district’s and schools’ websites a bit easier to manage. I have already checked into what the capabilities are of this site where I have created my class page. I have learned that I can upload audio and video files to this my page on this site, so I should be able to have my students uploading podcasts and video casts without having to locate a site that can be accessed on our district server. I did learn, though, that while teachers are able to make their classroom pages here free (probably another reason our district has us using this host site), the free account has limited storage space. So, I went ahead and subscribed to have full storage capacity, which will accommodate audio and video files. I have also sent out requests by email to my colleagues on my campus to tell me about their discussion experiences. My next action will be to develop the groupings on my web page and set up the groups for a discussion board. I have quite a way to go, but I have gotten a start.
I realize that although I already have a class webpage, I still need some resources. Most likely, the resource that will best aid my plan is other teachers. I believe there are some other teachers here on my campus who have set up discussion boards and made these types of assignments recently. Not only should I look at their pages and see first-hand what they are doing and just how they have them set up, but I would benefit from information they can give me about their sites and their experiences. Some of the information I could get from these fellow educators would consist of their strategies of implementation and grading. How do they assign the discussions? Do they have to make groups, create log-ins or passwords? What sites are they using other than the site we host our classroom web pages? This information will help me make the decisions as I develop my assignments and get things set up on my webpage. I also think it would be good to gather information from my students. I will need to inquire about who has done a discussion post assignment before. I will also need to find out about internet access out of school. This information will help me as I determine the amount of time I give my students to complete the assignments. This same information from my students will be just as important as I develop lessons utilizing other items such as podcasts and video casts. I will also need to find out who has experience in using web design software. Finally, I will need to gather information about web design software that will be best to have my students use in my classroom. I will also need to make a contact with the web master at my high school so we can post our web pages my students make. I will need to investigate into the best way to post podcasts and video casts that my students can access on my campus. Basically, I have several contacts to make and a good bit of information to gather.
While I have really just begun, I have at least gotten started. All teachers in my district use the same site to create our individual web pages. I am sure our district does this to have some uniformity in the web pages and to make the links to our pages form the district’s and schools’ websites a bit easier to manage. I have already checked into what the capabilities are of this site where I have created my class page. I have learned that I can upload audio and video files to this my page on this site, so I should be able to have my students uploading podcasts and video casts without having to locate a site that can be accessed on our district server. I did learn, though, that while teachers are able to make their classroom pages here free (probably another reason our district has us using this host site), the free account has limited storage space. So, I went ahead and subscribed to have full storage capacity, which will accommodate audio and video files. I have also sent out requests by email to my colleagues on my campus to tell me about their discussion experiences. My next action will be to develop the groupings on my web page and set up the groups for a discussion board. I have quite a way to go, but I have gotten a start.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Got GAME
EDUC 6713-D-2 Application two: Developing your personal GAME plan
Goal #1: Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity by promoting student reflection.
From NETS-T (ISTE, 2008)
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. C) Teachers promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative process.
GAME Plan
Set goals
I want my students to participate in a discourse about issues raised in the literature assigned to be read both in and out of class by using digital-age tools. I want my students to do more critical thinking on their own beyond the discussions I lead in class. I have a class webpage capable of hosting a discussion board but I do not utilize this. I want to utilize this tool for responses that go beyond the basic writing assignments and discussions of class.
Take action
In order to make this successful, I will first need to refine my class webpage and set up the discussion board section on the webpage. I will need to have all the students register as a student user with the webpage host. I will walk the students through this process in class. I will next introduce my students to discussion posting with an initial post assignment. Once they have learned to make a post on the board, I can then make discussion assignments in which they respond to prompts from the literature we are studying. In addition to their posts, I can also require my students to respond to other students’ posts as well.
Monitor
As I begin making these discussion post assignments, it will be important for me to make sure I am making progress toward my goal (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). I will need to set aside a specific time to review and respond to students’ posts and their responses on others’ posts. I will need to check with any students who do not post or respond to be certain they understand the assignment and the method of using the technology.
Evaluate and extend
I will need to get feedback from the students themselves. Through discussions, peer evaluations, and even surveys, I can assess the success of the assignments and the benefits the students glean. If the discussion posts seem to be moving me to my goal, I can extend this assignment to perhaps having other classes participate in our discussions through the webpage as well as parents and other teachers. I could also extend this by branching out to a blog rather than just the discussion board. I will need to check in frequently with my students to not only make certain I am achieving the goal, but also to see if any adjustments or changes are needed (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).
From NETS-T (ISTE, 2008)
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. C) Teachers promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative process.
GAME Plan
Set goals
I want my students to participate in a discourse about issues raised in the literature assigned to be read both in and out of class by using digital-age tools. I want my students to do more critical thinking on their own beyond the discussions I lead in class. I have a class webpage capable of hosting a discussion board but I do not utilize this. I want to utilize this tool for responses that go beyond the basic writing assignments and discussions of class.
Take action
In order to make this successful, I will first need to refine my class webpage and set up the discussion board section on the webpage. I will need to have all the students register as a student user with the webpage host. I will walk the students through this process in class. I will next introduce my students to discussion posting with an initial post assignment. Once they have learned to make a post on the board, I can then make discussion assignments in which they respond to prompts from the literature we are studying. In addition to their posts, I can also require my students to respond to other students’ posts as well.
Monitor
As I begin making these discussion post assignments, it will be important for me to make sure I am making progress toward my goal (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). I will need to set aside a specific time to review and respond to students’ posts and their responses on others’ posts. I will need to check with any students who do not post or respond to be certain they understand the assignment and the method of using the technology.
Evaluate and extend
I will need to get feedback from the students themselves. Through discussions, peer evaluations, and even surveys, I can assess the success of the assignments and the benefits the students glean. If the discussion posts seem to be moving me to my goal, I can extend this assignment to perhaps having other classes participate in our discussions through the webpage as well as parents and other teachers. I could also extend this by branching out to a blog rather than just the discussion board. I will need to check in frequently with my students to not only make certain I am achieving the goal, but also to see if any adjustments or changes are needed (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).
Goal #2: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments by customizing and personalizing learning activities.
From NETS-T (ISTE, 2008)
2. Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. C)Teachers
customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
GAME Plan
Set goals
I want my students to make connections to the real world while they expand their understanding of the literature works we read. I realize that my students have varied learning styles and do not all learn the same way. In order to reach all my students, I must develop assignments that will appeal to their different learning styles and strategies. I also have a goal of my students completing assignments with digital-age technologies to make their reading and the assignments more relevant to their world (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).
Take action
In order to help my students make more relevant connections as they delve deeper into the reading, I want to assign my students activities and projects that relate their varied learning styles. I would like to have my students develop and post podcasts that can be accessed online by other classes. I want my students to use digital media such as Web 2.0 tools to complete assignments from our literature. One such thing I could have them do is to actually design a webpage about the novel using web design software. I could also have my students create videos to be uploaded to the internet.
Monitor
As I work to develop assignments for my students that promote understanding of the literature while presenting relevance to the digital world, I must monitor whether or not I am actually achieve this goal Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). If I am not finding the interest level, I will need to make modifications.
Evaluate and extend
Once I am satisfied that the assignments I am making appeal to the students learning styles as well as their interests engaging them in the learning, I will need to assess the assignments ability to achieve comprehension of the objectives with the literature. If there is not an acceptable level of comprehension in the objectives, I may need to modify the assignments to better focus on and target the desired learning. When the assignments are successful, these could be extended to connect with students in classes from other parts of the country studying the same works.
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.
ISTE. (2008). The ISTE NETS and performance indicators for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program 1: Promoting self directed
learning with technology. [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore,
MD.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
EDUC 6713D-2 Integrating Techonology Across the Content Areas
Course 8 is now upon us. I hope my fellow scholars here from Walden are all doing well. I must admit, I am hitting a bit of burn out. It seems that I have taken on so much where I teach during this time I have been studying here at Walden. I guess I should have known it was coming because I managed to dodge it all the year I was doing National Boards. Oh well, I can truly say I am learning so much and becoming a better teacher for it. And that is just throught the things I have undertaken at my school. With the things I learned here at Walden, I am really expanding my knowledge and skill and growing in who I am as a teacher and an educator.
I am very excited to be starting this class. I have so enjoyed the courses that have dealt with the technology aspects of this program. I am very eager to delve into this one. I am also glad to be working with you guys once again. I have gleaned so much from what you guys have shared and posted on during our previous courses.
I am very excited to be starting this class. I have so enjoyed the courses that have dealt with the technology aspects of this program. I am very eager to delve into this one. I am also glad to be working with you guys once again. I have gleaned so much from what you guys have shared and posted on during our previous courses.
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