I mentioned in last week’s blog that I installed a Mimio board into my classroom. Right before the Thanksgiving holiday, I showed my students news coverage of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. While I was showing them, I was able to use my interactive board to stop and fast forward the video very easily while never actually leaving the board. Not having to use a remote was wonderful! I was also able to draw over the video with the Mimio markers to point out different things in the news coverage as opposed to using a laser pointer or yard stick. I felt this lesson was a great step forward into my GAME plan.
As of this week, I feel my GAME plan progress has slowed down. I am teaching three extra classes after school and I have four meetings throughout the week. On top of all of this, I have to grade essays about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. I feel I will not be able to meet my goal of integrating technology into the classroom every single day leading up to winter break. I believe I have the resources to integrate, but not the time. I feel it is real easy right now to use the lessons I already have then to create new ones that take planning time. I don’t feel this being a problem in the future, but in the mean time it is. I guess I feel sometimes like changing my lessons to integrate technology takes more time than I have. In the long run, all of my lessons will adapt over time and I know I can’t do it all in one year.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Carrying Out Your GAME Plan
At this point in my class, I have started to incorporate parts of my GAME plan. This past week, I installed a Mimio interactive board in my classroom. Once I installed this technology, my students were automatically interested. In my GAME plan, I want to use technology every single day in the classroom. This interactive board will help me reach my students even more than I could before. The interactive board is just the first step to what I need in my classroom to carry out my plan. I will need technologies such as clickers, lab tops, digital cameras, and digital recorders to continue to meet my plan. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2010) say “Digital media are a key factor for implementing UDL based on the flexibility they offer both teachers and students” (pg. 126). Having these technologies will help me achieve my GAME plan and assist the students in learning.
Even though I have incorporated the interactive board in my class, I still have a bunch of work to do to completely meet my GAME plan. I feel I still have some lessons and plans that I am having trouble integrating technology with. Some days, I revert back to my old ways of teaching, which include reading and answering questions with pen or pencil. Even though I make my lessons very interactive between students, sometimes I feel I need to incorporate some sort of technology. That is why I am glad I have the interactive board because now I can use more interactive websites in the classroom and not just in the computer lab.
Even though I have incorporated the interactive board in my class, I still have a bunch of work to do to completely meet my GAME plan. I feel I still have some lessons and plans that I am having trouble integrating technology with. Some days, I revert back to my old ways of teaching, which include reading and answering questions with pen or pencil. Even though I make my lessons very interactive between students, sometimes I feel I need to incorporate some sort of technology. That is why I am glad I have the interactive board because now I can use more interactive websites in the classroom and not just in the computer lab.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Developing Your Personal GAME Plan
After reading the National Education Standards for Teachers, I compared them to what my personal goals are. I found two standards that I wanted to improve on and master during my teaching career. The first standard is to “engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources” (ISTE, 1997-2009). This standard interests me because I believe it fits in very well with social studies. Part of the curriculum I teach is real world issues and what better way to do that by using technology to learn about them.
The second standard is to “collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation” (ISTE, 1997-2000). This standard stood out to me right away. I have envisioned a 21st century classroom and community where little pencil and paper is used. Where students get immediate feedback on their work and where parents, teachers, and students are all connected in a twenty-four hour classroom. I can envision a classroom that is totally redefined by technology because students are independent and innovative.
To meet these goals, I will begin to integrate technology based lessons into my class daily. By integrating technology daily, I will be teaching my students to become independent learners and innovative thinkers. I want to create a website where students go every single day to get their assignment. From there, I want to incorporate Web 2.0 activities and give each student individualized learning to help each student succeed in my class. I believe technology can help teachers reach more students because it makes lesson easier to individualize. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) reference Rose and Meyer (2002) who said “Universal design for learning (UDL) suggests that teachers can remove barriers to learning by providing flexibility in terms of options for materials, methods, and assessments” (pg. 117). I would love for my classes to have no barriers of the type and the amount of learning that gets done by every single child. I will know when I have reached my goals when I have included technology in every lesson and I act more as a guide to social studies then as a teacher of social studies.
The way that I plan on extending my learning of these standards is to teach other teachers to use the technology skills that I have learned. My school has just hired someone with a similar job description and I would love to be able to help more students then in just my classroom. I figure the best way to do that is to teach other teachers to use technology in their 21st century classroom.
The second standard is to “collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation” (ISTE, 1997-2000). This standard stood out to me right away. I have envisioned a 21st century classroom and community where little pencil and paper is used. Where students get immediate feedback on their work and where parents, teachers, and students are all connected in a twenty-four hour classroom. I can envision a classroom that is totally redefined by technology because students are independent and innovative.
To meet these goals, I will begin to integrate technology based lessons into my class daily. By integrating technology daily, I will be teaching my students to become independent learners and innovative thinkers. I want to create a website where students go every single day to get their assignment. From there, I want to incorporate Web 2.0 activities and give each student individualized learning to help each student succeed in my class. I believe technology can help teachers reach more students because it makes lesson easier to individualize. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) reference Rose and Meyer (2002) who said “Universal design for learning (UDL) suggests that teachers can remove barriers to learning by providing flexibility in terms of options for materials, methods, and assessments” (pg. 117). I would love for my classes to have no barriers of the type and the amount of learning that gets done by every single child. I will know when I have reached my goals when I have included technology in every lesson and I act more as a guide to social studies then as a teacher of social studies.
The way that I plan on extending my learning of these standards is to teach other teachers to use the technology skills that I have learned. My school has just hired someone with a similar job description and I would love to be able to help more students then in just my classroom. I figure the best way to do that is to teach other teachers to use technology in their 21st century classroom.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Reflection for EDUC 6712
The most striking revelation I had about the teaching of new literacy skills to my students is how to correctly show my students to use the internet. My students use the internet often and I usually tell them what websites to use, but now I can correctly teach them to use the internet themselves. One way that I can teach my students to correctly use the internet is to teach them “The ABC’s of a Website” created by Beth Phillips (Laureate Education, 2009). I can also share with them the “topic + focus” method developed by Eagleton and Guinee and described by Eagleton and Dobler in their book “Reading the Web” (2007). By showing my students these strategies, I will be giving them the tools to use the internet and streamline their research process.
I feel the knowledge and experienced I gained in this course will greatly improve my teaching practices. I have learned a lot of new ways to improve my teaching and lesson planning. My students will benefit even more than me because they will be gaining 21st century skills like what Dr. Hartman describes communicating as “sharing information on-line through wikis, blogs, and other tools” (Laureate Education, 2009). I now will be able to incorporate new literacy skills that will develop my student’s ability to use technology and communicate in a 21st century classroom.
One professional development goal I would like to work on is my ability to create a student centered classroom on a daily basis. Dr. David Warlick says to “help them learn to teach themselves” (Laureate Education, 2009) and I want this to be my goal. I would like to see my class working on research projects while using all new types of technology. As my teaching career continues to develop, I would then like to be able to teach other teachers to use technology to have a student centered project based class like the one I created. Those are some of my professional goals that I have developed from this class.
References
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.
I feel the knowledge and experienced I gained in this course will greatly improve my teaching practices. I have learned a lot of new ways to improve my teaching and lesson planning. My students will benefit even more than me because they will be gaining 21st century skills like what Dr. Hartman describes communicating as “sharing information on-line through wikis, blogs, and other tools” (Laureate Education, 2009). I now will be able to incorporate new literacy skills that will develop my student’s ability to use technology and communicate in a 21st century classroom.
One professional development goal I would like to work on is my ability to create a student centered classroom on a daily basis. Dr. David Warlick says to “help them learn to teach themselves” (Laureate Education, 2009) and I want this to be my goal. I would like to see my class working on research projects while using all new types of technology. As my teaching career continues to develop, I would then like to be able to teach other teachers to use technology to have a student centered project based class like the one I created. Those are some of my professional goals that I have developed from this class.
References
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.
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