Seamlessly integrating technology into my instructions is a very important goal. Its importance is magnified as I read articles like Friedman’s “It’s A Flat World, After All” and Prensky’s “Turning on the Lights.” Both authors make clear the need to re-evaluate how and what students are learning in today’s classrooms. I have been using Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer’s (2010) GAME Plan approach to build my proficiency with technology integration. You may recall that this approach involves setting goals, taking action, monitoring progress, and evaluating success and extending learning (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2010). The goals I created were established to build my proficiency in the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T). This week, I would like to consider the steps I have taken towards meeting my goals.
The first goal I developed was to implement a class blog to communicate with students and parents and have students utilize blogs for collaborative reflection. I have discovered that I need to modify this goal. The IT department at my school has informed me that they will be setting up blogging sites for each teacher within our school’s server. They prefer for blogging to be handled this way so that students do not need individual email accounts and teachers can closely monitor the discussions. Therefore, I have decided to focus on the first part of that goal to implement a class blog so that I can communicate with students and parents. This will allow me to keep students who miss class informed. They will also be able to post questions to me about the material. I appreciate the advice from people on my last posting. This really answered a lot of questions for me. Focusing on creating a blog for the class as a whole is a good step to begin with so that I can work towards having my students use their own blogs. I think that I will summarize what was done in class. Do any of you have suggestions for what I need to include on this blog?
The second goal I have is to use flip video to record myself teaching and compile the clips for my professional portfolio. I have made a lot of progress in this area. I have recorded clips from one lesson and my next step is to edit them into a video. I need to have the IT department load the flip software onto my laptop. In the mean time, I will have to do my editing on my home computer. I would highly recommend the flip videos to other teachers. I have found them to be very user friendly and the quality is quite good considering how affordable they are. I may need to modify my plan to include how many lessons I would like to record. I think that one to two a month is a good goal to have as I do not want to become overwhelmed with the task. This would give me a good base of information to review as I evaluate the things I am asking my students to do. I am really interested in having my students use these cameras in the future. Have any of you had students do projects with them? Do you have any advice?
Thanks to everyone who has assisted me with my goals. I really appreciate the helpful advice I have received. I will continue to keep you posted as I work to build my proficiency in these areas and I look forward to hearing more great suggestions.
Jenny
Resources
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Carrying Out My Game Plan
One of the goals I established for myself last week was to utilize Flip Video technology so that I can record clips of my lessons. I have made quite a bit of progress in this area. Using one of the school’s new flip cameras, I recorded clips of a lesson where I had students utilizing the Mimio. I chose to record portions of this lesson so that I can demonstrate my ability to engage students through the use of technology. I tried to upload the clips onto my school laptop and found that I was unable to do so without administrative rights. The IT department will be installing the software onto my laptop. Until it is installed onto my computer, I have uploaded the clips to my personal computer. My next step is to edit the clips into a movie so that I can include it with my portfolio. A lot of staff development time in my school has been spent considering the level that we are engaging the students in. Because of this, I have decided to primarily record my students in action. I think that this best demonstrates the kind of work that I am asking the students to do. I was asked last week if I would share my lessons on the Internet. After considering this, I do not believe that I will as the videos will contain shots of my students. It would be a great deal of work to have each student complete a consent form so that I could upload the files to the Internet. This is a step that I am not willing to take on at this point. Therefore, I will collect the clips and compile them onto a DVD. I may use the clips to demonstrate to other faculty how I use various types of technology. They could also be shared with administration during the evaluation process. Most importantly, I will use them to evaluate my teaching practice.
The progress that I have made in regards to my goal of incorporating a class blog and individual blogs for students is much slower. There is great potential to improve collaboration and communication among students through the effective use of a blog. Asynchronous discussion allows students who may hesitate to participate in class discussion more time to formulate their thoughts (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2010). I have spoken with my IT department about implementing blogs. They informed me that next year each teacher will be provided with a blog site through the school’s server. I will continue to pursue creating my own blog site so that I can better communicate with students and parents and then transition to the school’s blog as it becomes available. I am interested in having my students create their own blogs and I would love any guidance people could give me on this as it is out of my comfort zone. Is it necessary to have students creating their own blog sites as I could post questions to begin the reflection process on mine and then just have them contribute their? (It seems like this would promote discussion with me and not with the other students.) Does anyone have any sites to recommend? Are there sites that you can control who can view the blogs? Does it defeat the purpose of blogging if they cannot be viewed by outside sources? There are many areas of this that I need to research. The use of blogs has been very limited at my school so I hope that some of you can provide me with some guidance.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
The progress that I have made in regards to my goal of incorporating a class blog and individual blogs for students is much slower. There is great potential to improve collaboration and communication among students through the effective use of a blog. Asynchronous discussion allows students who may hesitate to participate in class discussion more time to formulate their thoughts (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2010). I have spoken with my IT department about implementing blogs. They informed me that next year each teacher will be provided with a blog site through the school’s server. I will continue to pursue creating my own blog site so that I can better communicate with students and parents and then transition to the school’s blog as it becomes available. I am interested in having my students create their own blogs and I would love any guidance people could give me on this as it is out of my comfort zone. Is it necessary to have students creating their own blog sites as I could post questions to begin the reflection process on mine and then just have them contribute their? (It seems like this would promote discussion with me and not with the other students.) Does anyone have any sites to recommend? Are there sites that you can control who can view the blogs? Does it defeat the purpose of blogging if they cannot be viewed by outside sources? There are many areas of this that I need to research. The use of blogs has been very limited at my school so I hope that some of you can provide me with some guidance.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Game Plan
Marc Prensky (2008) makes it very clear, in his article “Turning on the Lights,” that the need for technology integration in today’s classrooms is great. Students employ a variety of technological applications outside of school and it makes sense that educators would draw on this same interest and knowledge in the classroom. The National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T) should serve as a guide for teachers as they work to infuse technology into their curriculum and practice.
Within each standard are several indicators that I feel fairly comfortable with. Each standard also has indicators that I would like to become more proficient with. I am most comfortable with Standard 2 as a whole. I utilize a variety of digital tools to create learning experiences of relevance to my students. Students are often able to investigate areas of interest due to the technology and manner it is incorporated. The formative and summative assessments I use align with the content and technology being covered.
One of the goals that I have as it relates to technology is to have the students utilize a blog and to create one for my classes as well. This goal will build my proficiency in indicator 1c: “promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify student’s conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative process.” It will also allow me to gain confidence with indicator 3b: “collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success.” Promoting student reflection is something that I struggle so this goal is especially important as reflection is essential to building understanding. Implementing a class blog will allow for greater collaboration so that students and parents stay informed.
I will utilize the GAME plan strategy, presented by Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2010), in order to take control of my learning….
Goal: Implement a class blog to communicate with students and parents and have students utilize blogs for collaborative reflection.
Action: Determine what provider to use (edublogs, blogger, wikispaces, etc…). Seek advice from other teachers who have used the technology. Identify the material to include on it. Identify areas of curriculum to use blogging for reflection with. Create guiding questions for reflection. Create the blog sites. Instruct the students in how to use the sites and how to create their own blogs.
Monitor: Identify areas where further information is needed. Consider how the process is going. What changes are needed in the action plan?
Evaluate: This will be an ongoing process. It will be important to record what worked well so that the needed changes can be made. This goal will develop my own proficiency with blogs. I will also consider students’ ability to reflect on the learning they have done. The amount of time spent discussing missing work should decrease if the class blog is used effectively by those students.
Standard 5 is another area that I would like to improve on. At a recent workshop I attended, Tony Wagner shared the idea of using a flip video camera to record clips of teachers in action. I would like to utilize this idea to develop professionally. This goal will build on several of the indicators for standard 5.
Goal: Use the flip video to record myself teaching and compile the clips for my professional portfolio. I will record myself during a variety of lessons and focus on the activities that I have the students doing. I would like to capture my use of technology so that I can evaluate its effectiveness.
Action: Check out the camera, record clips throughout the year, and compile them onto a CD.
Monitor: This goal will allow me to monitor my own ability to use technology and engage the students. It will be an ongoing process. It will allow me to evaluate my teaching so that I can make improvements and to share lessons where I have used technology with fellow teachers.
Evaluate: I will consider areas where technology was utilized effectively and identify strategies for improving the lesson and enhancing student engagement. I will not only evaluate my teaching but also learn how to use the flip technology to edit clips into movies that represent my lesson. Lessons that I am proud of could be shared with other teachers to promote the integration of it into their classrooms.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.
The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T). (n.d.). International Society for Technology in Education Home. Retrieved November 10, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Within each standard are several indicators that I feel fairly comfortable with. Each standard also has indicators that I would like to become more proficient with. I am most comfortable with Standard 2 as a whole. I utilize a variety of digital tools to create learning experiences of relevance to my students. Students are often able to investigate areas of interest due to the technology and manner it is incorporated. The formative and summative assessments I use align with the content and technology being covered.
One of the goals that I have as it relates to technology is to have the students utilize a blog and to create one for my classes as well. This goal will build my proficiency in indicator 1c: “promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify student’s conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative process.” It will also allow me to gain confidence with indicator 3b: “collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success.” Promoting student reflection is something that I struggle so this goal is especially important as reflection is essential to building understanding. Implementing a class blog will allow for greater collaboration so that students and parents stay informed.
I will utilize the GAME plan strategy, presented by Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2010), in order to take control of my learning….
Goal: Implement a class blog to communicate with students and parents and have students utilize blogs for collaborative reflection.
Action: Determine what provider to use (edublogs, blogger, wikispaces, etc…). Seek advice from other teachers who have used the technology. Identify the material to include on it. Identify areas of curriculum to use blogging for reflection with. Create guiding questions for reflection. Create the blog sites. Instruct the students in how to use the sites and how to create their own blogs.
Monitor: Identify areas where further information is needed. Consider how the process is going. What changes are needed in the action plan?
Evaluate: This will be an ongoing process. It will be important to record what worked well so that the needed changes can be made. This goal will develop my own proficiency with blogs. I will also consider students’ ability to reflect on the learning they have done. The amount of time spent discussing missing work should decrease if the class blog is used effectively by those students.
Standard 5 is another area that I would like to improve on. At a recent workshop I attended, Tony Wagner shared the idea of using a flip video camera to record clips of teachers in action. I would like to utilize this idea to develop professionally. This goal will build on several of the indicators for standard 5.
Goal: Use the flip video to record myself teaching and compile the clips for my professional portfolio. I will record myself during a variety of lessons and focus on the activities that I have the students doing. I would like to capture my use of technology so that I can evaluate its effectiveness.
Action: Check out the camera, record clips throughout the year, and compile them onto a CD.
Monitor: This goal will allow me to monitor my own ability to use technology and engage the students. It will be an ongoing process. It will allow me to evaluate my teaching so that I can make improvements and to share lessons where I have used technology with fellow teachers.
Evaluate: I will consider areas where technology was utilized effectively and identify strategies for improving the lesson and enhancing student engagement. I will not only evaluate my teaching but also learn how to use the flip technology to edit clips into movies that represent my lesson. Lessons that I am proud of could be shared with other teachers to promote the integration of it into their classrooms.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.
The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T). (n.d.). International Society for Technology in Education Home. Retrieved November 10, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
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