To reiterate, I think the best time to take this class is during the school year, and not the summer. It is very difficult to evaluate my GAME Plan progress when I have not been able to implement it as of yet. So I will do my best in answering the provided questions about my progress toward meeting my goals that I established for learning about technology and technology resources.
My first plan of attack is to still create my own website to be used by students, their parents and the community, but until I get to school, I can not achieve this goal.
What have I learned so far that I can apply to my instructional practice? This weeks learning resources have clearly defined what Project-Based Learning is, what it requires and especially why we want to teach using PBL. I would love to incorporate the idea of PBL into my other classes besides my 8th grade Hi-Tech Career class. I think my students will come out of those classes with more ownership of what they have learned because they are becoming self-directed learners (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).
What do I still have to learn? What new questions have arisen? I think if I look really close at what I still have to learn, it would have to deal with creating problems that are interdisciplinary and cross curricular. I have had a lot of teachers in my building ask to do collaborative work but I have always been a little worried about how my content would fit in. I do know that the Family and Consumer Science teacher along with the Art teacher got together and did a Unit on Christmas cookies, in Art class they made clay cookie stamps that were fired in the kiln, and in the Family & Consumer Science class they researched cookie recipes and also had to figure out which recipe would be the best. As a wood shop teacher I am concerned that I would just be stuck building something. So is it possible to collaborate with a Core class and what would we do?
How will I adjust my plan to fit my current needs? The only way I can answer this question is to just wait and see. Every lesson that I teach gets better and better because I am always finding ways to improve it. So the only thing I can do is to wait until I start teaching, and then adjust accordingly.
I realize that my answers to the questions are short and sweet, but again to be honest I really cannot do anything until school starts. I should at that point be able to evaluate myself a little better.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program Eight. Problem-Based Learning, Part 1 [Motion Picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Monitoring your GAME Plan progress
I am not going to lie here, but steps that I have taken toward meeting my goals has been a little difficult due to the fact that it is the middle of the summer and I am not teaching.
So on that note when answering the first question, am I finding the information and resources that I need, the answer is yes. The fact that I am not in school does not mean that I am totally stuck. I do know that I have a great IT department, and their number one concern is making my teaching experience better using more technology. Unawares to myself, I have been able to locate different resources form a source that is new to me, my classmates. They have been a never-ending flow of new knowledge that I can apply to my GAME plan. From them I have found new websites to introduce to my students as well as new sites for me to use when teaching. So, implementing these new 21st century skills will begin in the fall, or August 13th, which if you ask me is still summer, when school starts. So at this time I do not know if I need to adjust or modify my GAME plan yet.
As I stated before, I have learned so much from this program.. The technology tools that I am going to be able to implement into my classroom because of Walden University are somewhat overwhelming, not overwhelming in a negative sense, but overwhelming in a sense that my students will have a number of different ways to show me what they have learned. As stated in our course DVD this week, “when students are given a choice of an assessment type, they are given empowerment” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Being able to offer so many different types of assessments will be an effective way of meeting the needs of diverse learners. Being able to support the diverse needs of my students will be imperative to their learning.
To date, I have not come up with any questions pertaining to my GAME plan. I think once school starts, that will change, and as it changes I will ask the questions and answer them to the best of my ability. I am very excited about having my own web page, the biggest reason is that I want other people to see what my students are accomplishing in my classroom. I am also very excited to have a new platform when dealing with parent communication, this will allow for one more avenue of communication to be open to all of my parents.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program Seven. Assessing Student Learning with Technology[Motion Picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
So on that note when answering the first question, am I finding the information and resources that I need, the answer is yes. The fact that I am not in school does not mean that I am totally stuck. I do know that I have a great IT department, and their number one concern is making my teaching experience better using more technology. Unawares to myself, I have been able to locate different resources form a source that is new to me, my classmates. They have been a never-ending flow of new knowledge that I can apply to my GAME plan. From them I have found new websites to introduce to my students as well as new sites for me to use when teaching. So, implementing these new 21st century skills will begin in the fall, or August 13th, which if you ask me is still summer, when school starts. So at this time I do not know if I need to adjust or modify my GAME plan yet.
As I stated before, I have learned so much from this program.. The technology tools that I am going to be able to implement into my classroom because of Walden University are somewhat overwhelming, not overwhelming in a negative sense, but overwhelming in a sense that my students will have a number of different ways to show me what they have learned. As stated in our course DVD this week, “when students are given a choice of an assessment type, they are given empowerment” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Being able to offer so many different types of assessments will be an effective way of meeting the needs of diverse learners. Being able to support the diverse needs of my students will be imperative to their learning.
To date, I have not come up with any questions pertaining to my GAME plan. I think once school starts, that will change, and as it changes I will ask the questions and answer them to the best of my ability. I am very excited about having my own web page, the biggest reason is that I want other people to see what my students are accomplishing in my classroom. I am also very excited to have a new platform when dealing with parent communication, this will allow for one more avenue of communication to be open to all of my parents.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program Seven. Assessing Student Learning with Technology[Motion Picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Carrying out my GAME plan
So sorry this post is late. I did not see the assignment on the application page. I think that any blogging assignments should be put on the same page of our discussions seeing as they have the same due date. Just saying!!
In order for my GAME Plan to continue I need to look at the type of resources I will need in order for my plan to be carried out, I will also need to look at any additional information that I need, and lastly, what steps have I been able to successfully make during this process.
The first performance indicator that I will be working on is 3a: Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations, will require me to learn new technologies and then transfer that information over to my students. Currently we are on summer vacation, so the ability to transfer any new information will have to wait until school starts. Taking classes through Walden University is giving me the opportunity to work with new technologies and to become fluent in them, so that I will feel more confident when I teach my students in the fall. As far as resources, I will be using the Internet quite extensively because the majority of the programs that I will be using are located on the Internet. The steps that I have been able to make to date are learning about new technologies through Walden University.
The second performance indicator that I will be working on is 3b: Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation. This step cannot really take place until I get back into school. Once I get back into school, the resources that I will need in order for my plan to be carried out will be to literally hunt down my IT guy and put a date on the calendar for him and I to create a website for me. By doing this, I will be able to start corresponding with students, parents, and an online community early in the school year. Additional resources that I might need will be the help of fellow colleagues. To date I have not taken any steps to make this GAME plan successful because it is summer and I don’t believe that my IT guy wants a call over the summer. Even though we need to invite him and his family over to dinner (we are good friends), I will wait until school starts.
In order for my GAME Plan to continue I need to look at the type of resources I will need in order for my plan to be carried out, I will also need to look at any additional information that I need, and lastly, what steps have I been able to successfully make during this process.
The first performance indicator that I will be working on is 3a: Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations, will require me to learn new technologies and then transfer that information over to my students. Currently we are on summer vacation, so the ability to transfer any new information will have to wait until school starts. Taking classes through Walden University is giving me the opportunity to work with new technologies and to become fluent in them, so that I will feel more confident when I teach my students in the fall. As far as resources, I will be using the Internet quite extensively because the majority of the programs that I will be using are located on the Internet. The steps that I have been able to make to date are learning about new technologies through Walden University.
The second performance indicator that I will be working on is 3b: Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation. This step cannot really take place until I get back into school. Once I get back into school, the resources that I will need in order for my plan to be carried out will be to literally hunt down my IT guy and put a date on the calendar for him and I to create a website for me. By doing this, I will be able to start corresponding with students, parents, and an online community early in the school year. Additional resources that I might need will be the help of fellow colleagues. To date I have not taken any steps to make this GAME plan successful because it is summer and I don’t believe that my IT guy wants a call over the summer. Even though we need to invite him and his family over to dinner (we are good friends), I will wait until school starts.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
GAME Plan
As a technology educator I am very familiar with the NETS and how they were created. I am a member of ITEA (International Technology Education Association) and I have been using the standards in my classroom for quite sometime. Even though I am a technology educator, there are a couple of performance indicators that I would like to work on in my instruction. The third standard, Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, contains two performance indicators that I would like to develop more. Below is my GAME plan for those two performance indicators.
Performance indicator
3a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
Set Goals: I would like to become more fluent in different technology systems, meaning, I would like to understand more different types of programs that will help me as the teacher to teach my students new and interesting ways to use technology. I would like to feel more confident when using these new systems, so that I can transfer my knowledge to my students with confidence.
Take Action: Steps that I can take in order to become more fluent in different technology systems, is to take more professional development classes that teach new technology programs. I can also learn more from our building IT who offers classes on new programs for teachers in our building.
Monitor: I will be able to monitor myself when taking these courses by knowing I have learned new programs and I feel comfortable using the new programs. When I feel that I have become fluent in a new system I will be able to introduce the new program to my studnets and have the confidence to teach them.
Evaluate and Extend: To evaluate myself I will be able to discuss with my fellow cohorts the uses of the new technology programs and see if the knowledge that I have gained match what they know. If they are able to explain new uses, I will need to go back and review the programs so that I am fluent in that technology.
Performance indicator
3b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
Set Goals: I would like to spend more time using digital resources to support my students success and their innovations. Meaning, I would like to showcase work completed by my students using various different types of digital tools. I would like to create a website for my classroom that explains a little about myself, my classroom, and projects that my studnets complete. This website would be open for everyone to see.
Take Action: I will need to set up time with my IT to teach me how to create my own website. I will also contact some of my fellow cohorts who have already created websites for their classrooms.
Monitor: In order to monitor my progress I will first set aside specific dates on my email calender to keep me on schedule. Scheduling dates to follow will help me stay focused and on track.
Evaluate and Extend: Once I have completed my website I would like to be able to communicate with students, peers, parents, and the community within my site. I think the studnets will be very excited to see what other people think about their projects that they have created. I really hope that the creation of my own website will foster my communication between me and the parents of my students.
Performance indicator
3a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
Set Goals: I would like to become more fluent in different technology systems, meaning, I would like to understand more different types of programs that will help me as the teacher to teach my students new and interesting ways to use technology. I would like to feel more confident when using these new systems, so that I can transfer my knowledge to my students with confidence.
Take Action: Steps that I can take in order to become more fluent in different technology systems, is to take more professional development classes that teach new technology programs. I can also learn more from our building IT who offers classes on new programs for teachers in our building.
Monitor: I will be able to monitor myself when taking these courses by knowing I have learned new programs and I feel comfortable using the new programs. When I feel that I have become fluent in a new system I will be able to introduce the new program to my studnets and have the confidence to teach them.
Evaluate and Extend: To evaluate myself I will be able to discuss with my fellow cohorts the uses of the new technology programs and see if the knowledge that I have gained match what they know. If they are able to explain new uses, I will need to go back and review the programs so that I am fluent in that technology.
Performance indicator
3b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
Set Goals: I would like to spend more time using digital resources to support my students success and their innovations. Meaning, I would like to showcase work completed by my students using various different types of digital tools. I would like to create a website for my classroom that explains a little about myself, my classroom, and projects that my studnets complete. This website would be open for everyone to see.
Take Action: I will need to set up time with my IT to teach me how to create my own website. I will also contact some of my fellow cohorts who have already created websites for their classrooms.
Monitor: In order to monitor my progress I will first set aside specific dates on my email calender to keep me on schedule. Scheduling dates to follow will help me stay focused and on track.
Evaluate and Extend: Once I have completed my website I would like to be able to communicate with students, peers, parents, and the community within my site. I think the studnets will be very excited to see what other people think about their projects that they have created. I really hope that the creation of my own website will foster my communication between me and the parents of my students.
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