Refection Week 8

As the result of my interactions that have occurred as a part of this course, I have come to a number of conclusions. First and foremost, I understand that today's students are living in a world of whatever, wherever, and whenever. As educators, we are negligent if we fail to acknowledge this truth and expose our students to the use of the tools that provide a foundation for their using technology in the future. That said, I am also aware that during this time of financial crisis, technology is an area that administrators and school boards are cutting. I find this to be alarming. I believe that we are challenged to provide students experiences to collaborate, problem-solve, and present findings by using technology to do so. I also believe that as educators we must not only engage our students in the use of technology, but we must also educate parents and community members on the need for students to have these experiences. I cannot suggest where much-needed funding cuts will need to come from, but I can present good cause for technology funding to at least remain untouched., realizing that in many cases schools are already unbelievably behind.

A part of my game plane involved providing mentoring to my colleagues. I have found this to be very challenging. I have used what I consider to be very “user-friendly” tools such as iMovie and MovieMaker, and I feel confident in providing training to my peers. However, in most cases, I do not find interested teachers. They are unwilling to spend the time it takes to learn to really use the software and are even more unwilling to create a classroom environment that supports student use of these tools. I have, however, found that by taking a few steps back and using tools that are equipped with their own software Flip Video Cameras and Logitech Web Cams-that I can get teachers to at least try the technology. My regret is that their use of these tools seems to occur in isolated events. The teachers are simply not committed to making technology a part of their instructional methodologies. I plan to continue increased use of these tools in my classroom, though, and hope that as the teachers see what I am doing that they will ask questions or seek to use these tools as well.

The assignments that I have encountered during this course have helped me to better design lesson plans that are driven by standards as well as to the use of technology. I realize that as passionate as I am about the use of technology, I must support standards by using these tools. I have grown in my ability to plan more valuable learning experiences for my students. In particular, readings related to digital storytelling have strengthened my approach to writing instruction. Before this course, I had read articles related to storytelling as well as those related to using software and even hardware. However, I had not read a lot about how the two could be blended to create strong learning experiences for my students. My readings in this course have allowed me to see how my students can gain power by using digital media to strengthen their stories. It has also made me aware of a number of free digital tools that I can use to support my efforts. I feel that this is valuable as it is my goal to improve my own instructional practices as I become aware of new strategies through my graduate studies.

week 7

I plan to use my GAME plan with my students to help them develop proficiency in the technology standards through a number of strategies. I believe that students will learn to use the various technological tools available to them on an “as needed” basis. For that reason, I plan to provide opportunities for my students to collaborate to engage in problem-solving. I also plan to ask students to share their findings and conclusions creatively. I will introduce two or three technologies and allow students to select the technology that provides the best opportunity for them to share their ideas.

As students gain confidence in using technological tools, I plan to introduce various resources to them. These will include, but not be limited to accessing free audio files, locating free graphics for use in presentations, and web 2.0 tools that can be used to “tell stories.” However, because my students are very young, I will outline my growth plan for the students. With each project, I will provide opportunities for the students to grow their skills. In doing so, I will consider the NETS-S standards to ensure that my students are moving to master these. I believe that my responsibilities here are similar to those in other curriculum areas. I will develop the GAME plan and lead my students through this plan. I plan to communicate my plan to parents and students.

week 6

As I work towards reaching my goals as they relate to technology integration, I have become aware of a number of challenges. I have also become aware of a plethora of web 2.0 tools that can support learning. My greatest challenge is having the opportunity to use these tools in the classroom. I find it very frustrating, at times, that I am unable to access tools that I feel would benefit my students. I am continuing my quest to find tools that allow me to design activities to address specific standards by engaging my students in “real world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources,” an ISTE standard. This often presents a major hurdle.

A very large component of my Game Plan involves participating in professional development. This meets the goal that calls on teachers to continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in the school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Towards this end, I have attended numerous training sessions and one state-level conference. I will attend my next conference March 3-5 in Raleigh, North Carolina. I am also mentoring 7 other teachers in the use of technology as a tool for engaging students in a safety and mobility curriculum. This process is on-going as I provide both remediation for my peers as well as participate in trainings myself. As a relatively new college graduate, I realize that my awareness of the use of technology still leaves room for growth. I am committed to using these tools as I realize that my students will live in a global world.

week 5

A key component to the success of my GAME plan is professional development. I recently registered for the NCTIES to be held during March, in Raleigh, North Carolina. I have discovered that keynote speakers for the event have information posted on the conference site and their blogs present many useful “how to” documents as well as videos, powerpoints, and tutorials. One such presenter is Mr. Clif Mims. His site, Learning Telecollaboratively, offers content that could literally take weeks to digest. One of the tools employed by this site is Slide Share. This tool allows me to download information I find. Then, I can refer to it later. For instance, one presentation that I found to be particularly interesting was one related to uses of the Flip camera in the classroom. There were sample projects and ideas for integrating this simple tool into classroom instruction.

I now have access to a number of technological tools. However I do realize that I need to continue growing my ability to use these tools to create learning experiences for my students. Organizing my instructional time to fully engage my students while ensuring that objectives are being met continues to be my greatest challenge. However, the resources I am discovering on line are definitely helpful to me.

Another question I have relates to creating lesson plans in a format that is acceptable to my schools administration. We are asked to submit lesson plans by grade level for review. The format for these plans is in the form of a template. Interestingly, working to have my inquiry lessons “fit” into this format is a challenge that I am presently experiencing. It seems that I am working to make my technology fit into an analog device (the template).