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).

Week 4

My game plan called for ongoing professional development that would facilitate my growth as a teacher of writing as well as a teacher who is integrating technology as an instructional tool. I have had many opportunities to grow my skills in the area of technology integration this year. I have become aware of a plethora of web 2.0 tools. I have also added some tools that have included a web cam and Flip video camera for capturing student projects and sharing these on line. As I continue to grow my skills I will continue to seek professional development trainings related to writing instruction. I feel that my students are excited and motivated to write, but I also realize that I need to grow their skills as writers. This is an area that continues to challenge me. I feel that this is due in part, to the fact that I witness skill growth in my students, but I realize that my students still have miles to go before their skills can be considered proficient on state-mandated tests.

Week 3

To carry out my GAME plan I will continue working to integrate the web 2.0 tools I learned about at the use the SC EdTech conference this past fall. I will be attending the NC state technology conference in the spring to gather more resources. I have also come to the realization that there are a number of instructional videos available on You Tube that provide tutorials for using many of the new tools I have learned about. I plan to continue “practicing” so that I can use the new technologies I learned about in the Fall as well as those I hope to learn about in March. I will also gather new information from my fellow classmates in this masters class. Additional information needed with the be actual experiences I have while practicing my GAME plan.
I realize that I need to continue growing my skills as a writing teacher so that I can fully use technology to support my students in their writing activities. As I develop new strategies for writing instruction, I also realize that I need to provide my students more opportunities to collaborate…to problem-solve. Ideally, I would like to observe master teachers who are successfully teaching writing and who are engaging their students in collaborative projects.
Steps I have taken so far to reach my GAME plan include: reading fellow students’ game plans to gather new ideas. As my masters program progresses, I am becoming increasingly aware of strategies to fully integrate technology as an instructional tool. I have gained insight from reviewing posts from other students as well as by conference attendance. I find that as I read and attend professional development opportunities, I am able to really “know what I am looking for.” I have also been afforded opportunities to share the ideas I am gathering with other teachers in my school both in whole-faculty meetings and in small groups. I am currently mentoring a group of 8 other teachers in the use of some of the tools I have discovered this year. All of these activities are furthering my “GAME” plan.

Application 2

As our county moves forward to address the ISTE’s Educational Technology
Standards for Students, I plan to make addressing the areas of “Communication
and Collaboration” and “Creativity and Innovation” a part of my “game
plan.” I feel that I have an
awareness of the use of many of the tools that will provide my students with 21st
Century learning opportunities, but I realize that I need to work to better
utilize these tools both to provide instruction as well as to engage my
students in the learning process.

As a relatively young teacher, I am working to grow my skills as a
writing teacher. As I grow my
skills in providing individual instruction, I realize that students need
opportunities to collaborate as well.
This is an area that I continue to work to improve upon. Classroom management is a concern for
me in this area as is assessing student progress. I find it hard to evaluate student growth when students
collaborate on projects. I realize
the need to provide varied organizational plans when engaging students in the
writing process, but find it difficult when one contributing partner of a
collaborative experience appears to be “driving” the project.

Promoting Creativity and Innovation is a challenge that I believe I
already address. I feel that I
engage my students in the creation of variety of products and allow them
multiple opportunities to share their ideas via podcasts, videos, and other
digital products. However, I
realize that my efforts often dead end as the teachers that follow me do not
use these tools. For that reason,
I have sought opportunities to engage the teachers at my school in trainings
that will allow them to learn to use some of the tools I have available and am
willing to share. I am also in
hopes that the administrators at my school will find it appropriate to purchase
some of these tools to support learning, too. Following some of the trainings that I have helped to set
up, I have made myself available to provide support to teachers. I have found that most have an interest
in using the tools that are available, but they are afraid to try as they are
unfamiliar with these tools. I
realize that my interest in using technology carries with it some
responsibilities to stay current on the trends and tools being used in
education. This is a challenge
that I am willing to accept.
Recently, I attended a state technology conference so that I could gain
insight into the educational trends related to technology.

Reflection

The digital era has changed the way educators view their roles. It has also changed the way students view learning. I believe that this change will enhance learning and strengthen student motivation. I have come to the realization that though my own learning experiences in the past were driven by teachers who were committed to helping each student develop his/her communication skills, most of my teachers could best be described as cheerleaders. A realization I have had as the result of this course is that it is my challenge to become a facilitator of learning. If I can achieve this goal, I will have opened my students to a world of life-long learning. I will also have afforded them resources and an audience that extends well beyond the walls of our small, rural school.

I have come to the realization that, without a doubt, my role is significant if my students are to learn about, with, and from technology. I must develop a constructivist approach if effective learning is going to take place. Structuring learning activities that meet state standards, develop literacy skills, and allow for inquiry to occur will require increasingly large amounts of planning on my part. I must construct learning experiences that allow my students to engage in Problem-Based Learning. In other words, my students must learn to identify problems, ask their own questions, research answers, report results, and create a state in their own learning. I believe in this challenge whole-heartedly. However, I also realize that managing planning time, scheduling time for students to be engaged in the tasks I’ve outlined, managing classroom behavior, and evaluating student growth and performance are all concerns that I will face.

I have previously attended a 3-day workshop taught by PBL expert, Hiliary Davis. I have also worked with a safety and mobility program that engages students in the use of PBL to address their safety as passengers, as pedestrians, and when they are in charge of the wheel. However, in its current state, this curriculum does not call upon students to engage in a research component. I have had very little experience developing strategies for engaging my third grade students in research. I realize that I need to pursue additional professional development so that I can introduce my students to the sound research practices. I realize that I need some additional training in the use of wikis, virtual field trips, and other collaborative tools. I am presently participating in an educational technology professional development plan that will last throughout the 2010 school year. I have submitted a request to receive instruction in the areas I have mentioned, and I look forward to first learning to use these tools myself, and then to using the tools with my students.

I realize that it is not enough to recognize the need for using technology to address literacy, I must identify the tools available and learn to use these myself. As I participate in professional development during the current school year, I plan to establish a wiki for sharing ideas related to the safety program I mentioned with a school in Northern Ireland. My students will post writings and pose questions to their distant learning partners. As the year progresses, I hope to involve my students in some simple collaborative projects using wikis. In this manner, I can practice my skills and introduce my students to new technologies at the same time. In time, I plan to use more of the collaborative tools available on line. A good summary of my plan forward is that I am committing to being a lifelong learner myself. I plan to continually seek technologies that will engage and empower my students. I am hopeful that my open attitude will benefit my students and my own professional development.