Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

The following questions help me monitor my GAME plan progress:

• Am I finding the information and resources I need?
• Do I need to modify my action plan?
• What have I learned so far?
• What new questions have arisen?

It seems that I am always finding new information and resources to help reach my goals. Some of the resources I mentioned earlier have produced a lot of material I can use in my Math lessons. In addition, as I talk about this plan with my fellow teachers, they have provided some great feedback and additional ideas. We often discuss how difficult it is to keep a class of middle school students interested and engaged for 90 minutes each day. Making the lessons more relevant by providing more real-life applications is crucial to student motivation, but it is hard work! While some applications seem so obvious to me, my students do not share the same set of background knowledge that I have, so it is not obvious to them. Although I was once a teenager...and I raised two of them...it is not always easy to understand what is important to them. That's why I am asking them for much more feedback now. Their ideas and thoughts are definitely one of my best resources. I just wish I had tapped into that much sooner. As I mentioned in a previous post, when you first ask them for their opinions, they will give all kinds of off-the-wall answers. However, once they see that you are not only listening to, but actually implementing some of their ideas, they take it more seriously.

While my goals remain the same, I have made an important modification. To begin with, the projects will be of shorter duration. I believe nine weeks is the maximum amount of time to cover, rather than a semester. In the early stages, I am starting with Chapter projects. As I develop the units and learn from the experiences, I hope to eventually link several Chapters together into a single project.

To date, I have learned that implementing my goals will take much more time and preparation than if I just continue to do things the same way. I expected that, but I might have underestimated just a little! However, I remain focused on the idea that once the outside 'prep' work is done, the students will actually be doing more work in the classroom than I will.

Progress is usually accompanied by more questions. Some are not unexpected:

• Will I be able to access the technology I need each time a new unit or project is started?
• Will I be able to make adequate progress on these goals and still meet content requirements in the same time frame?

More difficult ones to answer are:

• Will these changes produce measurable results?
• Is the additional preparation time worth the potential benefit?

As I continue to work on these goals, I am sure that more surprises await me!

Reviewing the GAME Plan

In reviewing my GAME plan, I considered the following questions:

· What resources do I need to carry out my plan?
· What additional information do I need?
· What steps have I been able to take so far?

To carry out my plan, I need an abundance of resources. I will search the Internet, consult my fellow teachers and Walden colleagues, take full advantage of my professional memberships, and use my personal contacts outside of the education field.

From these resources, I need information on real-world applications, tested unit or project plans, pitfalls to avoid and, particularly, more efficient methods of searching. There is so much information available that I simply do not have time to sort through all of it. By talking to educators who have successfully implemented the same or similar goals, I hope to be able to find what I need more quickly than if I tried to do it on my own.

To date, I have already received new resources from our media specialist. Since she has already tested these technology options, she can tell me what to do, as well as what to NOT do. I have also learned about some outstanding resources through Week 2's discussion. I am constantly searching the Internet and various media sources for current and relevant applications for my content standards. In addition, I am asking my students more about what their ideas are for making the lessons more engaging and more relevant to their lives. Initially, they gave expected answers such as "let us listen to our Ipods during tests" or "less homework". The first request is out of my hands and the second is negotiable, depending on how much effort they put into their class work. However, as they have started to understand that I seriously need their input, they are taking more time to consider how to improve our class without making the entire period "free time".

Hopefully, with the help of all of these resources, I will begin to see some measurable progress towards achieving my goals.

My Technology GAME Plan

Walden EDUC6713 Integrating Technology Across the Content Area (Week 2 Application)

As I reviewed the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers, I could see where I need improvement in every indicator. For this GAME plan (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009), I chose the following standards and indicators:

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:

b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:

b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.

My plan is as follows:

G – Set Goals

1. In almost every Math class, someone will ask “when will I ever need this again?” It is not always easy to come up with a concrete, real-world application for every skill or concept. My goal is to do a better job of seeking out these applications and creating authentic learning experiences using the available technology.

2. By integrating more digital tools and resources into my lessons, I hope to provide a learning environment in which each student can explore the concept through their various interests and choose to complete an assessment based on their preferred learning style.

A – Actions to Achieve These Goals

1. For each unit, I will review resources from various sources to find relevant real-world applications and authentic assessments. These resources include, but are not limited to, fellow teachers, curriculum materials, internet research, professional organizations such as NCTM and PBS, current events, and the students themselves.

2. I will begin to reconstruct unit plans to place more emphasis on student-centered learning. By shifting to activities that focus on exploration and discovery rather than instruction and practice, the students will be more responsible for their own learning. A concept that I have been toying with is the idea of a semester-long project. Rather than teaching each lesson from the textbook, I believe it is possible to cover every Math standard within a single project if it is planned well. Possible projects might be starting and developing a small business or simply earning, budgeting, saving, and investing money. If the students are engaged in the project, they will learn the content without getting bogged down in doing pages of practice problems every week. That may be a difficult goal to accomplish, but I definitely think it is worth spending more time to research.

M – Monitoring Progress

1. It will be fairly easy to monitor my progress in reaching the first goal. With middle school students, it doesn’t take very long to know if a real-life application is actually “real” to them. It is the same with creating authentic assessments. If a student feels like an assessment is a waste of their time, then it is not authentic to them. While monitoring will be fairly easy, achieving the goal will be more difficult.

2. While I believe I have done a fairly good job of integrating technology, we have not yet reached an environment in which all students can pursue their individual interests in each unit. To monitor my progress in having the students set their own educational goals and manage their own learning, I believe the best indicator will be workload. When the students are doing more work in the classroom than I am, there will be progress!

E – Evaluating and Extending My Learning

1. While I am engaging the students and creating authentic assessments, I must be sure that they are learning the content and standards that are required by the state. To do this, I will ask my co-teachers to review my lesson plans and observe when possible. It always helps to have the opinions of others when doing a thorough evaluation. Having a completely-engaged class is not enough if they are not acquiring the knowledge they need to be successful in the next grade and in life.

2. To evaluate whether I have created a learning environment in which all students can pursue their individual interests, I need feedback from the students. I will let them know that I am interested in their opinions and open to any questions or suggestions they may have. To be sure they are setting appropriate goals and managing their own learning, I will hold individual conferences with them to review and evaluate their own progress. At the beginning, these conferences will need to be frequent. As they adapt to this method of learning, conferences may be held less often, along with weekly reviews of their documented work.


I am looking forward to reading your comments and suggestions on my proposed GAME plan.

A Reflection on Information Literacy in the 21st Century

Probably the most striking revelation I had as a result of Walden's "Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom" (EDUC6712) is that what I thought I knew about my student's internet searching skills was outdated. As digital natives, my students have more experience "Googling" than many teachers do. However, experience doesn't always lead to efficient online research. After all, most students simply put a few key words into the search bar and then view only the first few hits in the results list. As anyone who has ever used a search engine knows, there is more to finding relevant information than entering one or two words. Even domain names, such as '.org' or '.edu', can provide many clues to the accuracy of the online information. With the tremendous expansion of the Internet and the open accessibility, our students are exposed to much more misinformation and personal opinion than to accurate and beneficial content.

Through this course, I have learned that my students need to be taught the QUEST process of questioning, understanding resources, evaluating, synthesizing, and transforming (Eagerton & Dobler, 2007). By practicing the skills required for each step of the QUEST process, my students will learn to conduct efficient searches, find accurate information on dependable sites, assess and integrate information from various sources, and present their findings in a clear and concise manner.

As a result, one of my professional development goals will be to study the QUEST process further. Eventually, I hope to fully integrate this process into all of our problem-solving activities in the classroom. My goal is to immerse my students in the processes of asking essential questions, finding reliable resources, evaluating and combining information from different sources, and transforming it into a clear and concise presentation. With these skills, they will be better prepared to be productive citizens of the 21st Century.



References

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Final Reflection

As I reviewed my “Personal Theory of Learning”, I realized that it has not really changed throughout this course. I still believe that a student’s personal experiences and environment influence how new concepts are interpreted and applied. I will continue to consider multiple intelligences and learning styles as I plan and implement lessons. Technology makes differentiation easier and also provides a greater variety of assessment methods than the traditional paper and pencil work. Each year of experience increases my understanding of how my students think and learn. As I become more adept at identifying the differences in my students, I will be able to modify the lessons so that each student has the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the content.

This course has also helped me understand the differences between using technology as an instructional tool and using technology as a learning tool. I try to avoid treating my Promethean board as a glorified overhead projector. However, I could do a much better job of creating interactive, student-centered lessons and activities that will utilize the full functionality of this tool. One of the new technology tools that I have used in this course is VoiceThread. Since one of my goals is to give my students more opportunities to experience the “outside” world, VoiceThread could be the right tool for the job. District guidelines on instant messaging and time zone differences make it almost impossible to provide live communication with students in distant places. VoiceThread would provide that audio/visual contact without requiring a live connection. To connect with students in another state or country, I have also set up a class profile on ePals. This site provides the ability to collaborate with students around the world. Together, these two tools will allow my students to connect, communicate, and collaborate with students they would otherwise never meet. These interactions will help them grow as citizens of a global community. These tools will also make implementing a collaborative online project much easier!

Finally, the two long-term goals I have set regarding technology integration in the classroom are as follows: 1) Increase my students' media literacy and 2) focus more on student-centered activities, so that I use technology for learning, instead of just instruction.

"Media literacy is the ability to sift through and analyze the messages that inform, entertain and sell to us every day. It's the ability to bring critical thinking skills to bear on all media— from music videos and Web environments to product placement in films and virtual displays on NHL hockey boards. It's about asking pertinent questions about what's there, and noticing what's not there. And it's the instinct to question what lies behind media productions— the motives, the money, the values and the ownership— and to be aware of how these factors influence content. Media education encourages a probing approach to the world of media: Who is this message intended for? Who wants to reach this audience, and why? From whose perspective is this story told? Whose voices are heard, and whose are absent? What strategies does this message use to get my attention and make me feel included? In our world of multi-tasking, commercialism, globalization and interactivity, media education isn't about having the right answers—it's about asking the right questions. The result is lifelong empowerment of the learner and citizen."

(Source: Jane Tallim, Education Specialist, The Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario)

Secondly, by creating more student-centered activities, technology becomes a learning tool, rather than just an instructional tool. As students take more responsibility for their own learning, they also develop a deeper sense of ownership of the educational process. When learning is real, relevant, and engaging, students find more worth in completing assignments and accomplishing goals. Without their "buy-in", we are just spinning our wheels in the classroom.

Voice Thread

Check out my first voice thread. This is a completely new technology for me, but I can definitely see the possibilities it offers.

http://voicethread.com/share/529657/

Social Learning

Our school is in a small, rural community in South Carolina. Our student population is fairly homogeneous. With limited resources, many of our students rarely travel far from home. Opportunities to meet and learn from students in other states and other countries are virtually nonexistent. However, the Internet provides a way to create these opportunities...virtually. In my personal mission statement, I acknowledge my responsibility to help my students become responsible, ethical citizens of their school, their community, and their world. One way to accomplish that is to provide opportunities to participate in distance learning with students around the world.

Web resources are a wonderful addition to the instructional tools available to teachers today. Our text lists resources such as webquests, wikis, email pen pals, and collaborative organizing through calendar services (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K, 2007). This week, I was notified that a cooperative learning project I proposed has been funded. In this project, my students will investigate issues related to the availability of clean, safe drinking water. As they research and test local water sources, I would like for them to collaborate on this project with students in a distant location. Our text mentioned email pen pal services as a way to make the necessary contacts. Another resource that is highly recommended is the Flat Classroom Project (http://www.flatclassroomproject.org/ ).

Cooperative learning projects are an important part of our curriculum, yet the opportunities for exposure to new or different ideas are limited. My hope is that virtual collaborative projects such as this will make global issues more real and relevant to students who have little knowledge of the world outside of their county or state. Social learning will then be a much more powerful experience for these students.


Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.