My GAME plan is progressing nicely and both my students and I are making progress. The main focus of my GAME plan is to designing digital learning experiences while promoting digital responsibility. The foundation of my plan is based on my interest to use of social forms of technology in the classroom. So far I have create an Edmodo group for each of my classes and students have completed several assignments online. In order to gather information on my students and their technology usage, students has completed both a technology data sheet and a technology survey. Thanks to the wonderful suggestions of my classmates I was able to conduct this information quickly by using the online service of www.surverymonkey.com . The purpose of this was to estimate how many students have access to technology outside of class and what forms of technology students are interested in using. The good news is that the majority of my students have access to technology outside of school and show interest in collaborating with their classmates online which encourages me to move forward with my plan.
I do believe that in order for my GAME plan to be truly effective a slight modification needs to be made. In my opinion Edmodo is a great social education site to use with students. My students are communicating with me online outside of school and making great academic progress. However, I need to modify my lessons and activities where students communicate with each other. My desire is that students will become self-directed learners by using Edmodo to learn from and with their classmates (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). I am currently working on creating discussion assignments similar to our discussion board assignments where students have to respond to a post and their classmates post. This will not only create classroom communication but critical thinking skills as well. These types of assignments would create a digital community and further the integration of technology by requiring students to conduct research and develop thought out responses to the content being taught (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009). The feedback students receive from their classmates will promote collaboration, communication, and perhaps more questions and research which in turn promotes effective learning.
So far I have learned that my students like Edmodo and are currently using Edmodo in several of their other classes. I also have learned how to grant parents access to Edmodo so they can view the assignments and the grades of their child. I have found that this is home and school collaboration is a great advantage to my GAME plan because parents will check their child grades and ensure that their classwork is completed before their child using the computer and Internet for “social reasons”. I have questions about what other forms of “social” technology I can use with my students. I also have questions about how my colleagues and I can collaborate with our students through the use of Edmodo. I am constantly promoting collaboration in my classroom but I think it would be interesting to create a cross-curriculum project for students to complete.
I am excited about my ideas and the progress I am making on my plan. It is obvious that I have some planning, designing, and collaborating with my colleges to complete. I would love to start this project soon. Any suggestions, advice, or feedback from my classmates would be greatly appreciated.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
L. Yancey
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Carrying Out Your GAME Plan
The main focus of my GAME plan is to design digital learning experiences while promoting digital responsibility. I am attempting to carry out my plan through the use of social forms of technology in the classroom. What I have noticed is that students have a wide variety of technology available to them but this technology is only being used for their personal reasons. I believe that students can use social forms of technology on an academic level to achieve learning goals. If I can take a social form of technology and transform it into a digital learning community where students are collaborating and communicating then this can enrich my classroom and the learning experience of my students.
In order to ensure that my plan is carried out effectively I need to conduct research and gather resources. One resource I will need is Edmodo and the instructional materials on how to start and use this site. Edmodo is a great instructional tool to use because it combines the social elements of Facebook with the academic characteristic of posting content as well as viewing and posting assessments. The website is also a great way to enrich a lesson by having student interact with the content without having technology as the main focus of the lesson (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). I have discovered that this website has a wide variety of introduction materials for teachers to use including ways to introduce and explain Edmodo to your students and their parents. A second resource I will need in the support and feedback of my colleagues. As we know our colleagues can offer use support and guidance on how to improve our instructional strategies. Our colleagues are great resources to use because they share the same problems and concerns and are also looking for ways to positively impact student learning. Although I have research Edmodo and am comfortable with using it, I have a few Edmodo who have used Edmodo longer than I have and I am sure that can provide me with ideas, tips, and successful of how I can benefit fully from using Edmodo with my students.
A second item that must be taken into consideration in order to execute my GAME plan is information on my students. I understand that each one of my students learn differently, however I will need information on what their learning styles are in order to incorporate the technology tools that will address their learning styles effectively (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). The biggest advantage of using technology is that it can be used to present information in various forms in order to meet the learning needs of all students. The second piece of information I will gather is the amount of technology students have available to them. If the majority of my students have access to technology outside of school then I have the freedom to design activities where students can collaborate and conduct research outside of the classroom. However, for students who may not have this access I can adjust my lesson plan and class time to still accomplish the goal of students researching and collaborating with each other.
I began executing my GAME plan this summer by attending a workshop on social forms of technology in the classroom. During this workshop, the presenter discussed several ways that teachers could collaborate with students and colleagues while ensuring that we all understood the district acceptable use policy when it comes to technology. I made sure I reintegrate these guidelines with my students by having them and their parents sign an acceptable use policy for using the computers in my classroom. I also talked to several colleagues who use Edmodo and I am currently using Edmodo with my students. I believe these steps are helping me fulfill by plan by creating a digital community both inside and outside my classroom where students can collaborate and communicate with each other while still being social responsible and safe online.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
In order to ensure that my plan is carried out effectively I need to conduct research and gather resources. One resource I will need is Edmodo and the instructional materials on how to start and use this site. Edmodo is a great instructional tool to use because it combines the social elements of Facebook with the academic characteristic of posting content as well as viewing and posting assessments. The website is also a great way to enrich a lesson by having student interact with the content without having technology as the main focus of the lesson (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). I have discovered that this website has a wide variety of introduction materials for teachers to use including ways to introduce and explain Edmodo to your students and their parents. A second resource I will need in the support and feedback of my colleagues. As we know our colleagues can offer use support and guidance on how to improve our instructional strategies. Our colleagues are great resources to use because they share the same problems and concerns and are also looking for ways to positively impact student learning. Although I have research Edmodo and am comfortable with using it, I have a few Edmodo who have used Edmodo longer than I have and I am sure that can provide me with ideas, tips, and successful of how I can benefit fully from using Edmodo with my students.
A second item that must be taken into consideration in order to execute my GAME plan is information on my students. I understand that each one of my students learn differently, however I will need information on what their learning styles are in order to incorporate the technology tools that will address their learning styles effectively (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). The biggest advantage of using technology is that it can be used to present information in various forms in order to meet the learning needs of all students. The second piece of information I will gather is the amount of technology students have available to them. If the majority of my students have access to technology outside of school then I have the freedom to design activities where students can collaborate and conduct research outside of the classroom. However, for students who may not have this access I can adjust my lesson plan and class time to still accomplish the goal of students researching and collaborating with each other.
I began executing my GAME plan this summer by attending a workshop on social forms of technology in the classroom. During this workshop, the presenter discussed several ways that teachers could collaborate with students and colleagues while ensuring that we all understood the district acceptable use policy when it comes to technology. I made sure I reintegrate these guidelines with my students by having them and their parents sign an acceptable use policy for using the computers in my classroom. I also talked to several colleagues who use Edmodo and I am currently using Edmodo with my students. I believe these steps are helping me fulfill by plan by creating a digital community both inside and outside my classroom where students can collaborate and communicate with each other while still being social responsible and safe online.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Personal GAME Plan
As a teacher it is my goal to be a continuous learner. This is also a goal I have for my students. In order to accomplish this goal I need to model this behavior for my students. Therefore, it is my responsibility to learn, study, and research effective instructional strategies that will benefit my classroom. It is important that I follow the same learning strategies that I teach to my students because with the increase use and changes in technology the learning environment is also changing. This is an important factor in learning how to be a self-directed learner. It is important for teachers to practice professional development on the integration of technology in order to help students achieve their academic goals. The ISTE National Education Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers provide teachers with an evaluation system on their own technology inclusion. I use these standards as a resource to provide me with insight on how I can increase the integration of technology in my classroom.
One indicator I would like to focus on is promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility. For a while now it has been my personal professional development goal to incorporate social forms of technology into my instruction. I believe that creating a digital community would help me accomplish this goal. I have discovered that students are aware of the digital and social resources available to them and most students have access to these resources at their fingertips with their smart phones and personal computers. However, most students fail to realize how this technology can be used in an academic setting. I would like to create a digital community both inside and outside my classroom where students can collaborate and communicate with each other and with me.
A second indicator I would like to focus on is designing digital learning experiences and assessments. In today’s society computers and technology are rapidly replacing tasks that we once completed with pen and paper. Therefore I believe it is important that I teach my students how to use technology to create and share a product. In this week’s learning resources, the presenter stated that the integration of technology should be used to enrich a lesson and not become the focus of the lesson (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Technology can be used to enrich a lesson in order to address various learning styles, conduct research, answer questions, and accomplish goals. As a teacher it is my goal to design assessments and meaningful learning experience where students can relate the content to real life. Technology is a useful instructional tool that can help me reach this goal.
In order to accomplish these goals there are several steps I can take. The first is conducting researching on which social forms of media I can use in the classroom that is acceptable to my school’s Internet policy and is accessible to all students. A colleague suggested that I used Edmodo so I have decided to give it a trial run. In fact I am currently using Edmodo in all of my classes. I like using Edmodo because this technology is not only giving me a different way to present the content but it also allow students to internet with the content in their own way, which helps students become self-directed learners (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). I am monitoring my progress by student reaction, assignments, and usage. So far things seem to be going pretty well because students are logging into their accounts from home to finish and submit assignments. Students are also building on their communication skills by asking questions to the class and responding to discussion post.
A second step I can take to accomplish these goals is asking students and colleagues for their input about how to integrate technology into the classroom. If I want to create a digital community then the community around me needs to be involved with how the community is structured. I would like to think of myself as technology savvy, however I do realize that my students are more tech savvy than I and they can teach me a few technology skills. And if they cannot, what better way to promote self-directed learning than to have students learns and teach the class a new technology skills (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). I will monitor my progress based off of the feedback and suggestions I receive from my colleagues. For example, the colleague who suggested the Edmodo site to me has been using this resource for quite some time. I use her advice and previous experience to ensure my students are on the right track when it comes to using this social form of technology successfully.
I believe that I can evaluate my goals and progress by reflecting on teaching and the successful of my students. As a teacher it is my job to reflect on the instructional strategies I use and determine if they meet the learning needs of my students effectively (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009). If students do not learn the content, then I need to review and modify my teaching strategy in order to accomplish this goal. This could also involve me reviewing the GAME plan of my students to see what modifications or changes need to be made to classroom instruction and how information is presented.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
One indicator I would like to focus on is promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility. For a while now it has been my personal professional development goal to incorporate social forms of technology into my instruction. I believe that creating a digital community would help me accomplish this goal. I have discovered that students are aware of the digital and social resources available to them and most students have access to these resources at their fingertips with their smart phones and personal computers. However, most students fail to realize how this technology can be used in an academic setting. I would like to create a digital community both inside and outside my classroom where students can collaborate and communicate with each other and with me.
A second indicator I would like to focus on is designing digital learning experiences and assessments. In today’s society computers and technology are rapidly replacing tasks that we once completed with pen and paper. Therefore I believe it is important that I teach my students how to use technology to create and share a product. In this week’s learning resources, the presenter stated that the integration of technology should be used to enrich a lesson and not become the focus of the lesson (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Technology can be used to enrich a lesson in order to address various learning styles, conduct research, answer questions, and accomplish goals. As a teacher it is my goal to design assessments and meaningful learning experience where students can relate the content to real life. Technology is a useful instructional tool that can help me reach this goal.
In order to accomplish these goals there are several steps I can take. The first is conducting researching on which social forms of media I can use in the classroom that is acceptable to my school’s Internet policy and is accessible to all students. A colleague suggested that I used Edmodo so I have decided to give it a trial run. In fact I am currently using Edmodo in all of my classes. I like using Edmodo because this technology is not only giving me a different way to present the content but it also allow students to internet with the content in their own way, which helps students become self-directed learners (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). I am monitoring my progress by student reaction, assignments, and usage. So far things seem to be going pretty well because students are logging into their accounts from home to finish and submit assignments. Students are also building on their communication skills by asking questions to the class and responding to discussion post.
A second step I can take to accomplish these goals is asking students and colleagues for their input about how to integrate technology into the classroom. If I want to create a digital community then the community around me needs to be involved with how the community is structured. I would like to think of myself as technology savvy, however I do realize that my students are more tech savvy than I and they can teach me a few technology skills. And if they cannot, what better way to promote self-directed learning than to have students learns and teach the class a new technology skills (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). I will monitor my progress based off of the feedback and suggestions I receive from my colleagues. For example, the colleague who suggested the Edmodo site to me has been using this resource for quite some time. I use her advice and previous experience to ensure my students are on the right track when it comes to using this social form of technology successfully.
I believe that I can evaluate my goals and progress by reflecting on teaching and the successful of my students. As a teacher it is my job to reflect on the instructional strategies I use and determine if they meet the learning needs of my students effectively (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009). If students do not learn the content, then I need to review and modify my teaching strategy in order to accomplish this goal. This could also involve me reviewing the GAME plan of my students to see what modifications or changes need to be made to classroom instruction and how information is presented.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
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