Carrying out GAME plan

In my reflection and responses on my last blog about the NETS-T standards, I have noticed that there are several things I can do to reach my goals of engaging my students and enriching the learning environment. It seems that a resource I can turn to is having students do their own blog or having a classroom blog! This would give students the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions for all to see and they could reflect on one anothers comments (very much like we do now!) It would be important for me to make sure students had access to a computer on a regular basis if I were to try the blogging idea. However, I could always give students time during class to work on the school computers, so it would not be a huge issue if students did not have daily access.

Another idea for keeping students engaged and being more “active” in their goals, learning and assessment of their progress is through self-reflection. An easy way to monitor student progress is through journaling. The journal is a form of assessment, but also acts as a way for students to reflect on their “day to day activities in the classroom,” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). I can also provide students with the chance to assess their work when a big project is do or another assignment. It seems that if they can take the time to “grade” their work with a rubric they can understand what it is they are missing or what they are succeeding at!

I have always provided students with a rubric before an assignment is due so they can see what they need and do not need. I have taken the steps to make rubrics; I just need to utilize them more to support student reflection and learning.

Resources:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful Classroom use: A standards-based approach (Laureate Education custom edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

Developming my GAME Plan: NETS-T Standards

The two NETS-T standards, found on the International Society for Technology in Education website, that I would like to build up and streghten my confidence with are the following:

1b . Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

2b. 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.

GAME Plan:

Goal: (1b) Allow students to work in collaborative groups and individually to explore real-world issues that will help build their knoweldge of the 21st century learning skills.

Goal (2b) Promote positive learning environments that allow studens to use hands on experience with technology to explore their own goals and push students to take charge of their learning and be actively engaged in the process.


Action (1b) I will need to reach out to my professional community and ask for ideas and suggestions on getting students to work with real world issues. I can attend professional development workshops and build a network between my collegages that will provide open communication between us, sharing what works and what does not. It will also help the students to see me working with real world issues so they can learn from me.

Action (2b) I will need to work more with technology tools and refresh my skills with workshops and using computer tutorials. I will also need to monitor students learning and it would be beneficual to do so through a computer based assessment, (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer 2009).

Monitor (1b) Have students create a journal of reflections based on real world issues using technology. Focus will be on science and technology since that is my content. Students can do a weekly or bi-weekly current events check on any science and technology issues in the news. I can also bring to the students attention news about the topic and have them reflect on it in class.

Monitor (2b) Students can take computer based assessments to help determine student understanding. Make sure students have the proper tools to assess their own learning, possibly through self-reflection or peer-reflection.

Evaluatre and Extend I will need to assess that I have met the standands and goals that I want my students to succeed in. I can do this by making sure I am utilizing technology on a regular basis to help students understand and see the importance of technology in their every day lives. I will also need to continue learning new ways to use technology in the classroom and I can do this by attending workshops, professional development opportunties and asking questions when I need help! Giving students a positive learning environment is my ultimate goal, but giving them a learning environment that can also include technology on a daily basis as well as student engagement is my dream!

Resources
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.

Reflection

As I reflect on my instructional practice I chose in the beginning of this class I can still say that most of what I do goes along with the constructivist theory. I enjoy using group activities to teach information, however I would like to incorporate more technology into the cooperative learning. I truly believe that students can learn a lot through working with one another and with the use of technology. This course has presented so many different forms of technology that I can use in my classroom. The VoiceThread program is definitely something I will be using in my classroom this coming year. It is a great chance to students to share what they know through pictures, websites and other information. Virtual field trips are also a great way for students to learn a lot about a topic without leaving the comfort of the classroom.

Concept mapping with Inspiration and Kidspiration are also a great teaching tool for my classroom. The concept maps get to the main ideas and do not include information that is not necessary; they are more to the point! My students struggle with processing too much information at one time, so to break it down into a concept map is a great way to help students gain the knowledge they need instead of over kill of information.

My long term goals for this coming year will be to use MORE technology as well as use DIFFERENT tools to present information. My days of PowerPoint are over! I love the program, but with so many other options it would be crazy to not at least use them once and a while. I have a SMART board in my classroom and I can do a lot with it. It really is important for students to learn how to use the different technology tools that are available to them. Teachers can increase the use of technology and in turn increase student engagement.

Students have different learning styles and all of the tools we were presented with during this class can touch on so many different ones. They can help the visual and auditory learners. Dr. Orey explains that using pictures instead of words can help increase student understanding. Photostory or VoiceThread can incorporate pictures with talking, which can appeal to the auditory learner. I am very excited to use the programs in class!!

Overall I have gained a lot from this class and have gained a lot of perspective on making my lessons more appealing to all my students. I want to make learning fun for my students and technology gives me a chance to let them get more hands on and active in the classroom. After taking this course I am very excited to start this coming school year so that I can use what I have learned to get my students excited about learning!

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.

Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/.

VoiceThread

Here is the link to my VoiceThread on the enforcement of a school wide uniform!

voicethread.com/share/1261843/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Cooperative learning groups is an easy way to describe the social learning theory. I have found that when students work in groups they really do learn more than I anticipate. I will admit that at first when group work is assigned their needs to be A LOT of structure. Students can get off task and off topic very easily. They need to learn that when they are working in groups there actually needs to be work going on! This can be a difficult task at times. If the information they are learning about does not interest them, then it makes it even more difficult to keep focus. This is where I believe technology comes in! If the integration of technology can keep students engaged and on topic then why would teachers not want to use it?! Bringing in multimedia projects and ideas like Webquests can really spice up a lesson. They encourage students to "focus on using information rather than looking for it.."(Pitler, et al. p. 146). It is so important that students see what they are learning in action and understand why it is they are learning about it. I have used Microsoft Publisher in my classes and the students love that chance to use their creativity to make something! It is so easy for them to follow and a great opportunity for group work as well.

Other ideas for students to use that go along with connectivisim are the social networking sites and web pages. Things like Skype give everyone a chance to connect to people around the world. It is a chance to collaborate and communicate with one another in a quick, easy way. Of course, this cannot be done with all age groups so I would say that the age level of students would need to be looked at before using the program. It would be great to use it in the classroom and we are trying this out during the school year to see how it works! I hope that it is effective in collaborating with other teachers and students across our district.

Overall, students NEED to socialize throughout the school day. When teachers use group work in the classroom it gives them a chance to communicate with their peers and share what they know. Yes, if they are off topic they need a teacher (the facilitator) to help get them back on track, but keeping them engaged with fun lessons and group assignments will hopefully hold their interest!


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

Constructivism in Practice

After reading and listening to this week’s resources I found myself drawn to a lot of the information because it really related to my content area, Science. When I see the word “hypotheses” I automatically think of it as a Science term. However, students are making hypotheses daily, no matter what content area they are in and they are drawing conclusions based on their ideas/opinions. Regardless of the subject matter, “when students generate and test hypotheses, they are engaged in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the concept,” (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 202). The goal is that students are actively involved in their learning and what better way to do that then to get them thinking and hypothesizing! Data collection goes along hand in hand with the idea of hypothesizing because they need to be able to draw conclusions and to do that they have to have evidence. Data collection tools and spreadsheet software mentioned in this week’s resources are great tools to help students get involved in the learning process. I use data collections frequently in my classroom and as we continue to get more and more technology available to us the more I can have the students use it. We have several computers for student use and I can begin to incorporate the digital spreadsheets like Excel into my class. A lot of my students use the Excel program when they are working on their science fair projects. Those projects are student centered and they are in charge of what they are actually learning from the project. If they do not gather the data, make a hypothesis, record their data, draw and analyze what they discovered then the entire science fair project is a failure. They are responsible for being an active learner.

Students are very capable of using technology in their every day life so incorporating it into the classroom will get students engaged in what they are learning about. Since the main focus of the constructionist learning theory is getting the students involved in their learning and “constructing things”. In “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” the use of data collection tools seem to be very resourceful for students and teachers. “Using data collection tools enables students to see the bigger picture and recognize patterns,” (p. 210.) Again, since I teach science I use data collection often and I can really see students making connections when we are working on an activity and then they can compare the data they collected with other students. They can see that things do not just happen for a reason, that there is logic behind it, and they do see the “bigger picture”.

Another program that is mentioned in the text is, Smog City. This website is a great tool for students when teaching about the effects of pollution and how it effects our environment. Students actually “construct” the “parameters” for the city and can see what the results of their actions are. It is a quick and simple tool for them to play around with all while learning. They are getting involved in what they learning about because they get to decide what happens with this fun and creative website.

If I want to continue to promote a positive and fun learning environment for my students I have to make sure that I am keeping them engaged. I can do this by bringing technology into the classroom like the data processing programs and website mentioned in our resources this week. When students can see the importance of what they are learning and they can get more involved then they will want to succeed!

Resources:

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.Retrieved July 19, 2010 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/.

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

Cognitivism in Practice

The cognitive learning theory focuses a lot on information processing that takes place in the brain. Dr. Michael Orey discusses how there are the three stages of processing which starts with receiving the information, then transferring to short term memory and eventually falling into the long-term memory. As a teacher, finding the best ways to present the information is going to benefit the students in the long run. While reading through this week’s resources about “cues, questions, and advanced organizers” I realized that there are better ways for me to approach teaching a new topic to my students. It is important for me to focus on what ways I can help my students better process information. For example, the advanced organizers like “Kidspiration” and “Inspiration”, mentioned in “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” (2007) can be used to introduce topics, brainstorm ideas and organize their thoughts. These kinds of programs offer students the chance to “focus on the essential concepts and themes that will prepare them to learn” (p. 76). They give all the main ideas and topics that will be covered in a short, easy to read and follow map. Using the graphic organizer digitally “allows learners to add and organized information as it is being introduced” (p.79). I like this idea because it gives them the chance to put ideas together and see how what they are learning about is all connected. The graphic organizer also serves as a visual aid for students to have in front of them instead of just hearing what is being taught, which a main focus of cognitive learning is verbal and visual learning.

When dealing with “note-taking” and “summarizing” and the cognitive learning theory it is important to keep what is being taught manageable for the learner. Students cannot process too many ideas at one time, so giving students “teacher-prepared notes” will help keep students on track and more organized with the topic as it is being taught. I often use PowerPoint when giving notes and I will give students a summary page at the beginning of the unit to go over what will be covered in the notes for the day. I leave space under each headliner where they can fill in information. However, I really like the idea of using “Inspiration” and making a template for each student to use while the notes are taking place. They can follow along while we are discussing and fill in the sections that are relevant to the topic. Incorporating this type of digital note-taking will keep students engaged and in my opinion interested because they will be using computers and graphic organizers in a fun way. They can be creative with their graphic organizer and make things like vocabulary words stand out by adding shapes and figures. The “Inspiration” and “Kidspiration” programs will give students a chance to learn in a creative and functional way.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Cognitive Learning Theories. (Motion Picture)

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