Final Reflection

Implementing my GAME plan was rather successful!  I think this was because I was reflective about my students’ performance along the way.  To begin with, I was looking to “apply multiple methods of evaluation to determine students’ appropriate use of technology resources for learning, communication, and productivity: (ISTE, 2008).  My students’ use of our network drive to communicate about their work was extremely successful.  I am glad I made the switch from GoogleDocs to our network drive.  The students could access their work from any device that was connected to the network.   This also allowed more control in how to offer appropriate feedback, since students were still learning how to submit assignments electronically. It became evident how different types of approaches are needed if all my learners are to demonstrate knowledge or proficiency (Coulter, 2008).  The few students who needed support with typing were offered extended time during their Resource Room time to ensure that they too could submit assignments on the network drive.  Now, students are sharing their writing through the network and offering feedback electronically. 

Next, in working with a diverse range of students, I know that they come to us with varying degrees of preparation, prior experience, and support at home and in the community (Coulter, 2008).  To take action in supporting my diverse learners, I have created strategic groups of four where students’ strengths and weaknesses are balanced.  As students collaborated over their science investigations, their groups realized (without my prompting) how essential it was to have every member do their part.  Even though some groups were unable to solve the technological design problems, they were still successful in their ability to engage in collaborative problem-solving. Now, as an extension, each group is creating a wiki to document their learning.  “While technology is not essential to creating authentic, learner-centered instruction, it offers a powerful resource for engaging students in authentic experiences, typically increasing both their motivation and their learning” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).

As I think about future GAME plans for my classroom, I look forward to the many technology tools I will be able to integrate.  For example, digital storytelling can be integrated across the curriculum with ease due to the research, analytical, creative thinking, problem solving, interpersonal, and communication skills required (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).  One lesson I am planning to implement next fall with my students is a digital story about their family ancestry.  I have already spoken with one of my teammates for next year and have agreed that it will be the project we share with parents at Open House.  Another lesson I am currently teaching that includes new technology is the Forces and Motion wiki my students are currently creating.  It has been one of the most challenging projects I have given to my students because it is problem based. .  By incorporating problem based learning into the classroom we allow students to learn content as they also develop higher-order thinking skills (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).  My students have demonstrated collaborative and critical thinking skills during this lesson that I have never seen them use before.  While it has been difficult, I know it will be extremely rewarding!

I have learned so much during this course and am anticipating the many authentic lessons I will be able to design.  Authentic Instruction allows me to teach content standards in ways that engage and support my students’ interests, creativity, and motivation (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).   Authentic instruction will be especially important as next year will be my third year with my students and I want to find interesting ways to engage my students’ creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative skills.

Katie Weichert

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.

Coulter, B. (2008). Bridging the gap with technology. Connect Magazine, 22(2), 14–15.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Monitoring My GAME Plan

As I move through my GAME plan, I am feeling more confident as the students work through the lessons.  I have been revising my GAME plan as I have been implementing it.  For example, we are no longer using Google Docs to store our documents as the district network feels like the first step for my students. I have discovered that my students need to know how to access the network from different operating systems (windows xp vs windows 97…yes they are outdated) so we will be focusing on that after Spring Break. 

The one lingering question I have is in regards to the second part of my GAME plan:  How can I adapt my instruction to fit the needs of my diverse learners so all students can successfully collaborate in creating a wiki?  I am feeling anxious as the time is approaching where my students will be beginning their wikis.  Having never taught a student how to create a wiki I am wondering where to begin.  I know that I want to utilize a “think aloud” as I instruct students on all the elements of a wiki. But I want to show my students the features of a wiki in a different way.  Has anyone taught their students how to create a wiki?

Thanks,

Katie

Carrying Out my GAME Plan

Last week I established two goals to further integrate technology in my classroom.  I focused on the NETS-T standards 4a and 6a to set my goals for my GAME plan (ISTE, 2008).  The next step in my GAME plan is to set steps to take to meet my goals.

First, to support my use of technology as an assessment tool is to use our district’s student network drive as simplified version of “dropbox”.  Originally, my students and I were going to use GoogleDocs but as I reflected on the efficiency of students accessing GoogleDocs versus our already established network, it feels more fluid for students start with the network drive.  Two other reasons to use the network drive are students can easily save any type of file to the drive and others will have the ability to access the saved work when using another school devise. GoogleDocs would be more effective if more of my students had access to computers at home where they could continue their work beyond the classroom walls.

Second, in working with a diverse range of students I know that they come to us with varying degrees of preparation, prior experience, and support at home and in the community (Coulter, 2008).  To take action in supporting my diverse learners, I have created strategic groups of four where students’ strengths and weaknesses are balanced.  Each student has a specific role, which they chose based on their understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses.  My favorite part of the task is that the group cannot be successful unless all four members work together and do their part.  The students are working together to build a wiki based on their investigations of how to construct a vehicle where the energy released from a rubber band can send a vehicle into motion.  Two of my students who struggle with literacy skills are in charge of documenting their groups work through photography.  A student who struggles with fine motors skills in charge of the groups organization and supplies.  My final two students who struggle with critical thinking are paired with students who are great at summarizing and paraphrasing scientific information (knowledge from previous units).  Hopefully, with these strategic placements, the students can focus on building their wikis as a collaborative team and developing their technology skills.

“While technology is not essential to creating authentic, learner-centered instruction, it offers a powerful resource for engaging students in authentic experiences, typically increasing both their motivation and their learning” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).   By taking steps to meet my goals, my GAME plan is developing into a plan that will transform my classroom and support my students’ pathway to becoming self-directed learners.

:) Katie Weichert

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.

Coulter, B. (2008). Bridging the gap with technology. Connect Magazine, 22(2), 14–15

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

GAME Plan

            There are many areas that I want to improve upon in my quest to be a 21^st Century Educator.  When reviewing the NETS-T, I chose two areas to focus on building my confidence: 

IV: Teachers apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies.

            While I feel that I am proficient in integrating technology into my instruction, I know I can improve upon my use of technology as an assessment tool.  Specifically, I will be looking to “apply multiple methods of evaluation to determine students’ appropriate use of technology resources for learning, communication, and productivity: (ISTE, 2008).   I have a tendency to use the same types of assessments for reading and generally the same students are successful from test to test.  Different types of approaches are needed if all my learners are to demonstrate knowledge or proficiency (Coulter, 2008).  My first step in taking action toward using technology as an assessment tool in reading is designing a shared reading task where students respond to an eBook by submitting their response in a document in Google Docs. My goal is start with one electronic assessment in reading every two weeks until it feels natural and I am ready to try another method.  Google Docs will help me keep track of my progress in an organized, digital manner.  

VI: Teachers understand the of technology in PK–12 schools and apply that understanding in practice.

            Giving my students a strong sense of the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology is essential.  In working with a diverse range of students I know that they come to us with varying degrees of preparation, prior experience, and support at home and in the community (Coulter, 2008).   Therefore, I want to focus on applying “technology resources to enable and empower learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities” (ISTE, 2008).  To take action to build my confidence in how to support my diverse learners, I will be doing some research on strategies that work with students of different physical/mental abilities since those are the students who I seem to struggle to support most often.  Whatever strategies or ideas I gain, I will implement immediately in our current science unit to test their effectiveness.  Once I discover strategies that work for each of my five students with different mental/physical abilities, I will see if they work in other subject areas.  I will know that I have met my goal when my five students can transfer critical and creative thinking skills into all technology tasks.  By strengthening my confidence in supporting my diverse learners, I will also be modeling to my other students an ethical issue in using technology.

            By focusing on these two areas of my teaching, I know that I will reach my students in ways that I had previously been unsuccessful in.  As Coulter (p.14)  stated “The kid immersed in creative projects has a career in her future; the one responding to rote entry cues is more likely to be stuck in a lower-level job, if the job hasn’t already gone overseas” (2008).  I want my students to have bright futures and not be stuck because of their lack of creative, technology-infused experiences. 

References:

Coulter, B. (2008). Bridging the gap with technology. Connect Magazine, 22(2), 14–15

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

VoiceThread!

My students finished the VoiceThread and it's ready for comments.  Here's the link: https://voicethread.com/share/3584794/


:) Katie

Final Reflection

             During Week 1 of this course, I reflected on the Learning Theories behind my practice.  Learning Theories have always been an interest of mine as they can be combined to fit the needs of the students and teaching style of the classroom teacher.  Lev Vygotsky is still my favorite theorist because his ideas about the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) fit my instructional style and the needs of my students.  Lev Vygotsky theorized that the ZPD is the distance between a student’s ability to perform a task under adult guidance and/or with peer collaboration and the student’s ability solving the problem independently (Learning Theories, 2012).  According to the Social Theory of Learning, people learn from one another via observation, imitation, and modeling (Learning Theories, 2012).  Learning from a MKO, whether it be from the teacher or a peer, allows different parts of the brain to be activated and connections are made.  When more connections are made, the easier it is for a student to access a memory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). 

            Six weeks ago, I had stated that “Social Learning Theories are the bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory, and motivation” (Learning Theories, 2012).   I am still very confident that my classroom environment is a location where students are able to be hands-on constructivists and shaped by social learning opportunities.  However, I would say that I am now more keenly aware of my learners’ brains and what technology tools fit the theories I know fit my beliefs about how I facilitate learning opportunities.  For example, since learning about concept maps and how they replicate our brains’ networks, I now use two different technology programs to support my students in showing their learning in science and writing (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  Students use Kidspiration on their own and Cacoo in a guided group.  Another standout technology tool was VoiceThread because it compliments my desire for active, social learning opportunities.  It took me a little more time to prepare my learners for a lesson involving VoiceThread but they finally had their first opportunity to collaborate over one this week.  (I will post the thread after my students are ready for me to share it.) 

            Beyond this course, I have been reflecting on how my instruction will be transformed and thus, have created two goals.  First, I want to expand who my students collaborate with.  It is easy for my students to collaborate with each other and other students in our school but I think it is pivotal that my students experience a wide-variety of viewpoints.  I have friends who teach in Chicago, Oregon, and California and it will be easy to start there. However, my hope is to go beyond those classrooms and connect with students overseas.  I am not sure how to find willing teachers but I know I will start with networking with teachers whom I already know have had connections beyond Federal Way at one point.  Secondly, I want to utilize a virtual field trip for every science and social studies unit we study.  I have used one already in our study of ecosystems and my students loved it!  Knowing my curriculum ahead of time and previewing potential sites will be critical to my success.  I have already bookmarked the sites shared in tour courses’ Technology Resources to help me start planning ahead.  I know I will have a difficult time finding many virtual field trips during our study of Washington State History but I only need one good one to meet my goal! 

            This course was one of my favorites thus far because it combined two of my favorite things: learning theories and technology.  I expanded my knowledge about theories that I was not originally drawn to and was introduced to many technology tools that were unknown to me six weeks ago.  My instruction has been transformed by the intentional technology tools I am using to enhance the lessons I facilitate. If asked, I state the specific research behind what I am using and how my students will benefit.  I think that is the greatest outcome of any class yet!

:) Katie

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2012, September). Activity Theory at Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved September 9th, 2012 from http://www.learning-theories.com/activity-theory.html