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