In the first area of focus, getting students to work together collaboratively and creatively, I feel i have made some progress in the last couple of weeks. For example, we have a school-wide spelling bee every year,of which the first two rounds are completed on Scantrons, as I read sentences containing the spelling words. To practice, I set up teams of students who used word parts and other strategies to make meaning of the spelling words, and they competed in a kind of collaborative bee, in teams. Since I have some students who have difficulty with understanding print, and some with very limited vocabulary who do not understand how to arrive at correct pronunciation of difficult words, I set them up with print-to-text programs on the computer so they could become pronunciation experts and teach the others how to properly say some of the difficult words. In addition, students in my class are now teaching each other how to use develop research questions, how to use search engines to conduct research, and how to use Bib.me.org both to gather notes and create their bibliographies. In another class they are learning about the persuasive language of advertising, and are creating their own commercials in video form using advertising techniques and claims; at the same time they are developing an awareness of audience by using images to target a specific audience (usually kids their age). I still need to get us to collaborate with other classes outside our own walls, but I still have faith that that will happen late this year. Some ideas I have is to use virtual field trips and to use Skype as a communication tool, possibly with a parent in their workplace since one of my main goals is to explore careers.
In terms of the second area of focus, engaging in professional growth and leadership, I have been con a campaign to introduce teachers in my school to tools like Delicious, online document storage and sharing, and basic blogsites they can use with their students. I have spent a few hours in the last week doing just that. I also posted soem of the text-to-speech mp3s of spelling words made by my students on the Language Arts communication board, and shared what I had done with my colleagues at out learning community. One major stumbling block I have run into and which so far remains unresolved is that I noticed some time ago that at work we are using an outdated version of Firefox, but every time I tried to download a new version I would receive an error message saying that I did not have enough privileges. I spoke with the technology expert at our school, and he told me to call the district help desk. I made the call, and was on the phone for almost an hour, while the tech on the other end used remote access and all kinds of Uber-passwords, to try the download, to no avail. Finally I received an email saying that the situation was server-related and actually depended on the tech expert at our school. I forwarded the email to him, but have received no reply.Check but not mate -I'm going to keep pressing on to find a solution. I also discussed with a science teacher how we could find grants to replace the dying laptops in our carts, which is another issue. There is no money apparently to replace kaput batteries.
All in all, though, I am optimistic that things will change. Our principal is rather technology-oriented, although she has relegated all grant-writing to teachers, who typically have the least time for it. At least she allowed me to have a laptop cart in my room, and I am very grateful for that.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Resources and Information for My Game Plan
In order to assist students in working together collaboratively I would like to build a wiki where they can post research projects, blog, communicate with students in other classrooms. The first and primary obstacle that I and other teachers in my school are facing is the dwindling availability of technology resources. We have a number of laptop carts but the batteries are one by one dying, and there are no funds to replace them; so a priority is to research grants and apply for funding for technology, together with my peers and colleagues. Also the answer may not lie with more laptops, as there may be a less expensive solution. This is one real-world issue that students may be interested in collaborating as problem-solvers.
I need to tap into the wealth of experience among parents and the possibilities of engaging their help as expert speakers, as well as other professionals in the community who may be knowledgeable about topics that students are interested in; through the use of Skype virtual interviews are possible when face-to-face encounters are not. I need to develop genuine collaborations with teachers in other classrooms, even on other continents, that are tailored to the actual needs of our students and not "pre-fabricated" to suit the needs of someone else. I also need to prepare my students for encounters with cultures that are different from their own by using some of the lessons in the Building Bridges curriculum from the Peace Corps as discussed in Chapter 7 of our course text, found online at http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/publications/bridges/. Videos are also informative and assist both visual and auditory learners.
Collaboration among middle school students is never easy, yet it is a crucial time for them to learn the value of positive social interaction. By beginning with small assignments, using tools such as rubrics, reflective assignments, and graphic organizers that assist them with developing collaborative skills, I can gradually increment the amount of time they can work together
In terms of keeping up with the latest innovations in educational technology, I subscribe to some RSS feeds that I read on an ongoing basis, but I need to develop a formal means of assessing what I read about and try out, such as a reflective journal of technology integration. This will also be beneficial to my goal of sharing my knowledge with my colleagues at school.
In terms of evaluation, the tools at my disposal currently are the remote response system that is part of the Promethean technology in my classroom, and the classroom blog; I can canvass students to get valuable feedback as well as brainstorm ideas, and the results from the response system can be immediately stored in an Excel file on my laptop. The blog is useful also for student reflections on the steps they are taking in projects and for commenting and providing advice for editing or additional information among students, and between students and me.
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
I need to tap into the wealth of experience among parents and the possibilities of engaging their help as expert speakers, as well as other professionals in the community who may be knowledgeable about topics that students are interested in; through the use of Skype virtual interviews are possible when face-to-face encounters are not. I need to develop genuine collaborations with teachers in other classrooms, even on other continents, that are tailored to the actual needs of our students and not "pre-fabricated" to suit the needs of someone else. I also need to prepare my students for encounters with cultures that are different from their own by using some of the lessons in the Building Bridges curriculum from the Peace Corps as discussed in Chapter 7 of our course text, found online at http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/publications/bridges/. Videos are also informative and assist both visual and auditory learners.
Collaboration among middle school students is never easy, yet it is a crucial time for them to learn the value of positive social interaction. By beginning with small assignments, using tools such as rubrics, reflective assignments, and graphic organizers that assist them with developing collaborative skills, I can gradually increment the amount of time they can work together
In terms of keeping up with the latest innovations in educational technology, I subscribe to some RSS feeds that I read on an ongoing basis, but I need to develop a formal means of assessing what I read about and try out, such as a reflective journal of technology integration. This will also be beneficial to my goal of sharing my knowledge with my colleagues at school.
In terms of evaluation, the tools at my disposal currently are the remote response system that is part of the Promethean technology in my classroom, and the classroom blog; I can canvass students to get valuable feedback as well as brainstorm ideas, and the results from the response system can be immediately stored in an Excel file on my laptop. The blog is useful also for student reflections on the steps they are taking in projects and for commenting and providing advice for editing or additional information among students, and between students and me.
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
Thursday, January 13, 2011
My Game Plan
After reviewing the NETS_T standards on the International Society for Technology in Education website, I feel that two areas in which I have made considerable progress over the past few years have been are Model Digital Age Work and Learning, and Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. With my peers, with parents, and with teachers I communicate frequently via email; with my students I communicate both via email when not in the classroom and through classroom blogs.For me, teaching digital responsibility and safety is crucial, so it is the first item on the agenda when I have embarked with students on inquiry and problem-solving projects; I have also attempted collaborations with teachers and students in other classrooms, although I would still like to achieve more in terms of true global collaboration.
Two areas in which I know I need further development and a higher sense of self-confidence are 1) Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity and 2)Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.
In terms of goal setting for the first area,g, my goals are to enable students to work together collaboratively to work on solutions to real-world problems, to consistently engage students in reflective assessments of their own work, and to provide opportunities for students and me to collaborate with colleagues, professionals, and other members of the community both in virtual and face-to-face situations, in order to explore possible, innovative solutions to these problems.
To achieve these goals, the actions I will take are to develop effective strategies for collaborative learning among groups of students, so that communication among them will be authentic and safe, and students will become self-directed learners, with the sound understanding of my role as facilitator and guide.Students need to know that their attempts at creativity will not be thwarted, and at the same time they need to be guided so that eventually their creative efforts will be productive. I also need to expand my circle of online collaborators, and develop more relationships with parents and others who can be invited to speak with my students as the need and opportunities arise.
Formative assessments are an essential part of the monitoring process, as are continuous adjustments to my instructional strategies and continuous adjustments on the part of students to the way they learn and process information. Observing students' response to learning situations I will assess whether my strategies have been effective, or whether i need to re-teach, making the necessary adjustments so that students will learn the targeted content.
Evaluation of my instructional strategies and style is an important part of my professional growth. By assessing whether students have met the learning goals set for them, I can determine what new path to pursue if there are gaps in student achievement. By gaining informal feedback from students and through reflective observation, I can also determine if the assessment or the goals need to be modified.
The second area in which I want to become more confident and proficient is that of engagement in professional growth and leadership. My goals in this respect are to convince my department and others in my school that technology integration is not only important and more engaging for the students, it is also necessary, and to promote the use of electronic whiteboards not only as an extension of the traditional role of disseminating information, but also as interactive tools that assist the growth of students as self-directed learners.
Actions I will take are to continue and accelerate my recently started initiative of posting technology tips and tools on the language arts shared email board, and to share and demonstrate gains made through technology in my classroom, such as the use of blogs,and multimedia and collaborative projects.I also will keep abreast of the latest ideas, software and online tools by participating in blogs and forums with other professionals in education.I would like to see tools like Voice Thread become available in my district, where they are currently blocked.this means deliberate advocacy on my part, and participation in negotiations with district technology experts.
I will monitor my progress in this area by asking my peers for feedback to presentations and shared projects. I will also incorporate new learning into my lesson plans and curriculum, and evaluate whether new tools and initiatives are working in my classroom. Students are an excellent barometer for whether new ideas are successful or not; there are also different ways of implementing the same digital tools that work for different groups of students. In this pioneering age, much of this can be learned through experimentation prior to presenting them in the classroom, and through trial and error with the students.
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.
[R01] Three basic principles. (n.d.). HKU Philosophy. Retrieved January 13, 2011, from http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/creative/creative.php
Two areas in which I know I need further development and a higher sense of self-confidence are 1) Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity and 2)Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.
In terms of goal setting for the first area,g, my goals are to enable students to work together collaboratively to work on solutions to real-world problems, to consistently engage students in reflective assessments of their own work, and to provide opportunities for students and me to collaborate with colleagues, professionals, and other members of the community both in virtual and face-to-face situations, in order to explore possible, innovative solutions to these problems.
To achieve these goals, the actions I will take are to develop effective strategies for collaborative learning among groups of students, so that communication among them will be authentic and safe, and students will become self-directed learners, with the sound understanding of my role as facilitator and guide.Students need to know that their attempts at creativity will not be thwarted, and at the same time they need to be guided so that eventually their creative efforts will be productive. I also need to expand my circle of online collaborators, and develop more relationships with parents and others who can be invited to speak with my students as the need and opportunities arise.
Formative assessments are an essential part of the monitoring process, as are continuous adjustments to my instructional strategies and continuous adjustments on the part of students to the way they learn and process information. Observing students' response to learning situations I will assess whether my strategies have been effective, or whether i need to re-teach, making the necessary adjustments so that students will learn the targeted content.
Evaluation of my instructional strategies and style is an important part of my professional growth. By assessing whether students have met the learning goals set for them, I can determine what new path to pursue if there are gaps in student achievement. By gaining informal feedback from students and through reflective observation, I can also determine if the assessment or the goals need to be modified.
The second area in which I want to become more confident and proficient is that of engagement in professional growth and leadership. My goals in this respect are to convince my department and others in my school that technology integration is not only important and more engaging for the students, it is also necessary, and to promote the use of electronic whiteboards not only as an extension of the traditional role of disseminating information, but also as interactive tools that assist the growth of students as self-directed learners.
Actions I will take are to continue and accelerate my recently started initiative of posting technology tips and tools on the language arts shared email board, and to share and demonstrate gains made through technology in my classroom, such as the use of blogs,and multimedia and collaborative projects.I also will keep abreast of the latest ideas, software and online tools by participating in blogs and forums with other professionals in education.I would like to see tools like Voice Thread become available in my district, where they are currently blocked.this means deliberate advocacy on my part, and participation in negotiations with district technology experts.
I will monitor my progress in this area by asking my peers for feedback to presentations and shared projects. I will also incorporate new learning into my lesson plans and curriculum, and evaluate whether new tools and initiatives are working in my classroom. Students are an excellent barometer for whether new ideas are successful or not; there are also different ways of implementing the same digital tools that work for different groups of students. In this pioneering age, much of this can be learned through experimentation prior to presenting them in the classroom, and through trial and error with the students.
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.
[R01] Three basic principles. (n.d.). HKU Philosophy. Retrieved January 13, 2011, from http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/creative/creative.php
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)