Reflection on GAME Plan

As I look back at my original GAME plan and the progress I have made, I am satisfied with the direction it is going.  In regards to participating in local and global learning communities, I have found a route that I want to pursue in the online and in person technology classes (ISTE, 2008).  The classes will start in the spring and will allow me to be in an online setting for convenience as well as in the classroom with other educators looking to improve in the same areas as I am.  I am excited for this next step in furthering my technology knowledge.

As far as the other area I wanted to build confidence in, developing technology rich learning environments, I feel that is going well too.  I am still looking into more engaging ways to incorporate technology, specifically my student response cards, but through this course have learned about additional tools and ideas I can implement.  The idea of using a ning or edmodo is something I had not heard of before this course, but I feel it would be a great social learning tool for my students.  I plan to implement this tool when I return to my classroom after my maternity leave. 

During this course I created three lesson plans dealing with the implementation of technology I felt was appropriate for the grade level I teach.  I plan to put these plans into action with my current group of students when I return.  These plans incorporate using a ning or edmodo, PowerPoint for digital storytelling, and Microsoft Word in a problem based learning setting.  I had the opportunity to work with a former colleague's class of first graders to implement one of these lessons.  This was much easier to do because this teacher's school has much more technology readily available than my own.  The focus of the lesson was on measurement and money in the form of a bake sale.  We were able to work with this group of first graders to begin putting together their advertisments for the sale which was the portion of the lesson that incorporated Microsoft Word.  The students, with some help and reminders, did very well navigating this program in their small groups.  If there were questions, we were able to have the program projected on the wall and demonstrated anything the students needed help with.  Overall, this portion of the lesson went very well, and I am excited to teach it to my own group of students.

The technology tools I plan on using to teach digital storytelling, project based learning, and social networking skills are all technology tools that can be started at a younger grade if the teacher takes the time to teach the basic functions of the programs.  With practice at this young of an age using these programs, students will continuously build on their knowledge and by the time they reach upper elementary school , should be proficient.  With the way technology is more and more prominent in schools and at home, these are skills that are essential to learn and practice.  

ISTE. 2008. The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T). Retrieved September 15, 2011 from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx

GAME Plan Update

As of this point I have been working on finding professional development opportunities available to take either online or in person to help my confidence with the ISTE standard of developing professionally in technology (ISTE, 2008).  I have been very happy with what I have found so far.  There is a series of classes all based on technology skills that are available for any teacher in the district to take.  The focus of these classes are tailored to teachers in Las Vegas and it correlates to the Nevada standards.  This series of classes are both online and in person which is incredibly convienient for me while I am on leave.  The next step for me will be to focus on researching the incorporation of different student response card activities into my weekly lessons with my class.

ISTE. 2008. The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T). Retrieved September 15, 2011 from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx

Monitoring My GAME Plan

As I begin to monitor my GAME plan progress, I am happy with some progress I have made, and feel that modifications are necessary for other parts of my plan. One of the ITSE standards I wanted to improve upon was to participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology (ITSE, 2008).  To begin on this part of my plan I have looked into professional development opportunities in the Las Vegas area and have found quite a few options.  Many are centered through the school district which means that the learning will be tailored to our specific teaching environment in Las Vegas and the Nevada and Common Core standards that are used in every classroom.  In continuing forward, I now need to decide on which opportunity will most benefit my students and me and our classroom technology needs. 

The other standard I want to improve upon, developing technology rich learning environments, is the part of the plan that needs the most modifications (ITSE, 2008). My goal was to add more technology as the year progresses that will allow my students to be better engaged in the content areas.  I wanted to use my student response cards more often and in a more creative way.  As I have learned, life happens and I have begun my three month leave of absence from school a little earlier than I had originally thought.  Unfortunately, that means that my student response cards were not yet introduced to my students before I left.  As teachers need to be flexible, I have decided to modify my GAME plan and begin to research different options and ideas involving my student response cards while I am on leave instead of immediately implementing them.  This will give me time to think about all that can be done with this technology tool and learn more about making it a more engaging experience than it already it.  By the time I return to my students, I will have a very thought out approach to the use of student response cards and will be more than ready to implement it into my classroom plans.

ISTE. 2008. The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T). Retrieved September 15, 2011 from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

My GAME plan consists of trying to use my electronic student response cards more in the classroom to promote student learning and engagement in the content area material.  The second part of my GAME plan involves getting involved in professional development opportunities to further my learning in the area of technology and how to use it in the classroom.  According to our text, “digital tools can help you customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles” (Cennamo,K., Ross,J., and Ertmer, P., 2009).  The incorporation of technology in my classroom, paired with the opportunity for professional development will allow my students the opportunity to learn in different ways, therefore potentially succeeding at a higher rate. 

To carry out the first part of my GAME plan, I will need my set of 30 student response cards and ideas as to where I want to incorporate this technology.  I would like to start by creating TurningPoint presentations in the area of science and social studies because the topics being taught in first grade tend to be broader in these areas and that would be a good place to start.  These TurningPoint quizzes could be used to see where student interest lies in a topic, or can be used as a game to help increase knowledge in an area.  I will also be in contact with my school’s technology teacher as he is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to using this program. 

For the second part of my GAME plan, I need to research through the school district what kinds of professional development are available in the area of technology.  I need to decide from there what would benefit my teaching and the students in my classroom the most.  I would like to sign up for at least one professional development opportunity by the end of the year, so this is something that needs to be researched as soon as possible. 

So far, I have made some progress on carrying out my GAME plan.  I have already used my student response cards, therefore am familiar with how they work.  I have introduced them to my students who are practicing appropriate use and conduct when they have these tools in hand.  I now need to expand my knowledge of this tool and create different engaging presentations that incorporate this technology.  In doing this and furthering my understanding of technology in the classroom, my students should have a great opportunity to expand their knowledge through a hands on, engaging learning activity.

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

GAME Plan for Incorporating Technology

As I looked over the technology standards put out by ITSE for teachers, I see where I want to grow in the area of incorporating technology into the content areas.  This is my GAME plan to challenge myself to be more proficient in the following two NETS-T standards.

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: b. 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. (ITSE, 2008)

At the school I teach at, technology use is somewhat limited.  The school tries very hard to get technology into each classroom, but in the long run we are far behind the latest and greatest technology tools that many public schools are able to afford to put into each room.  In my classroom, however, I do have a teacher laptop, projector, and a set of electronic student response cards to be used with TurningPoint software.  As I feel somewhat limited, I am not as confident as others in designing technology enriched learning environments.  I use technology when I can, but I do not feel that my students are engaged in a learning environment that incorporates new kinds of technology that will engage students even further in the content areas.

Goal- Continue to plan my lessons based on the Common Core Standards and Nevada Standards, but add technology when available to help engage students at a higher level.

Action to achieve goal- I plan to use my electronic student response cards more frequently within the classroom.  These can be used in small groups as well as individually, and allow students to be responsible and accountable for a given answer in an environment that is non-threatening and game like.

Monitor progress- Observe students to gauge the level of interaction each has with the student response cards.  As the year progresses, new technologies could be added in addition to the response cards.

Evaluate and extend learning- Assess students again at the end of each quarter and see if more progress is being made by incorporating this kind of technology.  If students are more engaged, and improving content area skills this incorporation of student response cards is working.  If students are still struggling, perhaps a different technology tool could be introduced to help with student engagement in a different way.

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership: a. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning

Due to the fact that I am less confident in providing a technology enriched learning environment to my students, I feel that I could also use some support when it comes to developing in the area of technology use in the content area.  I think that perhaps the exposure to new technologies and other teachers who are learning just as I am would be very beneficial.  Though I receive lots of support within my graduate program, I think that I would benefit from professional development within the Las Vegas community as well.

Goal- Participate in one professional development opportunity within the Las Vegas area to help keep me up to date on what is available and how to use it in the classroom.

Action to achieve goal- I will look for incorporating technology professional development opportunities within the UNLV system or Clark County School District system.  I plan to enroll in at least one class or conference that will help my confidence level when it comes to technology in the classroom.

Monitor progress- I will monitor what I am learning in the class or conference, and decided how I can incorporate that into my classroom with the limited technology available.  I will also evaluate new technologies that could possibly be used in whole group form, or in small groups if computer lab time is available.  In participating in a professional development opportunity, I need to deduct which technologies would make the most sense to start with in my particular school setting.

Evaluate and extend learning- After taking information and ideas from a professional development opportunity, I will incorporate some of those ideas into my classroom.  I will evaluate how my students respond to these new technologies and how engaged they are in the learning environment.  I will also evaluate how feasible the ideas were to incorporate into a school with limited resources. If I find that my teaching and my students’ learning benefitted from this opportunity, I will certainly look into any other future professional development opportunities that would be just as beneficial.

References

ISTE. 2008. The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T). Retrieved September 15, 2011 from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx

Reflection on New Literacies and Inquiry Projects

                Literacy skills, according to Douglas Hartman in the video “New Literacies”, are skills that derive from basic literacy skills but are headed in the direction of new technology.  This means that students now are still learning and practicing how to read, evaluate, and comprehend information, but they are doing so on a digital media platform (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  During this course I came to realize that this assessment of student learning and new literacies is true.  I look at my own school which does not have a school library, but only a computer lab.  This means my students, when looking for information on a topic, are absolutely researching and evaluating digitally.  I think the part of this class that stuck with me the most was that inquiry based projects that use new literacy skills are much more in depth projects than I originally thought.  Not only are students looking for information and learning about a certain topic, they are also expected to base what they are looking for on their own personal questions about the topic.  On top of that, students are expected to use the web appropriately and ethically as well as evaluate the types of resources they are gathering information from.  Inquiry based projects using new literacies are not only lessons in researching questions, but appropriate use of technology and digital media as well.

                As I finish this class and look at the unit plan I have created and executed, I realize that in the incorporation of new literacies to the simple butterfly unit I used to teach made the unit much richer in what the students were learning.  They were not only doing observations of caterpillars and butterflies, but taking questions that were important to them and finding the answers.  My students, even though they are only in first grade, were exposed to researching skills and learned how to credit sources even if it was in a basic, verbal way.  I will continue to teach this unit in the way that I learned in this class, and would like to incorporate the inquiry project into other units I teach as well.

                My professional development goal as the new school year approaches is to take what I learned about inquiry projects and incorporate them into more units during the year.  As I struggle a little with making math more engaging for my students, I would like to start by using the inquiry based project in at least one math unit this year.  I need to look at all the units I teach and decide on which one would be best to take one step further.  I lean towards using the unit on money as this is a difficult concept for my students, and they could use some extra attention in this area.  By implementing an inquiry project with this unit, my students could learn not only about the values of coins, but where they come from, and who is represented on each.  This unit could turn into more of an interdisciplinary unit involving not only math but social studies concepts as well.  Overall, this course has given me many new ideas to continue to try with my students.  If I can implement them as I would like, my students will absolutely become more engaged in their work as inquiry projects allow them to take a major part in their own learning.

Laureate Education, Inc. 2010 (Producer). New literacies. (DVD). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore, MD: Author.

A Reflection

Throughout this course I have had a chance to reflect upon different methods of teaching, how my teaching aligns with these methods, and different strategies I can use to implement these methods.  I have also had a chance to determine if my current methods of teaching are effective enough for my students to gain maximum amounts of knowledge and retention. 

Personal Theory of Learning

At the beginning of this course I was asked to share my personal theory of learning that I use daily in my first grade classroom.  My theory is based upon students having time to interact with materials and thus become very engaged in the lesson.  I also feel that teacher should cater lessons to fit with a child’s background or experiences.   In the learning resources that week Dr. Michael Orey said that if we make a lesson meaningful and draw upon experiences students have already built, the brain will retain much more of what is being taught in the classroom (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

 Though my personal theory of learning remains the same, I feel like I learned much more about expanding my hands on theory into a theory that embodies not only active engagement with materials but with others as well.  Pittler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski discuss cooperative learning in one chapter of their book, and I feel like this is a strategy that I would like to use more often than I currently do.  They suggest use of epals or webquests to get students active with not only their classmates but, at times, other classes around the world as well (Pittler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). 

I have also learned in the past seven weeks how to take my theory of learning and incorporate much more technology into my classroom in ways that will be beneficial for my students.  I have been introduced to tools such as VoiceThread and various concept mapping websites as well as built upon my previous knowledge of blogs and presentation software.  I am excited to incorporate some of these technology tools because I know they will be something new and fun that will get my students really involved in the work we do in the classroom. 

Technology Tools

As I reflect on my learning I believe that two technology tools I will absolutely incorporate into my classroom would be VoiceThread and blogging.  VoiceThread was a program I had never heard of before, and I was impressed with how easy it was to use.  I think for first graders this would be a good presentation tool to start with.  Besides being easy to use, VoiceThread allowed for much creativity in the creation process.  I was able to add the pictures, clipart and sound I wanted.  I could even draw on my pictures as I was speaking with a virtual pencil.  This is something I plan on incorporating into my classroom as a group project done with teacher assistance. 

Blogging is another tool that could feasibly be used with six and seven year olds.  I have thought of doing blogging penpals with either another first grade class in Las Vegas, or team up with some of my college classmates who now teach elsewhere in the country.  Blogging as a class would help my students become familiar with not only how to set up and use a blog, but with writing and sending friendly letters.  As writing is somewhat of a struggle at the earlier ages, this would help with sentence structure and correct grammar as well. 

Long Term Goals

My first long term goal is to incorporate these two technology tools I discussed either by the end of the year, or introduce them at the beginning of the year next year.  I think it is very possible to at least get my students started with VoiceThread this year, and perhaps begin penpal blogging with my new class next school year.  Though I have introduced new technology tools to my current students such as Webspiration and Turningpoint, based on their positive reactions I know that they would benefit from more.  I feel that the more educational technology they are exposed to at this age, the better. 

My last long term goal would be to continue to explore new educational technology that I could eventually incorporate into the classroom.  The classes that I have taken through this graduate program at Walden have broadened my horizons when it comes to understanding and experiencing technology.  I felt that I was proficient in technology use, but as I learn more and more I realize how much more there is out there to offer my students.  I cannot wait to learn about more technology tools, how to incorporate them, and how to utilize them in a way that benefits my students’ learning.  As my students are being raised in a generation that features more technology, I need to be a teaching professional who keeps up and takes advantage of the technology available to me. 

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program three. Instructional theory vs. learning theory [DVD]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author

Pitler, H., Hubbel, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Denver, CO: McREL