GAME Plan Review:
Two weeks ago I created a GAME Plan based on Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer’s (2009) book Technology Integration forMeaningful Classroom Use, and I chose two ISTE standards that I believed I could improve upon within my classroom. The first was Standard three, Indicator C which said that teachers should, “Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats” (ISTE, 2008, p. 2). The fist part of the GAME Plan is G which stands for setting goals. My goal for this standard was to use muliptle technologies for communicating with parents, students, and peers. The second, Standard Five, Indicator A asks teachers to “Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning” (p. 2). My goal is to participate in learning communities both in person and online as well as to participate in professional development focused on technology.
Last week, I moved to the second part of the GAME Plan - A - which stands for action. I located the type of resources I would need in order to carry out my plan. This week, I’m on the third step - M - for monitoring. This means that I am determining whether I am succeeding in my plan based on what I have learned so far. Below I will share with you some things that I have learned over the past week and some new searches that will need to be added to my plan.
Last week, I moved to the second part of the GAME Plan - A - which stands for action. I located the type of resources I would need in order to carry out my plan. This week, I’m on the third step - M - for monitoring. This means that I am determining whether I am succeeding in my plan based on what I have learned so far. Below I will share with you some things that I have learned over the past week and some new searches that will need to be added to my plan.
Standard Three - Indicator C (Digital Communication):
The tool I am seeking information for that I could use to communicate with parents is called Remind. As I searched this website I found that sending text messages to parents is actually a one-way communication. You can send texts to parents but they cannot reply to that number. One area that I was concerned about was the fact that all parents may not be able to receive texts. Remind takes care of this by allowing messages to be sent by email rather than texts. The parents can sign-up for which ever method they choose - I really liked this. The teacher in my school who uses this tool really likes it. She told me that you can send messages out online or Remind even has an app that allows you to send messages out on your phone as well. Additionally, she said that parents were very receptive of the messages and were grateful that the teacher was seeking to communicate with parents.
I have not sent out a survey to parents yet. School begins again in a week and a half, so I will be doing that soon. I am going to be preparing my questions for the survey. I have taken a few surveys through SurveyMonkey, but I have never created one. This will be my newest question as I seek to discover a good survey site. Anyone have any suggestions?
Standard 5 - Indicator A (Technology Learning Communities):
Last week I mentioned that I signed up for two technology sessions that a state organization was providing. I am so excited after attending the seminar last Saturday as I have learned many tools to try out for my classroom! I will share two of them that I found quite interesting. The first is called Plickers. Each student will receive a sheet of paper with weird blocks on the sheet (just check out the website). When the teacher asks a question, the students turn the paper so that A, B, C, or D is on the top of the page. The teacher then takes a smart phone/iPad (or other device), using the app and camera feature, sweeps the camera across the room. It reads the student answers (using the weird blocks) and informs you of their answers on your device. I love this since our school has limited clickers. Only one technology piece is needed.
The second is called Nearpod. This does require each student (or a group of students) to have a device (smart phone, tablet, etc.). The best way I can describe this tool is like having a PowerPoint on the board but also having the Powerpoint on the student devices as well. The teacher has complete control of what is on the student phones (when the “slide” changes). What is really cool about this is that the slides can be interactive. Students can draw, select, match items. Students get the slides on their phone by using an app. You’ll really just have to check this one out!
While there are many cool tools out there I must be careful. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) write that “it’s important to emphasize that technology should only be used when it facilities learning, and not simply as a novelty” (p. 146). I need to remind myself that while technology can be fun and cool, it is also importation that the lesson goals come first, and the technology is used to support those goals to reach a successful outcome.
Each new technology tool that I want to incorporate into my classroom, practically will have its own GAME Plan. Will this tool work? Is it working? Do I need to find a new tool or keep using this one? Truly, GAME plans never end! Happy Planning!
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.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-teachers
Christine,
ReplyDeleteIt is evident that you are effectively monitoring your action plan and doing it actively by implementing technology tools first-hand. That is the best method to explore and use the tools to see positive results. You are becoming proficient to meet your target standard to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively by using Remind to email and text parents. What is also effective is that you have a teacher colleague who has experience using the tool, hence can guide you how to efficiently use Remind. I have also done surveys using SurveyMonkey, what type of questions will you ask? Will it be questions to prepare for the beginning of the school year or about curriculum?
It is obvious that your action plan is well on its way to Evaluate whether you achieved your Goals and Extend your learning to new situations (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). The two technology sessions you attended definitely helped you meet the standard to participate in local and global learning communities. In addition, implementing what you learned to use Plickers and Nearpod is evidence that you are part of a learning community to help students experience authentic learning.
Reference
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.
Amalia Hinojosa-Becerra
Amalia, thank you for responding! I apologize for not being clearer when mentioning the Survey Monkey questionnaire. I was referring to an earlier post but failed to include any reminding information that told you about the survey. The survey I was going to send to parents would ask them questions about technology communication and ways in which they prefer to communicate. This was to hep with meeting the goal of using technology to communicate with parents. For example, one question may ask them to order their preferences of communication by email, text, or a phone call. Another question may ask the parent which type of communication they would not like (or is not able) to use. You mentioned that you have used SurveyMonkey in the past. Were you happy with your experience? Is there another website you use for this purpose? Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteChristine
Christine,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love using Remind101 in my classroom! Parents were highly receptive to its use, although it was only one-way communication, parents would often follow up with an email if they had any questions. I didn't use remind for every little homework assignment, but instead used it for the long term due dates, upcoming quizzes, tests, or projects. Additionally, I like how Remind offers you the opportunity to message the entire class or send messages to individual students if necessary (Sally keeps forgetting to bring her textbook to class) which allows for differentiation. I believe some teachers are also using it as a very informal polling device as well. You can set it up with a question that you shoot out to your class or parents and have them stamp the message with a yes/no response. This is a very rudimentary feature, however. With regards to surveys, I am a huge fan of Google Forms as a means of surveying because of all the ways in which you can manage how the information is presented in the survey as well as the data collection features that allow for easy evaluation of the information you are attempting to collect.
On a side note, I am really excited about the Nearpod application you discussed in your post and cannot wait to explore its uses in my classroom! Thank you for sharing!
Dina Fleming
The tools you plan to use seem very exciting. I am really intrigued by the technology tools Nearpod and Plickers. Remind seems like a great tool that will keep parents abreast of what is happening in the classroom. Parent communication has been a slight issue in past years. An app similar to remind helped to keep my parent informed. It was ClassDojo which is mainly used for class management. It seems as if your game plan is well on its way. The tools you have chosen will definitely keep your students engaged and up to date.
ReplyDelete