Review of GAME Plan:
In my previous blog post, I wrote about Dr. Peggy Ertmer’s (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009) four areas that teachers need to have in order to integrate technology effectively within a classroom. I shared my GAME plan on how I was going to increase the four areas of technological knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and culture support by focusing on the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) (2008) National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). I narrowed my focus to two indicators within two different standards. Standard three, Indicator C 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), and my goal is to employ multiple technologies for communicating with parents, students, and peers. Standard five, Indicator A requires 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 local and global learning communities in professional development seminars and workshops and in online communities.
Standard Three - Indicator C (Digital Communication):
I heard about a communication tool called Remind before my first year of teaching. It was my goal to incorporate this into my teaching this past year, but it fell to the wayside. This year, as part of my GAME plan, I am going to investigate into this communication tool that uses cell phones. I am aware that communication is sent by text messaging, but I need more information before I can begin to determine if this tool is appropriate for my classroom. As I began to talk with colleagues, I discovered that a teacher in my school uses this tool. Therefore, I will seek her advice in addition to the information provided on their website.
In order to gather information about parent preferences for technological communication, I will send a survey home with students (perhaps using technology) asking parents different communication types they prefer. I will further need to discuss with colleagues concerning the various ways I can communicate with parents.
Standard 5 - Indicator A (Technology Learning Communities):
One of the actions indicated in the previous post was an interest in attending workshops and seminars that focused on technological uses within the classroom. After researching online for local and statewide gatherings, I noticed an upcoming inservice to be hosted by a teaching organization that offered a variety of sessions throughout the day. I have signed up for four sessions but only two offer technology information. The first session includes technology that can be used within kindergarden to second grade classrooms. The second session deals with integrating technology in and out of the classroom. This session according to its description should also discuss communication technologies.
I also mentioned that I wanted to join an online community of teachers that utilized technology within their classrooms and shared their experiences using them in the classroom. Edutopia is an online community focusing on the betterment of education. Within this site I located an online group in centered on the theme “Classroom Technology” which offered blogs by educational professionals as well as classroom technology videos. I will read through some of the older blog posts first, and I have added this to my personal aggregator so that I will be able to read new posts as well.
Sources:
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,
ReplyDeleteI found an interesting article you may want to read: How Teachers Make Cell Phones Work in the Classroom - you can find it at the following link:
http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/how-teachers-make-cell-phones-work-in-the-classroom/
There is also a link in this article directly to REMIND101. When you click on this link you are taken to a sign-up page for REMIND. And signing up for teachers is free! If you get the opportunity it would be worth your while to check out!
The workshops you signed up for sound like they will be helpful, good luck with them and I look forward to hearing about your experiences. I have also found Edutopia helpful and think this is a great site to collaborate on-line with other educators.
I think your preparation for implementing your GAME Plan will help to get you the desired results you are looking for for both you and your students! Good Luck!
Beth Keiser
9th - 12th Visual Arts
Beth, thank you for responding to my post, and thanks for the link! My school district is not so big on allowing students to use cell phones during school. Our school had an incident last year when students were taking pictures of other students and teachers during those “awkward” looks you can have and posting them on social media. It was a big stink. and cell phone usage was taken away. However, I did mention to my principal last week that I heard a great way to use cell phones is to ask your community to donate their old smart phones. This would allow students to connect to the school wifi but they would not be able to use the cellular features of course. Hopefully, we can get this started in our school! Thanks for sharing, Beth!
DeleteChristine
Christine,
ReplyDeleteI believe that your GAME Plan is well designed and your actions will get you and your students to meet goals. I also chose standard 5a, engage in professional growth and leadership, participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning. It is evident that this commonality to improve our practices will be ongoing to keep up with changes in teaching strategies, technology, and our forever changing world. A teacher blog I follow that found very useful (which Beth mentioned too) is edutopia.org and below is a link to an article I read that summed it up for me, the critical element to student learning is teacher professional development.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-quality-professional-development-teachers-matters-ben-johnson
Amalia Hinojosa-Becerra, Brownsville, TX
Dyslexia Program Specialist
Amalia, thank you for responding to my post! You are correct when you say that improving our teaching practices will be ongoing - especially when technology is ever evolving and only more technological resources will be continuously available for use. It is important that we stay abreast of the new technology or we will soon fall behind! Thank you for sharing the link with me! I will be sure to check it out! Thanks again!
DeleteBy the way, every time I try to visit your blog, some “add” pops up asking for the visitor to “Monetize your site.” Even if I click cancel, it takes me elsewhere. I can never get on your site for more than a few seconds. Not sure why this is…it only happens on your site. For all I know it could just be me!
Christine
Christine,
ReplyDeleteThe research that you are completing for your GAME plan is a great start. I too am looking for ways to implement more technology into my teaching. I have found several resources that help me do so. SMART technologies offer several online conferences that help teachers implement technology. Forming a PLC at my school also helped me as well. I was able to gain knowledge from my colleagues about what worked in their classroom and how it impacted their students. I use edutopia quite frequently during the school year as well. It allows me to stay up on current events and ideas in education.
Shavonne Ross