My goals for my GAME plan are to improve on all aspects of
standard two, design and develop digital age learning experiences and
assessments and standard three, model digital age learning of the National
Education Standards for teachers. This
week I am monitoring and reflecting on if what I am doing is working for me and
if I am learning what I need to (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009) in order to
accomplish my GAME plan. I am finding
lots of information and resources to use in my classes for webquests and
tutorials. I even received many
resources from my fellow colleagues at Walden University. What I am lacking in is time to thoroughly
evaluate each of these resources. It is
input overload at this point. I held
discussions with my students this past week and asked them if they thought they
were learning from the computer webquests and tutorials that I have given them
in the past. What they shared with me
was that they actually liked learning that way better than me lecturing while
they take notes.
I do not think I need to modify my action plan thus
far. Right now things seem to be on
track for me to accomplish my goals. I
made an appointment with our schools technology advisor next week so he can
teach me about using spreadsheets and a wiki in the classroom for the
project-based technology-learning piece I want to add to a lesson where
students will collaborate together.
My fellow biology colleagues and I have not had a chance to
go over the data from our 15-question assessment we gave to our students yet
due to the short week this week. So I
don’t have the information about our best practices yet.
The only new question that has arisen for me is am I going
to have enough time to carry out this plan of mine by the end of this semester?
Finding time to meet with all of the
people I need to meet with in order to carry out my plan has been a challenge because
we all have different planning periods and schedules.
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.
Laureate Education,
Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas.
Baltimore, MD: Author.
National
Education Standards for Teachers : http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Hi Shelby,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you are well on your way to achieving your GAME plan!
You mentioned that you have been receiving several resources. In addition to your Walden colleagues, have you found any other specific area to find resources useful? For example, are you using a research database, your colleagues at work, etc?
I can certainly relate to trying to find enough time to meet with everyone you want to in order to achieve your GAME plan on time. There are so many resources available that I sometimes find myself searching for hours, often straying off topic to other academic areas of interest.
As Cennamo, Ertmer & Ross (2009) have taught us, "As a life-long learner, much of your learning will be self-directed" (p. 1). Because of this, it is important for each of us to adjust and make the necessary changes as we strive to meet our goals. You definitely seem like you are on tract and I am looking forward to hearing about your end result!
Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!
Heather
Hi Heather, I am using my colleagues at work and we are actually working together with some resources. I am also finding things by just looking in search engines. Like you I get sucked in for hours!
DeleteShelby,
ReplyDeleteI too am feeling the strain of input overload. There is so much new information that we have gotten here in the course at Walden that when I try to think about ways in which to incorporate that information. I also have to agree with Heather when she says that she sometimes strays off topic; it is a challenging task.
It seems as though for some of us in the class the need for digital integration is overshadowed by the lack of technology available to our students. Although many technologies have come into the classroom few have had as much of an impact on teaching and learning as the computer (Cennamo et al., 2009). It looks like you have taken steps to strengthen the inclusion of digital technologies in your classroom to make a difference for your students.
Tracie
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.
Hi Tracie, I agree with you that lack of technology available to our students is a problem for some trying to integrate technology into the classroom. I was at a school last year that had one computer lab for the whole school. It was hard for me to get my work done and integrate technology into my classes because of this. That can be very discouraging!
Delete