Erin Schilling: Week 4 Application
Here are the answers to the questions from this week’s application assignment:
1. Are you finding the information and resources you need?
I am having a little luck finding what I need in order to reach my goals, but I think that I have been asking help from the wrong person. Last week I asked my library-media specialist about the potential of a voice thread project (my questions included, “Is there a kid-safe site that we can easily connect to (that it not blocked by our district?” and “Is there a site where students can create voice threads without having email accounts?”) He did not know and, rather than going to our district technology team for answers, he suggested that we look at some software applications (voice recording, Windows MovieMaker, etc.) that we already have. I think that before I use these programs, I will ask someone on the district technology team myself if there is anything we can do to utilize a Web 2.0 tool.
2. Do you need to modify your action plan?
I heard some good advice once; do not change your goal…just change your timeline. I do not think that I will change my goals, but I may need some more time to develop my actions. I want to include a larger, technology-based assessment for each of my content units (particularly science and social studies, but also incorporating writing, reading, and math where applicable). I do not think that this will all be able to happen this year, however. I think a better course of action will be to take notes on what changes I can make to the activities I already do and to slowly begin to integrate technology into places where it makes the best sense.
3. What have you learned so far?
So far, I have learned that there is never enough time in the day to do everything I want to with my students (well, I guess I already knew that). But, I am also learning that with each year I teach (this is my eighth year at fifth-grade), I become more efficient. My decision-making skills are stronger. I am able to stream-line my steps in order to “get the most bang for my buck.” I think that continuous professional development and communication with co-workers and classmates has helped me to learn a lot about solid instructional strategies and I am excited to use what I now know with my students.
4. What new questions have arisen?
I am still in need of an online voice thread site that is free, student-friendly, and (hopefully) does not require us to set up email accounts for my students. This is where I hope that my Walden classmates can help me out… =)
I appreciate any advice anyone can give me! Thank you!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
GAME Plan Resources
Erin Schilling: Blog Application 3
There are a few tools and resources that I will need in order to carry out my GAME plan.
First, I will need to network with my Library/Media specialist in order to find out our access to the Web 2.0 tools that I want to incorporate into my lessons. I have experimented with this a bit myself, but have run into many roadblocks, including district-blocked sites and the need for student email accounts in order to access many of the tools. Rather than spending a lot of time doing “guess-and-check” work myself, I need to quickly turn to someone with the knowledge and expertise to find these online resources. This way, I can spend my time developing activities and evaluations that will help my students to best learn the content that I am teaching.
For my second goal, regarding taking a leadership position and continuing with my professional growth in the area of technology integration, I will need to become more familiar with my district’s policies on internet use, available hardware and software, and our continuum of technology instruction. I think that technology integration is something that is on people’s minds, but we have been very focused on literacy (reading and writing, aside from technology) and math, and have not taken into consideration the need for many of the 21st Century literacy skills. It will be interesting to research more on our district’s current position on these things; many of the ideas are developed by the Information Technology department, but are not necessarily communicated to or carried out by our teaching staff. I hope to become a link between those people who have had experience and done research from an IT perspective and those of us who are teaching the skills to our students in the classroom.
There are a few tools and resources that I will need in order to carry out my GAME plan.
First, I will need to network with my Library/Media specialist in order to find out our access to the Web 2.0 tools that I want to incorporate into my lessons. I have experimented with this a bit myself, but have run into many roadblocks, including district-blocked sites and the need for student email accounts in order to access many of the tools. Rather than spending a lot of time doing “guess-and-check” work myself, I need to quickly turn to someone with the knowledge and expertise to find these online resources. This way, I can spend my time developing activities and evaluations that will help my students to best learn the content that I am teaching.
For my second goal, regarding taking a leadership position and continuing with my professional growth in the area of technology integration, I will need to become more familiar with my district’s policies on internet use, available hardware and software, and our continuum of technology instruction. I think that technology integration is something that is on people’s minds, but we have been very focused on literacy (reading and writing, aside from technology) and math, and have not taken into consideration the need for many of the 21st Century literacy skills. It will be interesting to research more on our district’s current position on these things; many of the ideas are developed by the Information Technology department, but are not necessarily communicated to or carried out by our teaching staff. I hope to become a link between those people who have had experience and done research from an IT perspective and those of us who are teaching the skills to our students in the classroom.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
GAME Plan: Application 2
Erin Schilling: Blog Application 2
Goals
I have two areas in which I would like to become more proficient. The first is the NETS standard that states that teachers should “Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments” (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers). There is always more that I feel I can do to prepare my students for their future which will undoubtedly be technology-rich. There are many factors that sometimes prohibit my motivation to design technology-rich lessons, including things like potential computer glitches, limited lab space, and diverse student experiences and needs. However, as I am learning, these things should not stand in the way of learning opportunities for my students. Second, I want to become a stronger leader in my school and district, following the NETS standard that states that teachers need to, “Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership” (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers). I am excited about the potential in networking with my colleagues and others in order to change the way we present instruction, track student achievement, and communicate with families.
Actions
For my first goal, I plan to look at all of my large “end of the unit” type projects to see how I can integrate technology to enhance the learning experience for my students. I believe that this will give me a focused place to start and will allow me to try new things in several content areas. I would like to include multi-media, data, and graphing applications, and save student work in a portfolio on our school’s shared network drive. In the spring, I hope to use the student portfolios to lead parent-student-teacher conferences. I plan to try many of the applications I have learned through my work at Walden University with my students.
For my second goal, which pertains to professional growth and leadership, I will take an active role in my school’s technology committee. In the past, we have met only to discuss the use of three interactive white-boards that were purchased for our school. I believe that we need to change our focus to see how we can all use technology to impact our student achievement. I will work with others to set agendas and plan for discussions around goal-setting, logistics, and student impact.
Monitor Progress
I will monitor the progress of each of my goals by documenting my observations regarding the specific action and the impact on my students. For instance, if I modify my “American Revolution” project to include the use of technology, I will reflect upon my steps and the benefit, if any, it had on my students’ learning. Further, I will monitor my progress on my second goal by keeping track of meeting agendas and action plans to determine if our committee is making progress that will impact student achievement.
Evaluate and Extend Learning
As Mr. Best said in this week’s video segment, if the technology can do something to help someone understand something, or to do something better, it is worth doing (Laureate, Inc., 2009). If it does not really change anything, then it is not necessary. It will be important to evaluate my progress in these areas throughout the process. I think my primary focus for evaluation will be the impact on my students; I will compare achievement and motivation from technology-rich lessons with past achievement and motivation. I believe that one of the biggest assets to networking with others in my school and in other learning communities will be to extend my own learning of applications and strategies that may help my students to more deeply understand the content. I will continue to seek out my own digital learning experiences in order to create valuable opportunities for my students.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.
Goals
I have two areas in which I would like to become more proficient. The first is the NETS standard that states that teachers should “Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments” (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers). There is always more that I feel I can do to prepare my students for their future which will undoubtedly be technology-rich. There are many factors that sometimes prohibit my motivation to design technology-rich lessons, including things like potential computer glitches, limited lab space, and diverse student experiences and needs. However, as I am learning, these things should not stand in the way of learning opportunities for my students. Second, I want to become a stronger leader in my school and district, following the NETS standard that states that teachers need to, “Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership” (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers). I am excited about the potential in networking with my colleagues and others in order to change the way we present instruction, track student achievement, and communicate with families.
Actions
For my first goal, I plan to look at all of my large “end of the unit” type projects to see how I can integrate technology to enhance the learning experience for my students. I believe that this will give me a focused place to start and will allow me to try new things in several content areas. I would like to include multi-media, data, and graphing applications, and save student work in a portfolio on our school’s shared network drive. In the spring, I hope to use the student portfolios to lead parent-student-teacher conferences. I plan to try many of the applications I have learned through my work at Walden University with my students.
For my second goal, which pertains to professional growth and leadership, I will take an active role in my school’s technology committee. In the past, we have met only to discuss the use of three interactive white-boards that were purchased for our school. I believe that we need to change our focus to see how we can all use technology to impact our student achievement. I will work with others to set agendas and plan for discussions around goal-setting, logistics, and student impact.
Monitor Progress
I will monitor the progress of each of my goals by documenting my observations regarding the specific action and the impact on my students. For instance, if I modify my “American Revolution” project to include the use of technology, I will reflect upon my steps and the benefit, if any, it had on my students’ learning. Further, I will monitor my progress on my second goal by keeping track of meeting agendas and action plans to determine if our committee is making progress that will impact student achievement.
Evaluate and Extend Learning
As Mr. Best said in this week’s video segment, if the technology can do something to help someone understand something, or to do something better, it is worth doing (Laureate, Inc., 2009). If it does not really change anything, then it is not necessary. It will be important to evaluate my progress in these areas throughout the process. I think my primary focus for evaluation will be the impact on my students; I will compare achievement and motivation from technology-rich lessons with past achievement and motivation. I believe that one of the biggest assets to networking with others in my school and in other learning communities will be to extend my own learning of applications and strategies that may help my students to more deeply understand the content. I will continue to seek out my own digital learning experiences in order to create valuable opportunities for my students.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.
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