Carrying Out Your GAME Plan

As I stated in my previous blog, the two NETS criteria I based my GAME plan on were:

3c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats, and

4a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology of sources including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation.

To carry out my GAME plan for the first criteria, I will need to modify or re-create my wikispace. It was also suggested from a classmate (Lyndsay Paisley) to use wix.com to create a website. After investigating Lyndsay's website, I can see the usefulness that the website would have to achieve the goal of parents communicating with me. There is a comment box that is sent to my email. I will also need to take the time necessary to keep the wiki or website up-to-date so that the students may use it as a resource to find missing assignmnets or notes from class. If I want the students to be able to help maintain "their" class wiki, I will need to have the proper permissions for the students to submit work online. I have not started working on this since we are on summer break.

The second criteria will force me to look at all of my "notes" for my lessons. I use flipcharts for my chapters which involve downloaded videos from Discovery Education and worksheets. I will have to try to re-locate these sources to cite them properly. I have to advocate and model the proper use of resources. When I teach citing sources properly, I plan to use activities from one of my Walden courses (text material). The activities will involve the students validating websites and properly citing sources. The only information I need is the sources of my videos and worksheets already embedded in my flipcharts....and TIME. Once again I have not started any of this since I am enjoying a much needed summer break.

Reference:
Wood, T. (2010, July 8). Becoming Tech Savvy. Mesage posted to Developing Your GAME Plan archived at http://tiwood12.blospot.com

Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

The NETS (National Educational Technology Standards) define the "concepts, skills, and attitudes for applying technology in educational settings" (ISTE, 2010). The NETS-T sets the framework for teachers to use as they "design, implement, and assess learning experiences to engage students and improve learning" (ISTE, 2008). The five standards include 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity, 2. Design and develop Digital-Age Learning experiences and Assessments, 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and responsibility, and 5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

I do not have confidence that I follow any of the standards as I am still learning technology myself. I am slowly adding inquiry-based learning. Of all of the standards the two I feel the least confident or proficient is Model Digital-Age Work and Learning and Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility.

The GAME Plan is an approach to self-directed learning. there are four steps: set Goals, take Action to meet those goals, Monitor the progress, and Evaluate whether the goals were achieved and Extend the learning to new situations (Cennamo, 2009). My GAME Plan follows:

3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats
GOAL:
I would like to model digital-age work and learning by being more pro-active in utilizing a wiki to communicate information to my students and parents. I have a teacher wiki space with areas for both Algebra II and Statistics, but used it to post resources for content.
ACTION:
I want to take the time to use the wiki as a way for students to find out what they have missed in class or for parents to see what is happening in class. I need to post files for make-up work or alternative assignments. I can also use the wiki to have students and parents access their grades using a password.
MONITOR:
I will know that I am making progress by keeping the wiki up to date. I can also obtain feedback from parents and students.
EVALUATE or EXTEND:
I can extend this by utilizing the wiki to post student work or having the students join the wiki. The students could help keep the wiki up to date by posting their class notes.

4. Promote and Model Citizenship and Responsibility
a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources
GOAL:
I would like to advocate the proper use of information by respecting copyrights and document all resources.
ACTION:
I use a lot of videos, pictures, and worksheets downloaded from the internet without citing the sources. I have to model the proper behavior by referencing my sources. I can include activities about using resources and how to reference them.
MONITOR:
I can monitor the progress by reviewing the work I present to make sure the sources are referenced. I can include proper referencing as part of an assignment's rubric.
EVALUATE:
I can evaluate that the goal has been met by assessing student work. If my students are referencing sources then I have accomplished my goal.

References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., and Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standrds-Based Approach. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

National Education Standards for teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.its.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.

The International Society for technology in education (ISTE) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/Nets_for_Teachers.htm

Transitioning Knowledge to Synthesis - Reflection

"When we approach Internet inquiry as both teachers and learners, we join our students on the journey of inquiry..."(Eagleton, 2007). The model of Internet inquiry in the text Reading the Web strategies for Internet inquiry describes five (Questioning, Understanding resources, Evaluating, Synthesizing, Transforming) phase and strategies required in each phase. Having each phase described helped me realize the literacy skills students must acquire to be successful using the Internet.
One of the most enlightening applications from the course Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry was evaluating search engines and websites. I have always used Google to do searches and took for granite that the sites I used were valid. I realize that my students may have had the same experience, only using what is familiar and not knowing how to evaluate a website for validity. Another insightful application was citing resources. While writing I have used the practice of citing sources, I did not realize anything being reproduced should be cited. I will definitely make sure in my future practices to cite worksheets, pictures, or content from sources I use in my classroom.
Moving forward I would like to share my new knowledge with my students. I would like to try the Internet inquiry based lesson created in this course. My students will learn the QUEST model, complete activities reinforcing literacy skills and produce a culminating project.


Reference:
Eagleton, M.B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web:Strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Evaluating a Website

As part of a graduate class, we were to evaluate a website. I never really thought about websites and if they were valid or not. This process made me more aware of the resources I use and that I need to make my students more aware.
I used a process from Web Literacy for Educators written by Alan November called Get Real.

R - read the url...looking for the extensions as a means to determine if the information is reliable
E - examine the content...what other resources or links are on the site...is it updated...is the information correct
A - ask about the author
L - links...look at the forwarded links...do the domain names change

Below is a link to a screencast of my evaluation of the website Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus on Screen Toaster.

Evaluating a Website

Effective Bridging of Technology and Instruction Reflection

At the start of my teaching career, I was a basic lecture-type instructor. Each year I would try to improve on my teaching applying my own learning to my classroom. I would find cooperative learning activities to include in the lessons. Each course I have taken, I have learned something to try to apply in my classroom. Before this course, I had just started learning about the Promethean board and complimenting iMac. I would try to find appropriate video shorts from Discovery Education to have visual demonstrations.

The technology that I have been exposed to has dramatically increased. I have learned about concept maps which I am having my students create in my statistics class. This has turned into a project that both myself and my students are learning from. I have also have had my students explore Comic Life to create a comic strip about their understanding of categorical data. In my Algebra 2 classes, we are currently preparing for the PSSAs and are using a web-based program Study Island as a remediation and practice program. I have also tried the behaviorist approach of tracking proper behaviors within the classroom.

In the future I would like our school to have access to VoiceThreads and utilize it to comment either on graphics or student projects. Students take pride in their work especially if they know their classmates will be commenting on their work. I would like to continue exploring concept maps. I am hoping that the students will see the benefit of organizing their notes and thoughts. I want to further investigate the tracker sheet and have students keep track of their own progress by keeping their scores in an Excel spreadsheet. I feel that students will continue to improve if they can see what progress they have made.

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Social learning is learning that occurs within a social context. We learn from one another through observations, imitations or modeling. An instructional strategy that enables students to interact with each other is cooperative learning. Students work in small groups to enhance their learning.

As mentioned in the text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction, technology can play a big role in cooperative learning. Some examples of cooperative learning activities using technology include WebQuests, creating web sites, blogs and wikispaces. There are several communication resources such as blogs, wikispaces, and skype. There are also share sites such as Google docs that allow students to collaborate on a project.

Voice Thread

I created a voice thread. I do not sound the greatest. My son was irritating me as I was trying to record my comments.

VOICETHREAD