The everyday classroom is changing day by day. More and more students are becoming more technology based then ever before. As a teacher, I need to make sure that I am integrating technology in my classroom in order to reach the needs of all of my learners. Technology is playing a huge role in classrooms today. More and more students are finding it easier to learn through the use of technology; however, there are many teachers out there who are lagging behind with incorporating these tools into the classroom. As teachers, we need to make sure that we are always a step ahead of new strategies and skills that can benefit our students. We need to stay on top of the latest devices and tools to create meaningful lessons in our classrooms.
There are many lessons that can be created in order to promote ongoing collaboration between the students through the use of technology. “Classrooms in the 21st century need to be collaborative spaces where student-centered knowledge development and risk taking are accepted as the norm and where an ecology of learning develops and thrives.” (Nussbaum-Beach 2008).
During our daily reading time, my students participate in book talks. They are given a list of questions for the assigned chapters that they are to read and then discuss these prompts in their small groups. By integrating the use of blogging, my students will be able to perform this same task, but they will be able to collaborate on the computer.
Each week, I will post new prompts on the reading blog. After having a large group mini lessons, I will designate groups to get on the computers to start blogging and responding to the prompts. They will then be asked to also respond to at least two posts that their group members have made. Due to the lack of computers in the classroom, I will set up a time to visit our computer lab to model as a whole group what is expected from their responses. Trips to our computer lab may be quite frequent until students are able to blog on their own. By the end of the week, students should have posts responses to my prompts as well as to two or more posts from their group members. I will also be posting my own responses to their posts in order for them to receive feedback from me as well. This too, can be apart of their reading grade. Students are not only learning how to use technology to collaborate, but they are also learning how to manage their time. Daily sign up sheets will monitor how the computer is being used in the classroom. A reward system can also be used for students who have worked well, with providing them with additional time on the computer.
This lesson aligns with not only content standards, but also the technology standards, which
include these following bullet points:
* Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
* Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessment
* Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
* Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
* Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
(http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS 2008)
By learning these skills, students are finding new ways and outlets to share their ideas and creativity. “Once students begin interacting with each other on the web, the opportunities for global collaborative learning, cross-cultural sharing and understanding, and astonishing learning projects, all truly blossom.” (Trilling 2005) Students need to use all sorts of resources in order to find knowledge and a love of learning. We as teachers need to help provide that for our students.
In my EDUC-6713D-2 Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas with Dr. Suzanne Lebeau, we have been working on the GAME plan process. In a previous post, I had stated that I would continue to professional grow and support/promote creativity with my students through the use of technology. I continued to state that with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) I am soon realize that I feel confident with the indicators set for teachers. The standards that I looked closely at was Facilitating and Inspiring Student Learning and Creativity. I really like promoting creativity with my students because I see how engaged they can be with the lesson. Narrowing down an indicator, I found that I was closely linked to being able to "promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness" (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).
My students have used multiple forms of media in my classroom; for example, Power Points, Podcasts, Voice Threads and are also using the computer daily for research, writers workshop, and online skills practice. It is important for me and my students to feel comfortable using the technology and I know my students benefit by using these tools. I feel that with this knowledge I can "develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress" (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008). I have used a program called Study Island, for my students. With this program, my students are able to access their accounts and work on skills that they need to practice. Not only can I monitor their work, but they too can see their progress.
I want to continue this goal that I am working towards. I alswo want my students to continue to set goals for themselves as well. I will continue this process and as the year comes to an end, I want to make sure that I continue next year with my new fourth graders as well. When students are able to set goals for themselves, take actions for those goals, monitor their progress effectively and evaluate their outcome, they are able to follow the GAME plan. I think that it is important for not only the teacher to follow this plan, but for students to understand and follow through with it as well. I think this idea gives a sense of ownership to students.
References
National Educational Technology Standards (2008) http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS
Nussbaum-Beach, S. (2008). No limits. Technology & Learning, 28(7), 14–18.
Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/8466
Trilling, B. (2005). Towards learning societies and the global challenges for learning with ICT. TechForum. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/techlearning/pdf/events/techforum/ny05/Toward_Learning_Societies.pdf
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Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. You gave a really thorough evaluation of the whole process and your progress which painted a nice picture about how you have interpreted and implemented the GAME plan process.
A couple things you mentioned stuck out to me the most.
1. You point about students learning to manage time is a critical one. The amount of information the Internet provides as well as the many ways we can connect to it and deliver information has the disadvantage of being excessive. It's really important that as we teach new technologies, we address the point of not getting lost in "worm holes" and we try to fit within a timeline. This is also critical for us to remember daily as educators.
2. Something you said toward the end made me think about GAME plans. I can see that as we develop a GAME plan and reflect upon it, we have to know when it has been developed enough to move onto the next. The other part of that is to also remember that as we evolve, so will our perspectives and past ideas. As important as it is for us to set down our GAME plans after the have been refined and move forward, we must also periodically go back to previous GAME plans to reassess their effectiveness and currency in our present learning/teaching environment.
Thanks for saying thing that made me think. All the best to you in your final steps in your master's program.