Change is Good

I am definitely like most in that I benefit from stating my goal either out loud or in written form. Being able to remind myself of my goals or have conversations with others about my goal helps keep me focused and honest. My original course goal has remained consistent throughout this course; however, as I implement the programs into my classroom next year I may find changes that need to happen to accommodate the learners in my room. My goals for the upcoming year are to identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability and to use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community to nurture students learning. Most of my progress has been focused on my second goal of using technology to communicate and collaborate with the global community.

So far I have experimented more with class blogs and have signed up to take courses in powerpoint, moodle, digital storytelling, and other 21st century skills necessary in today’s classroom. My new learning will help me incorporate technology into everyday instruction and help me be more able to facilitate students in their learning. I hope to use technology to access enhanced components or lessons tied to our curriculum that were once not available.

My instructional practice will immediately change in that I will be communicating with students and their families through a class blog. I plan to use digital story telling and to communicate with another fourth grade classroom in the district. This will allow my students to present their work to a larger audience and to authentic feedback. These tools will enhance the content instruction dictated by the curriculum.

Thank you for keeping me focused and on track,
Courtney DeRosa

Playing the GAME

The student and teacher standards for technology both intertwine technology throughout all aspects of learning and everyday experiences. Both standards focus on creating digital citizens and using creativity to foster creativity. The standards require both students and teachers to be flexible and creative in using technology. They require persistence and patience with learning new things. Applying the standards often puts the teacher in the student’s shoes and vice versa.

Many students are familiar with making goals in sports, on New Years, and some even with school. One major benefit of teaching and implementing the G(goal) A (action) M (monitor) and P (plan) plan is to help students realize that it is okay to modify a goal, take small steps, or even change it all together. What is essential is to never lose sight of having a goal.

I plan to use the GAME plan when creating a classroom blog. For most students this will be their first experience with a class blog and also my first using one with students. We will both need to be creative; use critical thinking and problem solving, and we will all be digital citizens. We will use the class blog to collaborate and communication with another 4th grade classroom and each other. It should be a wonderful experience for all of us!

The X’s and O’s of the Game Field

Technology has been implemented into my everyday teaching. I permit students to choose how they wish to present their knowledge or final product and provide as much access to the classroom computers and lab as time allows. This is a change in my instructional practice as I have learned that choice and technology increase both student engagement and motivation.

The new learning goals I have set for myself include designing authentic lessons and that incorporate digital tools and promote self-directed learning. I am planning to set up global learning communities to provide access to a larger audience and the ability to express themselves in the method of student’s choice. With the diverse learning styles and abilities of my classroom I plan to address their needs by using learner-centered strategies and access digital resources.

The learning approaches I plan to try are digital storytelling, voice thread exchanges with another in district classroom, and setting up and maintaining a classroom blog site where students have access to a discussion board, class notes, and a class calendar with updated events. I am excited about the endless possibilities that technology provides and can only imagine its effect on the student’s motivation and engagement.

Courtney

GAME Progress

I recently received confirmation of my attendance to a summer institute on 21st century learners. My district is also offering a summer class on digital story telling in the classroom which I plan to attend in August. I am looking forward to continuing my progress on learning technologies place in my classroom.

I have learned that students need an audience to present their work and receive feedback. The internet and tools such as digital storytelling and voice threading are a great way for students to share their work without infringing on privacy policies. Also, this opens the door for collaboration amongst students and responding to feedback.

My plan has been adjusted due to privacy policies as well as school politics that I need to work around. The technology specialist has been little help and has turned to avoiding me to get out of answering my questions or helping with the progress. That has made me turn to outside resources. I am also currently in the process of applying for a grant to open a computer lab in my school that is not used for instruction so would be available for student use any time of day. I will keep you posted on the progress being made.

And Action

Since establishing my game plan I have been researching local organizations, businesses, and conferences that can help further my knowledge of technology applications for student’s success. We were recently told our placements for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year and I will again be teaching in an inclusion fourth grade classroom. To ensure that I am able to help each learner meet their potential I found a local Assistive Technology conference and have filed the necessary paperwork to attend. I have also found valuable web resources and blogs to keep abreast of up to date research and methodologies at http://www.assistivetechnologycenter.org/ I also went on the New Jersey State Department of Education and found links to state sponsored sites as well at the following address: http://www.state.nj.us/dcf/divisions/operations/education/assistive.html

To meet my goal of using technology to increase communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community to nurture students learning I have paired up with a fourth grade teacher from another in district school. We plan to collaborate between classes by setting up a podcasting site. Students will create podcasts of content material covered and will share it across schools. The receiving school will then be the audience that will be able to provide feedback to the creators. Since this will be done using the internet, parents will also be provided the web address and will be better attuned to what their students are learning in school and will also be able to provide feedback.

The question that remains is when working with students and publishing work in a public domain how can I stay within the confidentiality parameters? I have tried to collaborate with my schools technology specialist, but have not been successful getting support. My next step is to venture out on my own by seeking clearance and guidance from my building administrator. I will keep you posted!

Time for Action

In order to meet my goal of using technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community to nurture students learning, I need exposure and practice with current technology programs. The resources I will need are continued research of current trends and attendance to conferences and seminars. Success with technology will come with patience and practice.

To be successful with technology one needs to be flexible and confident in experimenting with different soft and hard ware. Therefore, what I need most is the time to experiment and implement technology into classroom practice and communication. My main goal is to meet the needs of all learners and to prepare students to be successful in the uncertain future.

The steps I have taken so far are familiarizing myself with blogging and podcasting sites and functions. Also, I am earning my degree in integrating technology into the classroom which has exposed me to many new programs and allowed me to practice using them. I am also registered to attend a conference this summer on how to support the 21st Century Learner. I plan to continue to implement new programs each year and to seek out support from colleagues and professional organizations.

GAME

The two NET indicators I chose were II-A: Identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability and V-D: Use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community to nurture students learning. My goals are to learn how to better evaluate technology for use in the classroom setting and to find a way to use technology to communicate outside my classroom.

The first action I have already started is to work towards earning my masters degree in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. I have learned about blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, voice threads, and the level of engagement that can be reached through implementing technology in the classroom. I also plan to attend a summer seminar on the Excitement for 21st Learners. The seminar is to introduce free technology resources available for all teachers to use in their classrooms. I am hoping to learn about programs that can be used to enhance the curriculum to increase student engagement and interest (Laureate, 2009).

I will be able to evaluate the resources presented for appropriateness in my classroom by asking 3 questions; what content information do my students need, what instructional strategy will I use, and what resources do my students need? (Cennamon, Ross, Ertmer, 2009). My district has a strict privacy policy that does not allow access to blog sites from school computers. Therefore, I will have to appeal to my district or access my communication site from home. I will monitor my progress by my success rate with implementing both programs to enhance my students understanding of the curriculum and my ability for my students and I to communicate with an audience outside the boundaries of the classroom.

Each year teachers in my school are asked to develop and evaluate their PGIP, (professional growth implementation plan). My plan for this year is to research and implement technology to both enhance the curriculum and to globalize student work. I will extend my learning by continuing to search for and attend seminars based on implement technology and problem based learning. I also plan to research articles that will introduce me to new methods and software available. Technology is forever changing and therefore, staying abreast of current trends takes constant effort.

References;

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). Program four. Enriching content area learning experiences with technology part I. 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