Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

My GAME Plan process had two goals: one was to incorporate five new technologies into my lessons (using ideas from Walden and elsewhere) and giving my students choices on how to complete assignment with their choice of technology. I recently have begun writing book talks for the book “Jennifer Murdley’s Toad”. For assessment, I offered my students choices. They could write the talk, type it into Word, and create a podcast using Audacity. They could do a ten-slide digital story. Or they could create a video book talk. They could pick the way they could complete this project and I would assess their mastery of the material. I have to admit giving students this much freedom was difficult at first and I think the results will be great, but it is hard to let go for some projects.

I have also found that the more technology we use in my classroom, the more comfort, confidence, and eagerness is instilled into the students. They are becoming more proficient with the technology and almost want me to eliminate any “traditional” lessons. They want to learn using 21st century skills even though they are unaware that what we are doing is learning with 21st century skills that will benefit them in the future. After the completion of this course, it will be my goal to keep up with new technology and that means setting a goal of incorporating one new tech into my lessons per month. I think that learning with technology will be a great asset to my students and I want to give them the best chance at success.

Many comments I have received from my learning community have been mostly about creating hands-on lessons using the free technology of web 2.0 tools. Through websites like Free Tech For Teachers, http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
there should never be a shortage of the new tech ideas that can be used in the classroom.

In conclusion, ditch the text and worksheets and bring in the tech!

Thanks!
Craig

Revising My GAME Plan

As I continue to implement more technology into my lessons I am realizing more and more that is so beneficial for the students. I have just begun using some of the tech tools that I have set as goals with the students and the results are impressive. If I would compare learning the traditional way versus to incorporating technology, the technology side would be almost unanimously preferred. This week in social studies while studying Latin America I showed my classes using Google Earth, they were astounded. I would never have received any positive feedback when showing them a map from our text. Technology has a wonderful affect!

Goals:

NETS-T #1 – Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity--engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

NETS-T #2 – Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments--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

After reflecting back on the two goals I set for this class, I feel that I am still in the process of completing my goals and would not need to set new goals at this point but work on completing my existing goals of finding five new technologies and using them in my classroom, replacing traditional learning methods. If I master the five new technologies that I have chosen, I will set a goal of integrating one new technology into my curriculum per week. Currently, I feel that I need to continually work on becoming more comfortable and proficient using the new technology that I have chosen (VoiceThreads, using Flip Cameras, Digital Storytelling, using Google Earth, and Interactive Timelines). Sometimes it is a slow process but I need to keep in mind that I have to be flexible with the new technology.

To improve the chances that my goals with be successful, I have started to take notes on the new technology that was incorporated. I want to list the positives and negatives of the lesson so the next time I use it I will increase the chances of success and this will benefit my students.

Craig

Evaluating Your GAME Plan Progress

Thus far I have came up with four new ways I will incorporate technology into my classroom: using flip cameras, Google Earth, VoiceThreads, and digital storytelling. I have began playing with and researching ways to use Flip Cameras. There are so many ideas! I downloaded Google Earth and began marking interesting places that we are studying. I plan to "fly" there using the software and showing my students the locations. What an impressive tool! For my VoiceThread, I am going to use it as to check my students background knowledge of WWII before we read "Number the Stars". Students can post and learn from each other. For digital storytelling, I have looked at a few sites but have not looked into it too much but it seems to a pretty popular tool to use. I have a lot to learn about digital storytelling.

My final goal for implimenting technology into my classroom is creating a digital timeline. I looked on the Internet and have found countless number of web 2.0 tools that create timelines. Using timelines will be great in not only social studies but in language arts too. I hope to pick one timeline generator by next week and become more familiar with it. I am not to concerned how to use it but want to find one with the coolest options.

My first goal of finding five new technologies that I will incorporate into my teaching fits with my second goal of finding more ways for my students to meet objectives. If I can get comfortable with the new technology from my goals, I can give my students some new tools to complete their work. My ultimate goal as a teacher is to eliminate worksheets and replace it with technology in one form or another.

Craig

Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

At this point, I have found two ways to incorporate technology into my classroom, using flip cameras and incorporating VoiceThreads into social studies. To help me accomplish these goals, I have downloaded Audacity onto some work computers. Also, the sixth grade recently purchased a video camera and I brought in my flip camera.

This week I have found two more ideas that I want to add to my goals. The first idea is digital storytelling and it will be developed through the class I am enrolled in at Walden University, Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. After reading ahead and learning that we are going to create lessons for digital storytelling, this is a no-brainer. I am thinking about my options for this project, I could have students complete it in the lab or we could use IPod touches. The other idea I want to add to my list is using Google Earth to supplement my social studies class. Today on the site http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ I read an article on ten US history Google Earth tours. This is a perfect way to supplement my ten year old texts that lack substance.

I still need one more goal but I am starting to spend time thinking about how to put my four ideas into action.

Craig

Carrying Out My Game Plan

In order to strengthen my confidence and proficiencies to integrate technology in my instruction, I have begun to compile a list five goals to incorporate technology into my class. I looked back through my texts from previous classes I took at Walden and continually look on the Internet for new ideas. I am looking for virtual field trips, simulations, and interactive web-sites that I can incorporate into my curriculum. On the site Free Tech 4 Teachers, http://www.freetech4teachers.com/, I have begun looking for ideas how to incorporate flip cameras into the classroom. I found an article that gives 20 ways to use flip cameras into the classroom. Awesome! I am going to try to do a video book-cast later this year. From previous classes, I want to incorporate Voice Threads into my social studies curriculum. I will use the Voice Thread for the forum for current events discussion. I want to stimulate debate between my students about current issues, maybe the November election or the US position in Afghanistan. The Voice Thread hopefully will influence some of my quiet students into participating in a much bigger way than a discussion.

For my other goal, I will give students many options to complete assignments, promoting creativity. This is going to begin in our next project, when students pick a Canadian province/territory and give a report. The students will be given the option to do a wiki page, a video cast, a podcast, or to pick any of the web 2.0 tools from the site http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/. This will really force me to learn new technologies and to create rubrics to assess the projects. To create rubrics, I will use some of the information I gained in a previous Walden class and use rubistar.4teachers.org/. Rubistar has become a huge part of my teaching because it is so easy to use. I literally can create rubrics in minutes because simply by following the directions on the site. This will help with projects that use technology.

Some of the additional resources I will need to accomplish my Game Plan are flip cameras and computer lab time. The rest is up to me to find on the Internet or in texts and implement. I set the goal of implementing five new ways to use technology in my classroom and currently I have found two ways and am always looking for new ways.

Craig

Developing My Personal GAME Plan

Technology is changing so fast that it is impossible to keep up. There are countless, free web 2.0 tools that create slideshows, podcasts, other widgets that are great to incorporate into my curriculum. In order to learn and use technology in my curriculum, I need to learn the new technology on my own. Self-directed learning (SDL) is the basis for the GAME Plan or the way I will learn new technology that I will use in my curriculum.

After reading, examining, and reflecting about the National Education Standards for Teacher (NETS-T) from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), I have found some standards that I want to improve upon.

NETS-T #1 – Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

G-Goals

I want to create virtual environments to expand learning outside of my classroom. I will give students many options to complete assignments, promoting creativity.

A-Action

In order to accomplish this goal, I will change my social studies curriculum by adding virtual field trips, simulations, and interactive web-sites. This will take some planning but will result in better instruction and more student engagement.

M-Monitor

I will keep records of unit assessments and compare results of traditional teaching versus digital learning. I will keep notes concerning student engagement and motivation.

E-Evaluate

I will ask students their preferences. Do they prefer digital or traditional lessons? I will also reflect upon what went well and what did not, in order to improve the lesson.

In the video from week one, teacher Lacey Segal stated that teachers who are creative or foster creativity are incredibly flexible but are comfortable watching traditional boundaries dissolve (Laureate, 2009). Technology is the perfect vehicle for change because today’s students are so technologically skilled. If I achieve this goal, the traditional lessons will be replaced with digital lessons.

NETS-T #2 – Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

b. 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

G-Goals

I want to create a listing of five new technological tools that I can use in my classroom and pair them with content to create effective lessons and have the ability to use the five technologies in any setting. I also want to incorporate the tools I learned from this Walden program into my curriculum (VoiceThread for example).

A-Action

I will read the blog http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ on a daily basis to keep up to date with the latest technology and its educational application. I will review past Walden courses to find technology that I could use in my classroom.

M-Monitor

After each new lesson I teach using a technological skill from my list, I will reflect in writing about the lesson. Listing the positive parts and parts that need improvement. If I successfully meet my goal of five new applications of technological tools, I will add another tool to my goal list. If I am unsuccessful using a new technological skill, I will attempt to use the technology in another lesson until I achieve success.

E-Evaluate

I will constantly ask students their preferences. Do they prefer digital or traditional lessons? I will also reflect upon what went well and what did not, in order to improve the lesson.

The main objective for improving upon this standard is to use the technological skills I have gained at Walden and continually learning new technology and implementing it in my classroom. Technology provides many opportunities for students to engage in authentic learning activities and to be creative in different environments (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). This will increase student’s engagement and excitement and hopefully increase learning.

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach (Laureate Education custom edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

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

Final Reflection

As I near completion of Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom EDUC – 6712, I cannot help thinking about the many ways my teaching ability will be enhanced because of this class. I learned about social bookmarking, how to evaluate web sites, the importance of essential questions and how they can guide student projects, collaboration with other schools using e-pals, the pros and cons of schools filtering the Internet, that there are other search engines my students could use instead of Google, and that information literacy is so important today.

The most striking revelation that the course taught me about the new literacy skills is that students are asked to find information, decipher if it is right or wrong, and synthesize information from many places. This is much more difficult that going to a text and finding "correct" information easily. Alvin Toffler stated that "the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who can read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn" (Jukes & Macdonald, 2007). This statement really sums up where education is and where it needs to be headed. The staff at my school is teaching students how to read and write but are we giving students the skills to learn, unlearn, and relearn?

The knowledge and skills I have learned in this course will be incorporated into my curriculum. One way is that I will not allow my students to use Google for Internet searches. They will need to use www.sweetsearch.com or www.boolify.org. I will use diigo to list all the sites we are going to use in the classroom versus having students type in URL’s. I will incorporate the REAL method to test the validity of websites. REAL stands for:
R – Read the URL (what is the extension?)
E – Examine the content (is it a hoax?)
A – Ask about the author/owner (use www.easywhois.com to locate the owner)
L – Links (examine)

By using the REAL method, my students should be able to decipher whether a website is legitimate or a hoax. I will introduce my students to www.computertan.com and will see if they can apply the REAL method and figure out if it is valid or not. Finally, when I assign students projects, such as the Canadian Provinces/Territory wikis, I will have checkpoints for assessment. "Although it is important to be able to evaluate what students have learned at the end of an inquiry unit, even more important for Guided Inquiry is consideration of formative assessment along the way" (Kuhlthau, Maniotes, & Caspari, 2007). In the past, I would only assess the final project and there were really no way of knowing if my students were getting it or not. If they were started completing the project the wrong way, there was really no way of knowing it unless they asked questions or if I caught it when patrolling the computer lab. This will give me a greater chance to assess skills along the way and evaluate the creativity of the final project presentation.

One profession developmental goal I would like to pursue that builds upon the knowledge from this course and develops my information literacy skills is to increase my student’s awareness that everything that they read on the Internet is not true. I want my students to improve their ability when finding information. Starting day one, we learn and practice Internet skills. First, we will search will without using Google. Next, we use the REAL method for every website. Finally, we will work on synthesizing information. It is an important skill that is not easy to master but if we use work on it from day one there will be tremendous improvement when my students move to seventh grade.

If I were to sum up this course in one word I would say valuable. Its content will play an important part of my teaching practice. It has given me tools to help prepare my students with 21st century skills that they will use throughout their education.


References:

Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Retrieved from http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2007). Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.