Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Week 4 G.A.M.E. plan Progress Update

What a day! Today was our last day with students for this school year, and man; what a doozie! This year, I was a team member of a staff of teachers that opened a new school. I never imagined that it would have been so much work! We report to work to finish tying up loose ends until this Friday, and then we get a much needed, deserved break! Looking back over the year brings back memories, both good and bad, that seem to be from a lifetime ago, yet I didn't have the last-day excitement like I've had in years past. In many respects I felt (and still feel) like we've got another quarter to go. Boy, this will make Monday morning sweeter, when I'm still in bed when my first period class would have been beginning!

As for my G.A.M.E. plan goals, I cannot say that I've progressed much from last week. One major point of my plan was to get help in gaining a foundational understanding of many Microsoft software programs from a fellow teacher, but with the end of the year rush, neither of us had the spare minute to stop and get together. Because of this, I am going to have to change my G.A.M.E. plan to not include my teaching buddy, as I won't see him outside of the school setting. Instead, I'll have to use some of my newly freed time to run intel ops on these programs myself in order to learn how to use them proficiently.

Despite the setback, I still plan to go ahead with furthering my understanding of technological tools that can aid in the self-directed, authentic learning experiences of my students. One troubling question that I continue to find myself facing is how in the world, minding the rigorous academic schedule that my curriculum calls for, can I ever sufficiently teach my students how to use any software program in a responsible fashion without overtaking the focus of the lesson? This past year, I found that it took nearly three days of lab time for my students to understand Microsoft Publisher enough to create a pamphlet. This took three days that I did not have to give! My hopes are that the students will enjoy the prospect of some of the new software (namely Movie Maker) and learn it quicker because of their personal excitement about the technology, allowing for a more meaningful standard-based lesson.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

G.A.M.E. Plan- Implentation Necessities

Now that I've got a G.A.M.E. plan set up to help design quality digital-age learning experiences, I need to get my ducks in a row before I jump into it half-cocked. In order to carry out my G.A.M.E. plan explained in my previous blog post, I will need to organzie some resources. Firstly, to achieve my goal of using technology to teach authentic learning experiences I will need some free time to spend working with the various Microsoft programs that would so greatly aid my students in their learning. I think that I am strong in PowerPoint and Publisher, so my time would be best spent working with MovieMaker and Excel. It would be a great help to have the computers teacher here at the school, my friend Tom De Bra give me a basic tutorial of these programs so I have a foundation to work from. I would also need to book time for my students in the computer lab here at school, so they could do self-directed research and build their products. To help the students understand how to efficiently use the 'net in searches, I would need a list of reliable student websites and the video "Web Search Strategies in Plain English" (http://www.commoncraft.com/search) to give students a better approach to searching the internet. Lastly I need to take the time to review social studies curricula for earlier grades in order to have an idea of what the students should already know.

To this point, I have been able to get a foundational lesson on MovieMaker and have set up a time to learn more about Excel.

"Web Strategies in Plain English" retrieved from http://www.commoncraft.com/search on 19 May 2010.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

A G.A.M.E. Plan for Better Teaching NETS

Dr. Katherine Cennamo has offered up the idea of a G.A.M.E. plan in order to help teachers better promote self-directed, authentic teaching and learning. To utilize this G.A.M.E. plan to help achieve proficiency in National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)I will focus on NETS standards' 1 and 2: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity (1), and Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments (2). My hope is that by focusing on these two standards (which I find to be weak areas in my instructional repertoire)I can aid students in becoming self-directed learners and combat the ever dreadful student boredom and motivation monster.

G.A.M.E. plan 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Goal:
I want to learn how to effectively teach students how to be innovative thinkers and self-directed learners while using technology.

Action:
Teach students the components of creativity as described by Dr. Cennamo. Students will be taught to identify a goal, think about what they already know, brainstorm ideas, identify alternative options, seek additional perspectives, and engage in the process of reflective judgment.

Monitor:
I will monitor the students progress through observations, behavior problems, and overall grades. If done correctly, students will be more driven to complete their work, which would be easily noted through the observation of time spent in class on assignments and questions asked. Also, when students are showing more on-task behavior, I expect the negative behaviors in the classroom to decrease while seeing student understanding and overall grades rise.

Evaluate:
I will know if I have accomplished my goal if student achievement and understanding increases, and negative behaviors decrease. This would be reflected in the number of missing assignments going down, grades going up, more intelligent conversation and questioning about curriculum standards, and a decrease in the amount of time spent disciplining students.

G.A.M.E. plan 2: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Goal:
I want to learn how to effectively build quality curriculum-based authentic learning experiences utilizing technology as a means of instructing.

Action:
Learn how to effectively, and expertly use Windows programs Microsoft Excel, Windows MovieMaker, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Publisher. These programs can extensively be used in student self-directed learning experiences. In addition, I plan to teach effective search methods and tips so students can be effective in internet searches.

Monitor:
After understanding what my students will need to know in order to use the computer applications mentioned above, I will find out what the students already know. I will then use each of the programs until I have gained a level of confidence that would allow me to direct students to use the software as an implement of education, not the focus of education.

Evaluate:
I will know if I have accomplished my goal if when put to use, students are able to proficiently use the software after a brief tutorial. The ability to quickly solve technical problems for students would also be an evaluative tool used.

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). 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.