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.
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Craig-
ReplyDeleteFirst off congrats on finishing a successful year in a new school- I can't even imagine all the silly stuff that comes up on a daily basis in the new school. Clocks working properly, bells ringing at the right times, phone systems, computers, and never mind getting the kids adjusted to the school.
I agree that it is tough at the end of the year to follow through on game plans. However, a suggestion for how to fit in teaching a software program without taking up too much time in the curriculum, would be to slowly introduce it. For example Publisher, if you use it as a teacher tool for graphic organizers or newsletters, the first time show the kids the saved document that you created at first. Explain that you can use text boxes and edit fonts etc. just like in word or power pt. Then maybe the next time you hand out a document that you used publisher for, again show them another aspect of it. Maybe at five minutes at a clip. After a couple of these students will start to realize how familiar many microsoft programs truly are. I would say as a final allowance, give the kids a day to explore the program on their own given a list of tasks (create text box, import image, import or insert chart, etc.) For classes that are lower/more concrete I might suggest more specific step by step printed out directions- that I am sure you can find online.
Hope this helps-
Again congrats on your last day of school!!
Christine
Craig,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I am very jealous that you are done. My school does not end until Friday, June 11th. I would not feel bad about not getting to things in your plan, we all know how crazy the end of the year always is!
One suggestion that I have for your problem with having to take time to teach students a certain program is to take a survey at the beginning of the year asking them what programs they know how to use. Perhaps you could also find some "how to" videos on the web and have them watch them at home. I have learned that youtube is great way to have students catch up on things they may have missed in class or for reinforcement.
I am still very jealous of your schedule.
Scott Monthie
Craig,
ReplyDeleteIt must be amazing getting out before Memorial Day. Our students leave on the 22nd and teachers have to have professional development through the 24th. Do you go back early in August?
I have a suggestion similar to Christine's that may help cut down on instruction time. The computer technician in our building designed several step-by-step instruction pamphlets for various Microsoft programs. They were designed to help the multitude of teachers in my school that do not have the training to use these programs on their own let alone in a lesson. With permission, I gave these pamphlets to my students as a reference guide when they designed genetic disorder handouts using Microsoft publisher. It went much faster as most student questions were answered on the sheet. You might considered creating one yourself that has the basic needs typed out for your students to use as a guide in designing their projects. This should cutdown on simple/repeat questions.
Craig,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! I agree with the comments of our colleagues. Sometimes you might get lucky and have a few students who are well-versed in some of the programs you are trying to teach and they can assist others.
The handouts are also a great help. I have used these with my fifth graders when teaching a new program.
Another thing you might consider is having your students create how to's for the next class. These could be done in a variety of ways - Voicethreads, PowerPoint, videos, screen capture, interactive whiteboard lessons. You could use these year after year and post them on your web page too for easy access.
Keep teching!