My first goal in my GAME plan was to implement more authentic, real-world experiences for my students. What I had in mind was using more online materials; WebQuests, simulations, and interactive reference sites. I have found some resources that I have found helpful. The unit that I am currently on in my world history sections is World War I. The British Broadcasting company, along with PBS, seem to have great websites set up for World War I that offer simulations and interactive sections. I have found a few WebQuests that I like thus far; I am even using one this week in class as a sort of trial run. My government and economics class has been somewhat harder to find online resources because of the nature of the way our course is designed. Some of the materials that I have found online have been extremely in-depth, much more that we cover in my class. I have been trying to focus more on finding ideas for authentic, more hands-on type learning instead. This has been a slow process.
So far, I think that I would need to modify my plan and focus mainly on one class instead of both. I decided this week that I wanted to try and implement my first goal in my World History classes and forgo the Government and Economics class. My evaluation method was through student surveys and also by verbal interactions. As my students are scheduled to start their first WebQuest tomorrow, we will see what the feedback is. Most seemed excited today in class when I was quickly giving them something to look forward to as class was ending. The biggest portion of my learning curve regarding the WebQuest idea for more authentic instruction is that they will probably most definitely need to be modified to fit my class schedule and my group of students. I do not know if it is feasible to use a WebQuest that is already in place. My biggest question would be if there is a website that allows me to create my own WebQuest that is user-friendly. I can always retype a WebQuest and put it on my webpage that I have modified, but I figured that it would be easier to make one online. My other question is how I am going to grade a group-based WebQuest. I have a plan in place for this current one, I will find out if it works. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas on how to grade a group project?
My second goal in my GAME plan was to create a collaborative learning environment to promote cultural understanding and digital citizenship. I have actually been pretty active in this goal and have a collaborative wikispace set up with a classroom in Hungary. Check it out and tell me what you think: www.hungary-us-history.wikispaces.com. We are still planning how we are going to put this all together as this is both of our first times, but so far, it has been a decent experience. My students in one of my classes will begin working on the first section of the wikispace – The French Revolution – beginning Monday. I will have to let you know how that goes with the collaboration in Hungary.
So far, I have not needed to modify this goal of my GAME plan, but time will tell. Depending on how well the first section goes will depend on how many questions I end up with. My biggest issue is fitting this wikispace into my class time. The classroom in Hungary is currently on the French Revolution; I covered it three weeks ago as it was my first unit. The classroom in Hungary also only has 10 students. My world history classes are four classrooms of 10 (I know, great numbers, but that is the way our at-risk program is set up). So I decided to let each section complete a section at a time. For example, my best section will go first to see how it goes and I will have the opportunity to change anything I see after they begin. My second group will complete the next section on Europe in the 1800’s, and so on. I have learned that it is extremely difficult to communicate with another classroom teacher from another continent and that it could take days for an answer. But, overall, it has been a good experience. I will let you know how it goes once we get started.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Resources and information needed for my GAME Plan
Resources and Information for GAME Plan
My first goal in the implementation of ISTE standards is to “facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity” (the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 1997-2010). One of the focus areas that I have that the ISTE put in this standard is “exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems” (ISTE, 1997-2010). One of the first resources I would need to complete this goal of my game plan is access to the media. This includes all forms; print, online, television, etc. as media would provide an outlet to open up ideas for authentic problems. As I teach government and economics, real-world, authentic problems are present in our global society and I would simply need the resources to access information and stay informed about those problems. This could also include the ability to stay informed on local problems; school, townships, boroughs, county, etc. This can be done by simply attending meetings that each hold. Since technology would provide a basis for my content by helping establish authentic ideas for problems, I would also need technology to enhance my content (Laureate, 2009). It would provide a basis for perhaps a WebQuest that I could create to help students solve the authentic problem we found by using technology as a research tool. I am someone who would need colleague’s help in creating a WebQuest. The WebQuest would provide a way for me to design the goals, learning, and assessment criteria of the learning goals I want my student to meet by the end of the WebQuest. To meet this goal so far I have begun to bookmark online media sites to my webpage for students to access, begun watching 10 minutes of news daily, and had students begin to create a survey to ask their classmates what topics they would like to see discussed the most. Perhaps with that information I can fit their learning goals into our curriculum.
My second goal in the implementation of ISTE standards is to “promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility” (ISTE, 1997-2010). The area of this standard I would like to focus on especially is to “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using…collaboration tools” (ISTE, 1997-2010). The resources I would need to complete this goal are to simply become a member and browse different websites like the Flat Classroom Project and ePals. I think reaching out to other individuals, both in my building and outside it, would help me feel a little more comfortable to take this step in collaboration with a classroom that my students have never met. The only step I have taken towards meeting this goal is that I have checked out ePals.com, I have become aware that some of the resources I need for pen pals and online collaboration is permission slips and privacy forms signed by my students’ parents. As I am completely unfamiliar with how collaborative, online project work, simply learning and researching for myself, perhaps even a workshop, would be of great benefit for me.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 3. Enriching content area learning with technology, Part I. [Educational video]. 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.
My first goal in the implementation of ISTE standards is to “facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity” (the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 1997-2010). One of the focus areas that I have that the ISTE put in this standard is “exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems” (ISTE, 1997-2010). One of the first resources I would need to complete this goal of my game plan is access to the media. This includes all forms; print, online, television, etc. as media would provide an outlet to open up ideas for authentic problems. As I teach government and economics, real-world, authentic problems are present in our global society and I would simply need the resources to access information and stay informed about those problems. This could also include the ability to stay informed on local problems; school, townships, boroughs, county, etc. This can be done by simply attending meetings that each hold. Since technology would provide a basis for my content by helping establish authentic ideas for problems, I would also need technology to enhance my content (Laureate, 2009). It would provide a basis for perhaps a WebQuest that I could create to help students solve the authentic problem we found by using technology as a research tool. I am someone who would need colleague’s help in creating a WebQuest. The WebQuest would provide a way for me to design the goals, learning, and assessment criteria of the learning goals I want my student to meet by the end of the WebQuest. To meet this goal so far I have begun to bookmark online media sites to my webpage for students to access, begun watching 10 minutes of news daily, and had students begin to create a survey to ask their classmates what topics they would like to see discussed the most. Perhaps with that information I can fit their learning goals into our curriculum.
My second goal in the implementation of ISTE standards is to “promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility” (ISTE, 1997-2010). The area of this standard I would like to focus on especially is to “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using…collaboration tools” (ISTE, 1997-2010). The resources I would need to complete this goal are to simply become a member and browse different websites like the Flat Classroom Project and ePals. I think reaching out to other individuals, both in my building and outside it, would help me feel a little more comfortable to take this step in collaboration with a classroom that my students have never met. The only step I have taken towards meeting this goal is that I have checked out ePals.com, I have become aware that some of the resources I need for pen pals and online collaboration is permission slips and privacy forms signed by my students’ parents. As I am completely unfamiliar with how collaborative, online project work, simply learning and researching for myself, perhaps even a workshop, would be of great benefit for me.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 3. Enriching content area learning with technology, Part I. [Educational video]. 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.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
My GAME Plan
My GAME Plan:
Constantly improving my knowledge and understanding of technology is crucial for me as I look for ways to improve my teaching. As students are entering my classroom with what seems like more and more ability to use computers, my ability to stay on top of the newest information and uses of technology is key. However, simply being able to use the technology is not my only goal. I understand that I must be able to incorporate it successfully into my classroom in a way that challenges my students to think for themselves, be creative, and perhaps even take risks (Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P., 2010, p. 40).
Cennamo, et. al. (2010) laid out a GAME plan for helping both students and teachers meet learning and professional goals. One of the areas that I want to incorporate a GAME plan in is to help strengthen my ability to incorporate 21st century technology. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is an organization that hopes to increase the use, understanding, and facilitation of technology in our nation’s schools. ISTE laid out several standards for the integration of technology that I would like to use to help transform my classroom. After I successfully implement these two standards into my classroom following my GAME plan, will help move my classroom further into the 21st century and make sure that my students are leaving my room with the necessary 21st century skills.
My first goal in the implementation of ISTE standards is to “facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity” (the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), 1997-2010). One of the focus areas that I have that the ISTE put in this standard is “exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems” (ISTE, 1997-2010). For my GAME plan, that area will be my focus. As I teach world history, I would like students to experience learning history through authentic and technology-based ways that help them explore and learn the facts on their own. My goal would be to implement one authentic, real-world experience for my students every marking period. One of the ideas I had this week is to use more online resources; from WebQuests, online simulations, and interactive reference sites. Dr. Peggy Ertmer (Laureate, 2009) commented that technology allows students to interact with technology. By finding great online resources, my students would not be gaining information from my lectures; they would be allowed to find real-world, authentic information for themselves through simple guidance on my end. Finding great online resources will be my biggest “Action” movement in my GAME plan as it will require additional planning and finding of resources than I am normally used to. To monitor this goal, I would just ensure that I am incorporating one of these learning experiences every marking period. To evaluate this goal I would ask students, whether through verbal interaction or anonymous surveys, how they feel about the authentic projects that they have been completing. This would allow me to know if students are gaining the information I want them to through authentic learning experiences.
My second goal in the implementation of ISTE standards is to “promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility” (ISTE, 1997-2010). The area of this standard I would like to focus on especially is to “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using…collaboration tools” (ISTE, 1997-2010). One of the great things about world history is it provides a great opportunity for students to gain multiple perspectives on different events throughout world history. Collaboration with classrooms around the world would provide a great way to learn different perspectives on events that we learn about in my classroom as well as gain a cultural experience by working and collaborating with classrooms around the world. One action that I would take to achieve this goal is to search for collaborative classrooms whether through ePals (www.epals.com) or Flat Classroom (www.flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com). There are so many teachers willing to collaborate and many resources to make that happen. I would need to obviously plan ahead to make this type of collaboration possible, but the overall cultural experience would be amazing for my students and make it worth it. I think a good goal for this year is to choose just one collaborative project to complete in my classroom. To monitor this, I would need to break down the steps it would take to complete a collaborative project and simply use a checklist to make sure all steps are completed. This would include figuring out a project to collaborate on, finding a classroom or group to collaborate with, creating a project to collaborate with, etc. My learning can be extended by trying to add a collaborative project every year in my classroom. For me, that means perhaps attending professional development opportunities that allow me to learn more about this type of learning experience, find classrooms willing to collaborate with, and work on projects in my classroom that would promote collaboration.
As these are two standards that I do not feel completely comfortable with, yet also standards that I want to try and incorporate in my classroom, setting up a GAME plan seems like a fairly easy way to establish these goals in my teaching repertoire. Both provide my students with opportunities to experience 21st century learning and allow me to take the learning experience for my students out of my hands and allow them to learn for themselves through guidance. These two goals would allow me to push my classroom further into the 21st century and provide valuable learning experiences for my students.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 3. Enriching content area learning with technology, Part I. [Educational video]. 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
Constantly improving my knowledge and understanding of technology is crucial for me as I look for ways to improve my teaching. As students are entering my classroom with what seems like more and more ability to use computers, my ability to stay on top of the newest information and uses of technology is key. However, simply being able to use the technology is not my only goal. I understand that I must be able to incorporate it successfully into my classroom in a way that challenges my students to think for themselves, be creative, and perhaps even take risks (Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P., 2010, p. 40).
Cennamo, et. al. (2010) laid out a GAME plan for helping both students and teachers meet learning and professional goals. One of the areas that I want to incorporate a GAME plan in is to help strengthen my ability to incorporate 21st century technology. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is an organization that hopes to increase the use, understanding, and facilitation of technology in our nation’s schools. ISTE laid out several standards for the integration of technology that I would like to use to help transform my classroom. After I successfully implement these two standards into my classroom following my GAME plan, will help move my classroom further into the 21st century and make sure that my students are leaving my room with the necessary 21st century skills.
My first goal in the implementation of ISTE standards is to “facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity” (the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), 1997-2010). One of the focus areas that I have that the ISTE put in this standard is “exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems” (ISTE, 1997-2010). For my GAME plan, that area will be my focus. As I teach world history, I would like students to experience learning history through authentic and technology-based ways that help them explore and learn the facts on their own. My goal would be to implement one authentic, real-world experience for my students every marking period. One of the ideas I had this week is to use more online resources; from WebQuests, online simulations, and interactive reference sites. Dr. Peggy Ertmer (Laureate, 2009) commented that technology allows students to interact with technology. By finding great online resources, my students would not be gaining information from my lectures; they would be allowed to find real-world, authentic information for themselves through simple guidance on my end. Finding great online resources will be my biggest “Action” movement in my GAME plan as it will require additional planning and finding of resources than I am normally used to. To monitor this goal, I would just ensure that I am incorporating one of these learning experiences every marking period. To evaluate this goal I would ask students, whether through verbal interaction or anonymous surveys, how they feel about the authentic projects that they have been completing. This would allow me to know if students are gaining the information I want them to through authentic learning experiences.
My second goal in the implementation of ISTE standards is to “promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility” (ISTE, 1997-2010). The area of this standard I would like to focus on especially is to “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using…collaboration tools” (ISTE, 1997-2010). One of the great things about world history is it provides a great opportunity for students to gain multiple perspectives on different events throughout world history. Collaboration with classrooms around the world would provide a great way to learn different perspectives on events that we learn about in my classroom as well as gain a cultural experience by working and collaborating with classrooms around the world. One action that I would take to achieve this goal is to search for collaborative classrooms whether through ePals (www.epals.com) or Flat Classroom (www.flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com). There are so many teachers willing to collaborate and many resources to make that happen. I would need to obviously plan ahead to make this type of collaboration possible, but the overall cultural experience would be amazing for my students and make it worth it. I think a good goal for this year is to choose just one collaborative project to complete in my classroom. To monitor this, I would need to break down the steps it would take to complete a collaborative project and simply use a checklist to make sure all steps are completed. This would include figuring out a project to collaborate on, finding a classroom or group to collaborate with, creating a project to collaborate with, etc. My learning can be extended by trying to add a collaborative project every year in my classroom. For me, that means perhaps attending professional development opportunities that allow me to learn more about this type of learning experience, find classrooms willing to collaborate with, and work on projects in my classroom that would promote collaboration.
As these are two standards that I do not feel completely comfortable with, yet also standards that I want to try and incorporate in my classroom, setting up a GAME plan seems like a fairly easy way to establish these goals in my teaching repertoire. Both provide my students with opportunities to experience 21st century learning and allow me to take the learning experience for my students out of my hands and allow them to learn for themselves through guidance. These two goals would allow me to push my classroom further into the 21st century and provide valuable learning experiences for my students.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 3. Enriching content area learning with technology, Part I. [Educational video]. 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
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