When I look at my GAME plan, I had two goals: create real-world, authentic problems to inspire creativity and set up collaborative workspaces for my students. I have progressed towards trying to meet these two goals rather quick at first and somewhat slower as I have progressed. When we first were given this assignment, I felt really good about these two goals and thought that everything would work out great. This has not been the case with both goals. The biggest thing I have learned is that patience and time are needed to complete any type of technology-based plan that I may have, including especially online collaboration. As my classroom has been working with a classroom in Hungary, we have run into a few road bumps, namely that the classroom in Hungary has been slow to get started. Right now I feel as if my classroom is sitting and waiting on them to get started. My students ask about it daily, but I do not have a reason for why the Hungarian classroom has not started. This has been somewhat frustrating.
I do feel that I have been exposed to so many new technologies through this course and attempting to meet my GAME plan that there is so much to use in my classroom. Vicki Davis (2009) talked about eduwiki (http://eduwikius.wikispaces.com/) in our videos this week and I have learned that there are so many new resources that I want to explore and perhaps try to help meet my GAME plan goals.
The biggest goal I have set for myself after working through my GAME Plan and through our course resources is to slowly integrate social networking into my classroom. My goal is to have simply my four common courses (our at-risk team members) collaborating first and then move to outside of our classroom doors. Since I have learned that I should start small and plan big regarding these new technologies, having my common classes collaborate seems like a reasonable start.
I would change my approach slightly regarding how I learn about using some of these technologies and that is in two ways – watching more online video tutorials first before diving right in so that I can decide which is the best possible site or resource for my classroom. The other change in learning that I would take is to go to some of the really tech-savvy people in my building and feel them out about these new technologies and see if they use them at all. Although I probably should have done this immediately with my GAME plan, I just was not able to fit this into my daily grind schedule. However, I think it would be so important in moving forward next time.
Resources:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 10. Spotlight on technology: Social networking and online collaboration, part I. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Evaluating my 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 actions that I took was to just take an afternoon or two and explore different resources available to me for my world history class and ask my colleagues what they used and sites that they found were interesting. As there is only two other world history teachers in our district, the amount of information I was given from them really was not too informative as far as finding online resources. I did manage to find several on my own that I have been using. I have especially been focusing on using more WebQuest-type learning that requires students to facilitate their own learning. Two that I have used thus far were on World War I (http://schools.4j.lane.edu/churchill/library/classes/WWIQuest/WWIProcess.html) and the Russian Revolution (http://www.zunal.com/webquest.php?w=28026).
I have learned that through problem-based learning that perhaps I could do more of an interdisciplinary project or activity that might allow my students to work collaboratively with what they are also learning in English class. Our at-risk students are on a team that the English, Science, Math, and Social Studies (me) work together. As the English class reads Animal Farm, I was thinking that using a collaborative project would be a great idea since Dr. Ertmer (2009) mentioned that some of the best problem-based activities are interdisciplinary.
My questions have come more from my second goal that I had for integrating 21st century technology. My second goal in my GAME plan was to create a collaborative learning environment to promote cultural understanding and digital citizenship. As I have created the collaborative wikispace with a classroom in Hungary (www.hungary-us-history.wikispaces.com), I have been moving along with this goal but we have had to adjust our schedule for completing different sections of the wikispace. My biggest question regarding this wikispace and collaborative project is how I am going to assess it. I moved pretty fast in setting up the wikispace and never really sat down to decide how to grade and evaluate what my students are doing. I also am wondering if my students are learning anything from the collaboration as some of it tends to be a review for my students. This has really been a collaborative project that I feel I am learning as I go and will probably need to reevaluate later.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 8. Spotlight on technology: Problem-based learning, part I. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
I have learned that through problem-based learning that perhaps I could do more of an interdisciplinary project or activity that might allow my students to work collaboratively with what they are also learning in English class. Our at-risk students are on a team that the English, Science, Math, and Social Studies (me) work together. As the English class reads Animal Farm, I was thinking that using a collaborative project would be a great idea since Dr. Ertmer (2009) mentioned that some of the best problem-based activities are interdisciplinary.
My questions have come more from my second goal that I had for integrating 21st century technology. My second goal in my GAME plan was to create a collaborative learning environment to promote cultural understanding and digital citizenship. As I have created the collaborative wikispace with a classroom in Hungary (www.hungary-us-history.wikispaces.com), I have been moving along with this goal but we have had to adjust our schedule for completing different sections of the wikispace. My biggest question regarding this wikispace and collaborative project is how I am going to assess it. I moved pretty fast in setting up the wikispace and never really sat down to decide how to grade and evaluate what my students are doing. I also am wondering if my students are learning anything from the collaboration as some of it tends to be a review for my students. This has really been a collaborative project that I feel I am learning as I go and will probably need to reevaluate later.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 8. Spotlight on technology: Problem-based learning, part I. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monitoring my GAME Plan
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.
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 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
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Week 8 Reflection - Transitioning from Knowledge to Synthesis
Reflection: Transitioning from Knowledge to Synthesis
When it comes up in conversation that I am taking a graduate class that is technology focused, most people automatically assume that I am either learning to teach students how to use technology or expanding on my technology expertise so I can incorporate more into my classroom. At first, that was my initial impression of technology courses; simply learning how to use technology better and how to incorporate it better in my classroom.
The most striking revelation from this course is that simply incorporating technology or teaching students the proper way to use it is not getting students ready for the real world. In fact, a student who knows the proper way to use technology could essentially leave high school completely unprepared because they are lacking an information literacy skill set that is essential to the 21st century workplace. Information literacy is so much more than knowing how to use technology. More simply, it is showing students how to learn (Laureate, 2009a). Having the proper information literacy means that students can ask the proper questions, search for resources, evaluate resources, synthesize information gained, and communicate what they learned in a collaborative way (Laureate, 2009b).
In my classroom, this revelation changes my approach to technology.
First, I am no longer so concerned with making sure that students know how to use every technology that exists. If all I do in my classroom is teach students how to use technology, then I am doing them a great disservice in preparing them for their future in the workforce. Thomas Friedman (2005) started the battle cry for gaining information literacy and 21st century skills. Friedman (2005) claims that the rest of the world quickly caught, and since passed, the United States in its ability to turn out great mathematicians, engineers, and citizens who can comfortably move from their school environment to the fast growing, ever changing, digital world in which we live. Yet, in the United States, we have continued to make a very slow change from traditional curriculum to a curriculum that meets the needs of students who will be entering the 21st century workforce. In today’s businesses, one must be able to find, evaluate, and use the information and technology given to them to collaborate with not only people here in the United States, but people across the globe. A worker must be able to collect data from multiple sources and use it correctly to solve problems. Those are 21st century skills. So if all I do as a classroom teacher is just teach students how to use the technology and not the information literacy skill set of questioning, searching, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating, I am not helping our students prepare for a quickly changing, unpredictable workforce they will be entering in a few short years.
One of the first things we did in this course was to evaluate ourselves and our students and how we would score ourselves in information literacy. There were certain areas I thought my students scored poorly on and they are the items I want to focus on as this school year begins. As Dr. Hartman (Laureate, 2009a) mentioned and Dr. Leu, et al. (2004, p. 1572) agreed, searching for reliable resources, evaluating them, and making connections between them does not seem to be a strong point for the students that I teach. One of the ways to approach some of these problem areas is to help my students become better at the locating, evaluating, and synthesizing of information. I liked the idea presented by Dr. Leu, et al. (2004, p. 1598) that encouraged using a collaborative environment to have students who are stronger at certain aspects of these literacies to help guide those that are not. Perhaps it just needs to be set up in a way where it is more directed at the beginning and then naturally occurs later. This idea also supports Warlick’s (Laureate, 2009a) idea that students should be able to learn themselves instead of making everything teacher directed. This means that I would have to create a collaborative classroom environment and that working with others is supported. Another way to support this idea is to create user friendly graphic organizers that help guide students through different aspects of the information literacy skill set.
One area that I want to expand on through professional development is assessment. As there is such a focus in my district on the state standards, I feel torn in two directions; assessing the standards and assessing 21st century skills. I would want to learn better ways to assess both in more meaningful and authentic ways. Kuhlthau, Maniotes, and Caspari (2007) noted that assessment should be so much more than simply giving a student a grade on the final project that they submit to you (p. 111). This means that there is more to be assessed than simply content knowledge and what the student can conjure up at the end of the unit. Kuhlthau, Maniotes, and Caspari (2007) and Jukes and Macdonald (2007) provided a baseline for information regarding assessment, but more professional development on the area of assessing 21st century skills would be so beneficial. If I am trying to incorporate more 21st century skills into my classroom, there needs to be a way to assess them. I feel that this class has given me the proper knowledge to begin this process, but further pursing it would be a benefit to me and my classroom approach to incorporating 21st century skills.
Pursuing other graduate classes here at Walden University as well as professional development opportunities that are offered through my Intermediate Unit would be great ways to gain more knowledge on the subject. There also have been so many teachers in my building who have openly embraced incorporating technology so simply sitting and having a discussion with them would, in my opinion, provide so many great ideas for assessment.
Since I have learned that incorporating technology in my classroom means so much more than simply teaching students how to use technology, I feel that I am better motivated to make sure that I am properly incorporating 21st century information literacy skills as I teach this coming school year. I understand that this does not mean that students have to use technology for every single skill; it can be done in numerous ways as information skills are more than simply using technology. Students can learn how to question, search, evaluate, synthesize, and communicate in daily lessons and not just on certain occasions when technology is available to me. As David Warlick (2009c) said, the information skill set is more of creating an environment for students to connect with each other and share ideas and information through collaboration.
References:
Friedman, T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/magazine/03DOMINANCE.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=It's%20a%20flat%20world,%20after%20all&st=cse
Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2007). Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Program 1. Skills for the future. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Program 2. New Literacies. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009c). Program 13. It’s not about the technology. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Leu, D. J., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J. L., & Cammack, D. W. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the internet and other information and communication technologies. In Ruddell, R.B. & Unrau, N.J., (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th ed.). (pp. 1570–1613). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
When it comes up in conversation that I am taking a graduate class that is technology focused, most people automatically assume that I am either learning to teach students how to use technology or expanding on my technology expertise so I can incorporate more into my classroom. At first, that was my initial impression of technology courses; simply learning how to use technology better and how to incorporate it better in my classroom.
The most striking revelation from this course is that simply incorporating technology or teaching students the proper way to use it is not getting students ready for the real world. In fact, a student who knows the proper way to use technology could essentially leave high school completely unprepared because they are lacking an information literacy skill set that is essential to the 21st century workplace. Information literacy is so much more than knowing how to use technology. More simply, it is showing students how to learn (Laureate, 2009a). Having the proper information literacy means that students can ask the proper questions, search for resources, evaluate resources, synthesize information gained, and communicate what they learned in a collaborative way (Laureate, 2009b).
In my classroom, this revelation changes my approach to technology.
First, I am no longer so concerned with making sure that students know how to use every technology that exists. If all I do in my classroom is teach students how to use technology, then I am doing them a great disservice in preparing them for their future in the workforce. Thomas Friedman (2005) started the battle cry for gaining information literacy and 21st century skills. Friedman (2005) claims that the rest of the world quickly caught, and since passed, the United States in its ability to turn out great mathematicians, engineers, and citizens who can comfortably move from their school environment to the fast growing, ever changing, digital world in which we live. Yet, in the United States, we have continued to make a very slow change from traditional curriculum to a curriculum that meets the needs of students who will be entering the 21st century workforce. In today’s businesses, one must be able to find, evaluate, and use the information and technology given to them to collaborate with not only people here in the United States, but people across the globe. A worker must be able to collect data from multiple sources and use it correctly to solve problems. Those are 21st century skills. So if all I do as a classroom teacher is just teach students how to use the technology and not the information literacy skill set of questioning, searching, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating, I am not helping our students prepare for a quickly changing, unpredictable workforce they will be entering in a few short years.
One of the first things we did in this course was to evaluate ourselves and our students and how we would score ourselves in information literacy. There were certain areas I thought my students scored poorly on and they are the items I want to focus on as this school year begins. As Dr. Hartman (Laureate, 2009a) mentioned and Dr. Leu, et al. (2004, p. 1572) agreed, searching for reliable resources, evaluating them, and making connections between them does not seem to be a strong point for the students that I teach. One of the ways to approach some of these problem areas is to help my students become better at the locating, evaluating, and synthesizing of information. I liked the idea presented by Dr. Leu, et al. (2004, p. 1598) that encouraged using a collaborative environment to have students who are stronger at certain aspects of these literacies to help guide those that are not. Perhaps it just needs to be set up in a way where it is more directed at the beginning and then naturally occurs later. This idea also supports Warlick’s (Laureate, 2009a) idea that students should be able to learn themselves instead of making everything teacher directed. This means that I would have to create a collaborative classroom environment and that working with others is supported. Another way to support this idea is to create user friendly graphic organizers that help guide students through different aspects of the information literacy skill set.
One area that I want to expand on through professional development is assessment. As there is such a focus in my district on the state standards, I feel torn in two directions; assessing the standards and assessing 21st century skills. I would want to learn better ways to assess both in more meaningful and authentic ways. Kuhlthau, Maniotes, and Caspari (2007) noted that assessment should be so much more than simply giving a student a grade on the final project that they submit to you (p. 111). This means that there is more to be assessed than simply content knowledge and what the student can conjure up at the end of the unit. Kuhlthau, Maniotes, and Caspari (2007) and Jukes and Macdonald (2007) provided a baseline for information regarding assessment, but more professional development on the area of assessing 21st century skills would be so beneficial. If I am trying to incorporate more 21st century skills into my classroom, there needs to be a way to assess them. I feel that this class has given me the proper knowledge to begin this process, but further pursing it would be a benefit to me and my classroom approach to incorporating 21st century skills.
Pursuing other graduate classes here at Walden University as well as professional development opportunities that are offered through my Intermediate Unit would be great ways to gain more knowledge on the subject. There also have been so many teachers in my building who have openly embraced incorporating technology so simply sitting and having a discussion with them would, in my opinion, provide so many great ideas for assessment.
Since I have learned that incorporating technology in my classroom means so much more than simply teaching students how to use technology, I feel that I am better motivated to make sure that I am properly incorporating 21st century information literacy skills as I teach this coming school year. I understand that this does not mean that students have to use technology for every single skill; it can be done in numerous ways as information skills are more than simply using technology. Students can learn how to question, search, evaluate, synthesize, and communicate in daily lessons and not just on certain occasions when technology is available to me. As David Warlick (2009c) said, the information skill set is more of creating an environment for students to connect with each other and share ideas and information through collaboration.
References:
Friedman, T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/magazine/03DOMINANCE.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=It's%20a%20flat%20world,%20after%20all&st=cse
Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2007). Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Program 1. Skills for the future. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Program 2. New Literacies. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009c). Program 13. It’s not about the technology. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Leu, D. J., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J. L., & Cammack, D. W. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the internet and other information and communication technologies. In Ruddell, R.B. & Unrau, N.J., (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th ed.). (pp. 1570–1613). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
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