Emerging Technologies

Keeping up with emerging technologies is an easy statement to make; however, it is not as easy as it appears. As often with new technology one must have to sift through the ever changing list of items that can be used to enhance learning. The question to address is where to start and how will this technology alter my approach to teaching? Then once that is answered, the technology must be assessed to see if the technology is sustainable and what change agents are in place when it is applied.
Now that I have reviewed a number of different technologies, it is apparent that using them as they emerge is a futile effort, some my just not be appropriate for classroom. One can also get mired in the analyzing of different types of software, devices, or systems than can be costly and inefficient in the classroom or district. Therefore this course has taught us that we must identify the principle means of the technology, evaluate its immediate use verses its sustainability, asses its affordability, and then also become an agent of change by developing a way to share such technology with our peers and administration. It seems to be a tightrope walk in our current system due to the economic conditions and the gap in the technical capabilities of our peers. I will continue to search out new technologies using the format implemented in this course and also continue to try to expose my peers to what particular technology that I find effective. Many may seem closed minded about technology, but will welcome the change once they see the ease of use and effectiveness on content material as it is passed to their students. A change agent is really an individual who can bridge the gap between theory and application, I plan to look for those gaps and try to construct the proper connections.

Moodle in the Classroom

Just click or insert the web address to view my presentation on Moodle.

http://vwent.glogster.com/moodle/

Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction

Initially I felt Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction meant that I would be sitting in front of my students trying to figure out over 170 plus individualized education plans. After the readings and numerous discussions, I came to realize it was more about what each of us has in us that triggers our intuition. In other words, what makes us want to learn, and how do we like to learn. Since some students like to read quietly, or they even prefer to take notes and debrief by having discussions, there is room for that in the classroom. However in order to diversify, and to reach a greater mass of students, I began to think that it would be best for my classroom to be broken into different stations of resource. Students could then participate in the different areas where they felt most comfortable. Since I have the luxury of having 30 laptops at my disposal, I can even have students take notes on their computers if they choose to do so.

My disposition as a teacher changes very little with regard to what I control, however the students gain a great deal of control as a result of what I have learned. By using platforms as Wikispaces, Glogs, Blogs, VoiceThread, Animoto, and numerous others, I now have the venue to create the technical learning environment that is also diverse. Much of the software that I plan to use can be manipulated to change font, colors, add media, and hyperlinks and can be as simple as cutting and pasting, or as complex as inserting code. Most of the software that is being used today is being simplified as most realize that the average individual isn’t the code writers that can design by writing lines of connected characters. Most individuals like to gain a sense of accomplishment and would like to have the software available that they can learn to use and for our students to enjoy manipulating for presentations, projects, or learning platforms.

Differentiated Instruction for me is a means to diversify my classroom. To use surveys to gain information on students and their learning styles, to assist in their personal development through different reading styles, either online or the old fashioned way, and to have them investigate in the manner they choose by selecting the different media sources that best fits their personal preference. Through accommodation and diversification of resources, I think my classroom is going to be a much more interesting learning environment. Without this course and the resources provided, I would not have seen me going in this direction, and it would be safe to say that although my students learn from my style, they will have more fun learning the way they like to learn. Once acclimated to the alteration, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it as well.

Universal Design

Click for the link to the Glog on Universal Design for Learning.

Reflection Final Blog on My GAME Plan

Throughout this course we have been constantly tinkering with our GAME plans. It occurred to me about the third time I adjusted it that I was really making adjustments without focusing on the overall implication to my activities associated with the objectives. So I stopped tinkering with it until I began on of the lessons that I implicated in my GAME plan. It was then that some minor adjustments presented themselves. They were merely time issues and also I had one activity that really needed a more refined rubric. I found Rubistar to be of great help. I had at least three good questions from my classes that dealt with the oversight. Other than those minor adjustments, the plan was stable.

I think what I learned the most had to do with actually creating a problem based lesson and how the students find it more intriguing than a general activity that leads them to the content material I am covering. Don’t misunderstand my statement, not every project can be created to investigate a problem, but I think I have developed a new way to create a few others that we can socially integrate and then assess through a digital story. That was what I found to be the model for me. At first I just thought of the lessons being developed in stages. But then I realized I can develop a project along a continuum and have it splinter along three different levels of that continuum. I also found that if I pitch it that way to the students, they can see exactly where they are going with the information they find. Because of the social networking as the second level of development and they can make adjustments to the projects as they move forward, even if they have to go back to their original solution. With them looking ahead to the digital storyboard, they can also see how they want to share their findings. It really permits the students to look at the whole picture. It also allows me to do the same before I pitch it to them.

As a result of this course, I can use that model to further integrate problem based learning projects, design webquests with the same procedure in mind, and be able to also keep my fingers on what new technology skills I am going to develop as I go. By setting up workshops for my peers, I have helped integrate the Social Studies department at my school and have shared some really fun activities for them to use with our students. I have even had a student use Animoto to share a digital story to the entire high school population as a promotion for “Prom Promise” week. She paired a series of statistics, with disturbing photos of alcohol related accidents, and popular music to promote student signing the contract not to use alcohol on prom night. It was tastefully done and made a great point to the audience. It was another example of an authentic assessment in digital storytelling. Good luck to us all in our future endeavors!

Here is just one of my student's Glog! http://ssrvjt3.edu.glogster.com/ Once there, just click on the title of her glog, just underneath in order to view it full screen. I also had them link to two other students to present as a team so you can view 2 others from her's. Enjoy.

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

As I have followed the pace of my GAME plan, I had taken time to tweak it here or there. I tried to stay to the original plan, revising only how I might initiate certain elements of the lessons. I tried to consider my peers as well as my students when examining the objectives and content material I wanted to cover. What I have found was the NETS-T standards and the NETS-S standards are really interchangeable. In fact when it really comes down to the nuts and bolts of each, they really are addressing standards students and teachers will share at the end of a good project or lesson. It really doesn’t take a long drawn out project for teachers or students to reach proficiency in integration of technology. As for that matter, the smaller and simpler lessons bracketed around one or two technical objectives really provide both teacher and student with confidence to attack the next step in the process. Originally, my GAME plan was going to be chocked full of different technical areas for me to learn as I was teaching them, then when I realized that in this case, less may be more, I began to think about what I felt like when I was given a daunting task. Why would I place that onus on a student? What I needed to do is search for ways to find simpler forms of technology to match with the problem, or match to a particular lesson, where students could master them very quickly. It was the same with my peers. Why ask them to reinvent the wheel when all I needed to do was find a way to make peak their interest by providing them with push button type lessons that we could do in a small workshop setting so they could master them and adapt to their content material. Technology is so daunting to those who fear it, yet it is so powerful for those who conquer and master it. I suppose it was like that for the same people who put down the slide rule and picked up a calculator. Now look at a slide rule and try to find someone who can use it without fear! Technology is amazing when a person can use it to their capacity, and when you continue to increase your capacity, creativity and imagination have no limits.

I really think it may be fun to have my students set up a GAME plan for each marking period. It might be interesting to see if we could come up with a universal plan, say to learn three new software applications to design a crafty project, or some lesson, or presentation. Perhaps that may be a bit ambitious, but I have found that the only parameters a student will stay in is what we place them in, sometimes it’s that “out of the box” thinking that really generates fun, informative, exciting lessons. Maybe it would be best to have them decide what they would like to work with each marking period from a “technology bank” that we post on our wall, then as we learn them, we get to check the off, sort of like Survivor, Biggest Loser, or American Idol. Really the only “loser” would be me if I didn’t try it.

Revising My GAME Plan

Since first instituting what I thought was a sound GAME plan for me to follow as a professional, I have found that each week I have made only slight adjustments. Mostly timing or planning a lesson, trying to integrate the technology or finding it doesn’t quit match the content material, and trying to keep a pace that seems to be getting away from me. I am frustrated by the timing of my course material with my classroom activities and having to help a student teacher right now all coupled with coaching Track and Field. It really has put me in the corner. So I am trying to pare down the adjustments and step back a bit and try to analyze what I have accomplished up to this point. I spent the entire Easter Sunday at my computer and I will never do that again. It should have been a day spent with my family, yet I was buried because of prior commitments and assignments. It had a negative effect on my personality and the kids made comment after comment on Monday that I looked tired or asked if I was OK. Obviously, I took on more than I should have, so rather than trying to tweak what I have so far, I am going to push forward and make sure I have what I want to teach the students, when I get to that content material. I have assembled the Czars of Russia for them to include on their faux MySpace, I have located and compiled different products for them to advertise; collected several websites so their research is streamlined, and have developed a model, rubric, and daily assignment checklists to keep them moving in a timely fashion. I just am not sure what more I can do in order to make this lesson seamless. Sometimes you just have to see what happens. Like coaching football, a play that is well executed on paper looks like a game winner, call it on the field against the wrong defense and it could cost you the game. That’s why practice is so important. When I spent a couple of hours going through it myself, I found it worked just fine and I was able to find everything prompted on the rubric, but I’m not a student with that content material so I may find a problem does exist.

It is my goal to make sure I reach the NETS- T standard 1 where I facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. By having them develop a mock MySpace, it permits them to design the layout, create graphics, and allow their creative energy to shine. It is an individual project with approximately 40 items to display on a single page; therefore it is somewhat of a challenge and will reveal what they may see as important and what they didn’t prioritize. It will also promote, reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes. The project also permits me to model and facilitate effective use of current and new digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. There are other goals to set for myself as I plug along. I think that by conducting a small scale workshop for a handful of my peers I exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology integration, and help reach goals by developing the leadership and technology skills of others. I just have to be careful on how much I put on my plate so it is more manageable.