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.

Evaluating My GAME Plan Progress

So far my actions with regards to adjusting my GAME Plan have kept me moving forward. I have been able to complete a the lesson plan for two of the three lessons I plan to pitch, however since I have a student teacher finishing up within the next week, I have had very little time to devout to completing it until after the weekend.

There are a few things I have learned that I can apply to the instructional practice. One is when I am presenting the material to my students and my colleagues, that I am aware of their differentiating abilities. Not everyone is going to be as quick to pick up on the software, or the programs at first. However, I did select projects that are pretty easy to implement. They are more point and click in order to have my recipients gain confidence. Secondly, I will make sure I implement a checklist that walks everyone through the process step by step so they can have a reference if their wheels begin to fall off. Lastly, with regards to my peers, I plan to provide a list of resources for them to explore if they want to adapt more lessons using technology. I was going to provide each with possible ways to implement what I taught them in their content material, and had planned to make it a “learn by doing” activity.

There are still things that I have to learn, such as how to introduce a technical lesson to immediately reduce the stress level of having to sit through a working meeting. I also have to find a way to evaluate the different technical levels of my students without wasting too much time. Some of my students have trouble reading above the 6th grade level, yet they are more computer savvy than I (which may not be that sporty, but…), so the classes are differentiated along technical lines.

Currently I am trying to find an alternate way to introduce my presentation with my peers to address the stress issues that technology present to those who are intimidated. It is so important to keep it simple, yet boost morale in this type of setting. We as teachers are so busy with abstract material that it is easy to get discouraged by just another useless staff meeting that serves no purpose or use in the classroom. I guess that is my ultimate goal, to eliminate wasting time with activities that fail to facilitate teaching and learning.

Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

Keeping with this week’s assignment I have spent some valuable time searching for different programs to implement with a project in order to meet special needs or just to enhance diversity in learning styles. I have also been searching for alternative means of assessment techniques and methods. I am finding that there are quite a few assessment techniques online when you search for projects, video guides, or lesson plans. It would seem the key goes back to the previous course where if you change a few terms when searching, you can find some very good information.

So far I have been able to find everything needed for my project. Since the student project is a mock MySpace, what I am doing is laying out the different publisher options for the students. Then I am providing a list of websites to research, along with a daily checklist for assessment. I am in the process of creating a rubric that has forty different items where the students will get 2 points apiece for a total of eighty points. Their presentation is broken into 4 parts each worth 5 points for a total of twenty and a grand total for the project at one-hundred.

As for my peer presentation, the first meeting has been scheduled and I have sent emails out for each teacher to give me some information of their favorite athlete, automobile, or motorcycle. I will have them search for photos and information to have them complete their project. I will use a similar checklist to model what I was doing with my students. I have gotten all the feedback from them and everyone is on-board. It seemed that was a natural step in the process.

So far I really didn’t have to modify my plan, but may have to adjust the peer presentations if we have our time adjusted by the administration. Some dates are only tentative because of other planning. The only questions I really have are will I be able to get everyone to learn the process as well as using the media and technology. It may be a lot to ask from a couple of my peers. For the most part they are eager, but have also warned they aren’t the most technical. I’m not sure why they are suspect; I am no digital native by any means. So I think I am ready to move forward. If anyone has any hints, questions, or comments, please feel free to let me have them. The last thing I want is a surprise while I am presenting and working with my students and peers.

Resources and Information to carry out my GAME plan.

The resources needed to teach, are computers, publisher program, the internet with predetermined reference sites, and an example of a MySpace. With that example, I will have to design a rubric for the students to address each individual area of the mock MySpace to create their project. The rubric will be augmented by daily assessment sheets where the students have the day’s activities and expectations to fulfill. Each day they will be provided with the websites to develop the project. Since the project will be in Russian History, they will have to do a biography on a Czar, a biography on a famous artist, musician, or writer and will have to provide information on three other areas such as products, wars, architecture or any cultural characteristic. I will have to provide a bank of websites for reference and use by the students and since it is a mock MySpace, the students will have to use a template from Microsoft Publisher in order to format their project. I have been able to design the template but am still in the process of building the web bank of sources. I also have been able to work up a rubric, but the daily assessments still have to be designed.

As for the professional development department meeting, the initial procedure has been taken. The first step was to set the time and dates. We will have three separate working meetings where I and five other colleagues will gather for a workshop on the first of my presentations. Since I am designing the mock MySpace for a project, I had planned to pitch that particular example first, but may have to adjust project presentations to range of difficulty due to time consideration.

Since we all teach Social Studies, my peers should easily be able to adapt any one of them to their content areas. I will have a power point presentation with a finished project to display. If I start with the mock MySpace, I can show each individual element as it follows the rubric and assessment sheets. Since they may not have the full understanding of what they look like, I can have them create a template in the publisher program as I go through it step by step. I would try to make the presentation a “learn by doing” activity. Since it is a small environment to work in, I can move to help with any questions or confusion.

Once I have been able to work through that presentation, we will schedule the next meeting for another small group workshop. It would be at the next where I would teach each individual to create a Glog from Glogster. Again it would be a “learn by doing” experience. It takes the internet, a mock subject, and a short period of time to find photos, text, links, video, and any other animations that may be interesting. Since Glogs are self contained, my peers would have to create an account and then just be guided through the creative process.

The last project to introduce would be an Animoto. We again are working in a website where we would need to establish an account, and then begin the process of learning how to download the photos, add text, and then add the music to complete the process. For this project, the internet would be needed and laptops for my colleagues which are not a problem as my classroom has everything available to run a workshop. I have established the times for the workshops, but the real challenge is that they had to be scheduled and are in the future toward the end of the school year. Our department members will only have time to introduce one or two of the projects, but not the third so I will survey my peers to get an understanding of what they would like to do first. Certainly the Glog would be easiest for them to learn, then the mock MySpace, with the Animoto to be the more difficult because of fear of the complexity and music management. However, it is not too difficult for them to learn in a one hour presentation.

Developing My Personal GAME Plan

In the National Education Standards for Teachers, I have chosen to strengthen my confidence and proficiency for seamless technology integration into my content area. One standard is to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments and the second is to engage in professional growth and leadership. For me and my style of learning, I tend to learn by doing, but am not always one to pick up a concept and run with it. I like to find examples, and I like to adapt what I find to fit my schema. I have never been an innovator, but then again, most aren’t. So I will set a few goals and take action, monitor my progress, and evaluate what develops. I find both goals enriching because they provide me with the opportunity to teach, which in turn reinforces my confidence and proficiency.

First to address proficiency for integration in my classroom, I will design (actually adapt) a project that students should be familiar with. MySpace and Facebook are both popular social network sites that students recognize immediately. I plan to have students create a mock MySpace that will have them cover a particular year in history in a particular country. I will create categories for their space, provide the students with a daily assessment sheet, give them examples of websites for research, and then provide them with the rubric to evaluate their project. Once the project is in progress, adjustments can be made and the end result will provide the feedback for future production. The project can be done entirely online and we can link the pages of the student project to our class site for view by the public.

The second goal to establish would be for me to engage in professional growth and leadership by leading a Social Studies department meeting with the agenda to provide three activities to integrate technology in a manner that works to diffuse the pressure of the technology itself. I would find the three activities that could easily be integrated by any of our department members to their content material. By introducing the small staff to the activities, we would have the time to work closely together and because there would only be five members and myself, the level of stress would be easily eliminated. I would teach them how to create and edit a slide presentation such as Animoto (or any of the many that are being promoted) to have their students research, select pictures, and add music and text for impact. The presentation would be hands on, using photos and music from their content area. Another activity to teach would be one that I just completed, a Glog, from Glogster. This is a very unique project that permits students to research a few categories, then embed text, add graphics, photos, videos and hyperlink websites. Surprisingly it is a very simple venue to create what I would describe as an online bulletin board. Lastly, I would show them examples of the aforementioned project that I would label as a MySpace or Facebook. By teaching the students how to generate the page, I would be prepared to show any adjustments that I would have to make, or what I liked and disliked about the project. To monitor and evaluate my goal I could ask that my colleagues pick a topic for the next staff meeting and try to select one of the activities to implement. If I am successful, they should be able to return with at least one activity to do. If I need to adjust, they will return to the next meeting with questions or complaints, but would probably see or email me before that deadline.

Both of these goals meet at least two indicators. Under indicator 2 a., design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity and under indicator 5 b, I would exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others. There are a few other indicators that would fit the plan as well but the previous seem to fit best.

Course Reflection: Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom

Reflection on Teaching New Literacies Skills

I would consider learning how to teach students how to conduct inquires as being just one of the most striking things learned in this course. I thought I was fairly competent in researching and analyzing websites and material, however, as I waded through it became evident there were relevant steps in the process of inquiry that I was overlooking. One item was just in phrasing of the search itself. Another was actually teaching students what search engines exist and how to use them properly. I also found learning about literacy skills and the use of the fictitious websites extremely effective.

Because of the process of building the unit plan, it has changed my teaching project based units tremendously. With the advent of the strategies learned, my plan is much more organized, effective, and more student centered. The students have reaped the benefit of self-guided research, daily assessments, and a more manageable evaluation to wrap up their projects.

In the area of further defining assessments and evaluations, I plan to continue to implement projects that the step by step process is determined by the students. In order to provide streamlined projects, the daily checklists as assessment really are the key. The students know exactly what they have to do, what they are responsible for, and have to check with me to wrap the day’s activities. It creates the one to one time that is often lost in collaborative efforts. This unit plan provided the guidelines that really convey that concept. I hope to take what I have learned in this course in another direction as well.

I have contacted the coordinating instructor for social studies education at a local university and we are planning a second meeting to integrate the methodology students into project based, social learning network, so they can brainstorm and gain some insight before they head out to student teach. The professor was very excited about the idea as it provides an opportunity to really work on individual elements of a lesson, like anticipatory sets and assessments on a weekly basis. There is a significant amount of work ahead for a project like that, but to link high school students to college students on a teaching track would provide a wealth of knowledge for all involved. This course and its individual applications led me in that direction.