Sunday, April 25, 2010

Class Reflection

The biggest thing I learned from this course is the importance of planning technology lessons all out from start to finish before beginning. It makes it much easier to anticipate problems and think them through before being faced with them with 33 students staring at you. The GAME Plan lays it all out piece by piece. This will impact my instructional practice greatly.

I also feel like this course gave me a much better picture of what a digital story is. I think this will help with the most immediate adjustments. I feel a better sense of what it is and how to teach it. Once I feel comfortable with a topic, it makes it much easier to teach. I've already begun to dive into the curriculum using digital stories and they are going very smoothly.

I took an already existing lesson and added wikis, digital video commercials and group collaboration to make it better and more 21st Century friendly. Since I am currently in the middle of the lesson I can definitely say these immediate adjustments have grabbed the attention of my students in a way that I haven't seen before. Having the Plan helped immensely. I plan on putting the GAME Plan to use this summer when I review other curricular areas.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Using My GAME Plan and NETS-T Standards

I must say, I am happy we had to create a GAME plan as it has really helped me to think things through rather than simply jumping in with both feet. Don't get me wrong, I've jumped in with both feet now, but I tested the water this time to figure out the best place to jump and, frankly, how not to bellyflop! At times when I've tried to use technology for lessons I've bitten off more than I could chew. The GAME Plan forces teachers to think things all the way through first.

The lesson I created using the GAME Plan is the perfect example. I did the lesson last year as I was just learning some of these new technology skills and wanted to try them out. I had my class creating a wiki at the same time I was still learning myself how to create one. It was halfway successful. The students loved it but I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed. Creating the GAME Plan this year has helped me to spell it all out, step by step, beforehand and not make it up as I go. Already I'm feeling more at ease with it all.

Having a GAME Plan also helps in meeting the NETS-T standards. Simply being aware of them and knowing what they are as we are planning lessons helps us to plan for them. So many of the Teacher Standards and the Student Standards overlap. In order for the students to use creativity in technology, I will need to come up with creative lesson plans. At the end of the day, I still believe it comes down to flexibility and comfort. We need to meet these standards while providing the students with the comfort with technology that will enable them to meet the new standards as technology changes, as we all know it will. Also, being a third grade teacher, the way I meet these standards will be very different from the manner in which they meet them in high school. I need to make sure they are introduced and the students feel comfortable diving in. I feel that will prepare them for the years when they are truly put into practice at a much deeper level.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Revising the GAME Plan Week 6

Today I have to say, my eyes have been opened! I sit here in a hotel room in San Diego. I am visiting colleges with my daughter who is a Junior in high school. Today we visited two universities. What I always knew (and feared just a little) has now become a stark reality in my brain. Every college student I passed was carting a laptop. Every hallway I walked down, students were plugging away at laptops, individually and in groups. Everywhere I looked in the huge libraries were computers and other types of technology. Classrooms were full of technology I've never even seen. Students were creating things in front of me with just a few clicks. It made my head spin. That is the future of our students. Not to even mention the fact that when my third graders get there it will be even further advanced. The funny thing is, and the most telling, my head was literally spinning at it all and my daughter was salivating, so anxious to get right to it. She doesn't know all the technology we saw today...but she isn't afraid to jump right in, in fact, can't wait to do so.

How does this relate to this week's blog? It made me realize that I need to stop making excuses for the lack of technology in my classroom. I need to stop letting my own discomfort get in the way. We have work to do! I need to revise my GAME Plan in many ways. I need to figure out a way around having only 3 working computers in the classroom. I also need to get over my want for control and let the students take over their learning sometimes. That's not always easy with third graders who are not very independent.

I looked at the NETS-T standards and have decided that I need to focus on standard 1: Inspiring and Facilitating Student Learning and Creativity. I don't have all the answers yet, but I know I need to make sure that I can facilitate that learning even without the technology at my fingertips. With my unit I will have to get creative. I can show students techniques they can use for our Economics unit that they can do at home, if they are able. Maybe I can even have a Parent Education nights teaching the parents about the wikis and blogs we are creating. This could take away some of the parents' fears about technology and may create an avenue at home that has not been available to me as of yet.

All in all, I think the most important thing I've learned today was from my daughters reaction vs. my reaction. She had the "Bring it!" look in her eyes where I was more cautious and intimidated (and more than a little overwhelmed) from the unfamiliar technology. I need to create lessons that create that "Bring it!" look in my students' eyes. I don't know all the answers yet, but I do know I need to approach it from that angle from now on.
Tonya

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Week 5 Progress

Seeing how this week was the last week before Spring Break, not much got done with my students as far as progress. It was all I could do to hold on to our normal routine. Most of the instruction toward my GAME plan this week were guided. We tried to go to the computer lab to work on spreadsheets for the ACTION plan; however, none of the mice would work. After much frustration, we returned and I did a guided lesson on the SMARTboard.

What I learned from this is that it is imperative to be flexible! When you are dealing with technology, especially at our school lately, the best laid plans usually lead you elsewhere. The students were very engaged during the guided lesson so that helped, but I know they were itching to get their fingers on actual keyboards.

What I still need to learn is the best way to deal with the obstacles I face. I don't even know where to start. The internet is up, then it rains and it's down. The mice work, then they don't. I'm blocked from critical sites from our filter. I'm trying to make a lesson out of being flexible and demonstrating how to find my way around them. Talk about Problem based learning...dealing with our latest technology issues has been problem enough!

I will have to adjust my plan if things remain the same when we return from Spring Break. If I have to use just my one classroom computer, I will need to work out a time schedule for the students to have equal amounts of time with their groups. We'll get there, I know, but it is frustrating at this point!