Week 8 Reflection

My GAME Plan has been a life document throughout this fast paced and demanding course. It has changed and progressed to meet the needs of my students. My plan focused on ITSE NETS-T Standards -1 Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity; Standard 2 Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments; and Standard 5 Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. This experience has taught me to look beyond South Carolina Standards and focus on the learning styles and engaging means of delivery for my lessons.

The GAME Plan has taught me to evaluate the positive and negative results of each lesson. It also shifts the focus from just evaluating the students’ outcomes, but to evaluate my role as the instructor. It also reminded me that evaluations and assessments should not be reserved for the final grade, but be an ongoing hands-on involvement. The plan encouraged me to engage and seek out technology enrichment professional development opportunities for myself. I need to surround myself with other professionals who are using technology, social networking and other collaborative projects in their classrooms. Their encouragement and advice will help me to stay focused and not lose heart when the district, parents or technology does not cooperate. I need to seek out classes and opportunities that will enhance my learning experiences for my students and productivity.

My game plan encouraged me to fight for collaborative projects and problem based learning experiences for my class. Our district policy states that elementary school students cannot have email addresses. I presented  Think Quest and  ePals to my principal. I shared how these types of projects will add creativity, engage students and develop higher thinking and problem solving skills. He was so impressed that he proposed a plan for the district to allow our third grade to serve as a pilot program for elementary students to collaborate globally. Peggy Etmer defines problem-based learning as student learning that aligns with content and correlates problem- solving skills (Laureate, 2009). The teacher serves as a facilitator or guide by providing an atmosphere of inquiry and the tools to create and develop new ideas or discovery. The students can use technology throughout the learning process to research, organize, communicate, analyze, collaborate and present the problem-based learning product (Laureate, 2009). Learning comes alive and authentic when we give the students permission to use and share the technology tools that they know and use everyday.

A change that I have incorporated is bringing the students into the goal setting process of our units. “Learning goals should allow students to understand outcomes, be achievable through diverse media and communicate the importance or why of the goals” (Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P., 2009). One change is that students have input in the rubric and guidelines created for problem based learning and project products. This gives them ownership and clarifies their understanding of the final results. Our journals also reflect student feelings, difficulties, successes and checklist. The students’ reflections help to develop new assignment, follow- ups or future projects.

One of the most important themes throughout the videos and text is that the technology should be a tool to enhance the learning, not the purpose of the lesson. Technology should be used to enhance diverse learning styles, experiences and background knowledge. As a technology school, we are constant pressure to use podcast, SmartBoard and diverse technology tools. This year we do not have a computer teacher or support staff to teach how to use the technology tools and programs. This has placed pressure to teach the technology as well as the standards. It can be overwhelming. I have learned to review the lesson plans and curriculum to look for obvious ways to incorporate technology. This has made me become more flexible and creative with my time and plans. I have started a volunteer computer club after school. This allows me time to teach and focus on technology skills, software and programs. These students served as “computer experts” in class. They help provide the training and assistance in their assigned groups. We have been able to add more technology and thus exciting lessons for our class.

Finally, I have learned to integrate several content areas in my plans. Our writing is focusing on science, social studies and math. Math and science are easily integrated. In my unit plan, I was able to integrate math, science and language arts. The writing incorporated storyboard, investigation inquiries, and communication with experts. The math included measurement skills in height, weight and time. The science content included motion, gravity, friction, experimentation and scientific notation. It was also fun. As we reviewed our process, we realized that we had immediate areas that needed improvement or that would improve the process the next time. This reflection merged into our next and final project. The students created a digital story to show how to measure, practice safety and improve research inquiry using PhotoStory 3 for Windows.

Let the race of inquiry and technology begins with my third grade class.

References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (pp.121)

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas (DVD).  Spotlight on Technology: Problem-Based Learning, Part 1 and 2. Baltimore, MD: Author

Week 7 Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

My GAME plan throughout this course has focused on the ITSE-NET-T Standards. Initially my plan was to focus on standard one Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity and standard two Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. My goal was to expose my students to creative, engaging and collaborative lessons in order to improve and develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills. I quickly discovered that in order to achieve these standards efficiently that I needed to add standard NETS-T 5 Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.
I have implemented many of the resources that I have read about or discussed with my Walden colleagues. My classroom blog has been activated, after a long nagging pursuit of the administration, so that my students could begin their first collaborative project with another classroom. They are excited and engaged to write and share their thoughts and suggestions to one another on subjects throughout the content areas. They have submitted several ideas of how they can improve our blog and class web site to be more “real” and interesting to other classes. This correlates with the NETS-S standard one Creativity and Innovation- apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. The students are developing skills in standard three, Research and Information Fluency by applying digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. This standard was evident in a recent science problem based learning assignment. Students were to research musical instruments and recreate one using recyclable items that would produce a sound. The process was documented in writing and digital photography. NETS-S standard 4 Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making was also evident in this project. Students were able to plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a product -instrument (NETS-S 4b). We were able to integrate science units-sound, recycle, and inquiry, as well as writing, reading and researching skills. Although final product was completed on an individual basis, like instrument groups met to discuss and support what was working and not working in order to achieve their goal.

My principal has approved our class application to work with ThinkQuest. My students will be able to expand their collaboration skills to work with students around the world. As stated in standard NETS-S 2a I plan to expand my students cultural awareness and critical thinking skills by providing opportunities to “interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media” with programs such as ThinkQuest.and ePals. Although our district does not allow elementary students to use email outside their class, I have received a trial period to use ePals with my class.

As a long time learner and pursuing NETS-T 5 Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership, I discovered that my “teachable moments” might come from the most unlikely places or people. While researching social networking and collaborative tools, I discovered Sketchcast.  I worked for over an hour to use the program and save my work. The following day, I introduced the program to my computer club. In fifteen minutes, one of my students quickly executed the mouse, sketched a picture, saved it and posted it to our class web page. I was able to participate in local (computer club) and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning, as well as my own learning (NETS-T 5a). She was excited and stated it was as easy to use as our SmartBoard and next week she wanted to produce one with a recording. She went home, shared it with her mother, and even posted a comment on the page. This is a great example of NETS-S 4 -Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

Our future projects include digital storytelling projects in math and social studies. In math, we will create a story that not only shows mileage from home to school and the landmarks within that journey. In history, we will create a narrative of the life of a slave. I review my lesson plans to look for opportunities to enhance student learning through a variety of technology tools and diverse assessments to better meet the multiple learning styles of my students. My game plan will prepare me to better serve my students and assist them in their own personal journey to become 21st century learners and achievers. 

References:
National Education Standards for Students (NETS-S) located at http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.

Week 6 Revising Your GAME Plan

As I pursue my GAME Plan, I realize that the more we learn and discover in technology the more there is to know. My first goal was to provide my students with creative lessons that inspire learning. My plan included a creative project each nine weeks in my content areas NETS 1b-c Indicator. I have added more manipulatives and authentic real world experiences in my math and science class. I have also been able to integrate both content areas together using technology. The students are creating musical instruments from recycled materials and using the internet to research, write and display their work in PowerPoint with digital photos. In social studies, the students worked in collaborative learning groups to research battles of the revolution and their key leaders using ask.com and other search engines. Our team also decided to make the battles more authentic for them by having battle enactments outside in the playground. Their learning connections were evident in their test scores. We used the digital photos to inspire their journal writing. In the video, this week one of the teachers shared that collaboration inspires and challenges students to perform at a higher level (Laureate, 2009). As our classes worked together to create the battles physically they increased their writing and communication skills that were used in their blogs that followed the lessons. I feel that I have been successful in design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity as stated in NETS•S 2C indicator.

I am still striving to develop an online collaborative project with a class outside my school. I have encountered some difficulties with district denied access and blocked websites. I have applied to Think Quest which will allow me to integrate technology in my curriculum through projects with teachers and students around the world. My principal has agreed to assist me in this endeavor and work as my liaison in the district pursuit.

I am revising my game plan to include ITSE-NETS Indicator 5 by engaging in personal growth and development. I am currently working on our new vision committee for our school. We are researching and developing ways to incorporate researched based technology strategies and tools in our classrooms more effectively. My team is responsible for developing strategies and plans to bring the home and school life together in order to promote learning. Many of our parents do not own or use home computers or the internet. One of my student’s grandmothers inspired this idea. Her granddaughter attends my after school computer club and she asked to be a part of it. She told me that someone offered her granddaughter a computer and she was leery of having such a powerful tool in the house that she (grandma) could not operate. She is learning to type and research on the web. We are considering an adult computer club for our parents to learn how to use the internet and type. Together we can create a powerful learning or educational learning network that will connect personal learning communities, create greater diversity and increase exposure to learning as we read about in this weeks video Spotlight on Technology: Social Networking (Laureate, 2009).

I plan to continue working with my Walden Colleagues and the educators with Think Quest to challenge and inspire me to discover engaging and authentic learning experiences and activities for my students. My grade team also provides resources and expertise in integrating technology; social networking and problem based learning projects. As we plan each nine weeks lesson curriculum, we are challenging ourselves to complete the GAME Plan and implement challenging, engaging lessons that offer authentic lessons. We are seeking ways to expose our students to the world outside our small town. We also hope to inspire our parents to join us in this adventure.

Many of my Walden colleagues have mentioned using electronic portfolios; I would like to learn more about these tools. We currently use writing and reading portfolios, but I would like to have something that could easily follow students each year. I would also like to know what social networking projects have worked with other elementary teachers. I am interested in starting with a small grass root project that could be accomplished this year.

Reference:
ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers(NETS•T) http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas

(DVD). Spotlight on Technology: Social Networking and Online Collaboration, Part 1 and 2. Baltimore, MD: Author

Week 5 Monitor Personal Goals

This week, I am monitoring my persona goals of my Game Plan. My goal is to incorporate at least one creative project per content area each nine weeks. I also plan to collaborate with another classroom outside our school each nine weeks through virtual tools. We have just completed a biography project in which the students researched a current or historical person of their choice and presented their findings to the class via PowerPoint or word and picture collage. The students shared their projects during our November writing celebration.
Our next class endeavor will be a collaborative math project with other classes: one in Florida and one in a northern state. We plan to share weather reports and graph actual weather conditions and make predictions for the winter forecast. This will allow us to integrate science and math. We want to Skype together and communicate by email or blogs. We are just waiting for Skype approval from the other schools.

Teaching my students to self- reflect has been very difficult. I have had to create a weekly checklist for them to paste in their journals as a template as guide for reflection. Editing, revising and reflection is difficult process for third graders. We are currently working together in peer groups to assist with this process.

Technology can assist in this process of student reflections. However, I am having difficulties receiving logins and passwords for my students to use our class blog application located on our class web page. Technological support is slow due to the recent cut- backs in our district personnel. Peggy Etmer suggests that technology provides a format for formative assessments with progress checklist, and blogs (Laureate, 2009). I have currently posted rubrics and templates on the web page.

I am currently researching ideas for a problem based learning project for my students. This type of project will allow my students to explore their content in an authentic and meaningful way. I would like to make my students to discover new ways to reuse or recycle everyday items into new practical uses. This project would address the need to reduce our waste and trash and provide a personal connection to world conservation (Laureate, 2009).
Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas

(DVD). Spotlight on Technology: Problem-Based Learning, Part 1 and 2. Baltimore, MD: Author

Week 4 Monitoring the GAME PLAN

As I pursue my action plan, I have learned that I must be more assertive and seek out the materials and resources that will benefit my students. I have volunteered to serve on the new district curriculum team. Our district is developing a new curriculum across the board to align with the national core standards. I want to have an active role in developing a curriculum that addresses the multiple intelligences and learning styles of all our students. We need to address how to reach out to community to provide speakers and specialist to speak to our classes and provide input for the curriculum. I want our curriculum to have variety of assessments that incorporate technology assistance whenever it is beneficial to the students. Diverse assessments will allow us to identify learning needs and adjust our plans and curriculum accordingly. Dr. Ross states that effective assessment indentifies learning objectives, determine teaching method, and choose supportive technology (Laureate, 2009).

This week, I pursued a donor on donorchoose.org to assist in building my classroom library. The request included a variety of reading materials from magazines, literature circles to audio books. I am currently working on a grant through E I have also requested the assistance of our technology facilitator to set up my podcasting listening and production center. This will provide my students with the tools for performance based and project based assessments. This week, we read in chapter 6 that students could record oral presentations, fluency and reading records to demonstrate improvements and areas of development (Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P., 2009). This will enhance the digital portfolios that I am pursuing in my GAME PLAN.

I found a great resource for differentiating learning strategies and implementing podcasting in my classroom at Education World . 
These trainings are completed at my leisure and can be resourced for further study. My plan states that I will reach out to colleagues in the field that are actually implementing new technologies with research based strategies. These type training, along with my Walden courses, will allow me to continue my pursuit of my plan. The readings this week and online resources remind me that as a professional learner¸ I need to pursue what I need, in order to be a better educator to my students. I must be willing to go beyond my comfort zone to create a global thriving learning environment.

One concern I have is that many of my students perform better on alternative assessments than on the standardized once a year test. This year, I had to justify how student grades were “inflated with B’s or C’s” for students that did not pass the state assessment. I was told that it comes down to results of this final assessment. Sometimes I feel that teaching the test is more important that teaching the child.

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (pp. 143-146).

Donor Choose Org  http://www.donorschoose.org/

Education World http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/archives/virtualwkshp.shtml

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas(DVD). Assessing Student Learning through Technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Game Plan Resources, Information and Steps to Success

Change is difficult and requires much patience. In order to break the cycle of failure and I can’t , I need to implement change on a daily basis. This change requires me to search out resources, information and apply steps of action. I have to research creative and research based strategies and tools to develop creative and effective lesson plans for my students.

The greatest resource for success is the effective and knowledgeable people or experts that we encounter each day. I have requested the assistance of our grade team technology guru to demonstrate how to use the webcam with our class SmartBoard for Skype. She has a retired English teacher that reads to her class each Friday through Skype. She has also suggested that I implement and teach Skype etiquette prior to our collaborative project beginning. Our cooperative learning class is still awaiting approval from their school to join us in this endeavor.

I have also applied for a grant to pay for a classroom subscription for VoiceThreads. This tool would provide multiple means of expression and presentation of materials and understanding of my diverse students. My students would have the ability to work individually or as a collaborative learning group or team. This would also scaffold the media format so that all my students could create projects or presentations in their best learning modality. This would allow my students to be as creative as they can be. The auditory option will assist my low readers in their various content area classes such as science and social studies.

I am currently researching reading strategies and high interest low- level text for my struggling readers. I currently have 11 out of 17 students reading below our third grade level. Six of those readers are reading at kindergarten level. Unfortunately, many of my students are unable to read content text or class level materials. I am in the process of downloading our class basal reading text CD’s and podcast, so that students can listen to grade level reading and concepts. These instructional tools are examples of assistive technology that will enhance the learning experiences of all my students(Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P., 2009). 
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach.  (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 129.

GAME plan for Building NETS-T Indicators

Teachers of the 21st Century must be willing and eager to be students of the technology world. It is vital that educators are searching and perfecting the needed skills to complete this endeavor. International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) list 5 standards known as the National Education Standards for Teacher (NETS-T) that provide direction and guidance in preparing lessons for the 21st century class through: creative and inspiring lessons, providing and developing digital learning experiences and assessments, modeling digital tools, learning, and digital citizenship and continuing professional development. In order to be an effective teacher, I would like to focus on creating and implementing creative digital lessons that inspire, engage, and incorporate collaborative learning environments outside my physical classroom (NETS-T 1 and 2). These changes will be accomplished by creating a plan of action known as GAME (goals, actions, monitoring, and evaluation) and by applying the advice and assistance of my Walden colleagues (Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P., 2009).



The first step in my GAME plan is to set goals for me as an educator. As a third grade teacher, I have to plan lesson plans each day for all content areas. Our district has created their own curriculum to assure that the state standards are being addressed and taught each day in every lesson. This practice does not allow for much diversity or creativity. However, as a technology magnet school, we are given a little leave way in this matter. With the pressure to improve our state scores and fill the student-learning gap, I have fallen short in diversifying from the district plan. Teaching only what is on the state test has left creative exploration and self-discovery out my plans. I have justified this omission on our fast-paced curriculum. My goal is to allow at least one creative project per content area each nine weeks. I also plan to collaborate with another classroom outside our school each nine weeks through virtual tools. This opportunity will offer authentic and real world experiences for my students.


The action step of my plan includes reaching out to my Walden colleagues to create collaborative lessons and/or projects. I have applied and been approved by my principal to use Skype to communicate with other classrooms and experts throughout our digital global community. My students will use several digital tools and forms of media to communicate and create student directed projects. Students will provide input and direction for each project by developing assessments and guidelines for each endeavor.

Monitoring the plan will be the responsibility of the class and educator. The students will reflect on progress through journaling and class discussion. The educators will also engage through discussions and goal reflections. A checklist of outcomes will be comprised and reflected on throughout the process. Revisions will be made or adjusted as needed.


Evaluation of the projects and lesson will be given informally and formally throughout. One area that I need to work on is the development of various assessments. Due to our constant test preparation, we use many formal data testing tools. I need to improve my skills on how to use the data to build stronger strategies or improvements in deficit areas. I would really like to learn more about building or implementing digital portfolios to promote self-discovery, engagement and for their own learning. Evaluation will also direct how or if this project was effective. The project’s effectiveness will be based on the ability to adapt or change in order for the students to learn or achieve the goals agreed upon.

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.(pp. 26, 42).

ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers(NETS•T) http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
the Content Areas


















 

Reflection Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom

The most striking statement during this course came from David Warlick, “It’s not about the technology; it is about the connections and conversations made available to the students” (Laureate, 2009). Technology allows the students to connect to each other, experts, global classrooms and current real life connections to our content and standards. Our world is in a constant and rapid change. Textbook and strategies used five years ago are outdated and unable to equip the 21st century learner. We cannot allow our fear of technology and change to keep us from incorporating it throughout our lessons and daily interactions with our students. Our students are comfortable with technology and need the guidance to connect and apply to their academic world. When students are able to make these connections, they will be able to use their language to accomplish education goals and life skills needed to succeed in the 21st century workplace. Another great revelation is that it my responsibility as a third grade teacher to prepare them for the 21st century workplace as collaborative and global communicators.


The second Aha moment was in Sara Armstrong’s video, Safe and Ethical Practices, concerning modeling ethical practices. She stated that we must teach students to respect online work, authors and graphic illustrations by citing our sources on everyday plans, PowerPoints and other work displayed throughout our curriculum (Laureate, 2009). We should teach students to respect and be critical evaluators for materials and information found online. Armstrong also stresses that in order to keep students “cyber safe” we should teaching them to make responsible choices, thus remove “filters” from our class computers. Many of our students use computers and technology without any parental supervision and need to know how to practice and engage in cyber safety after school hours (Laureate, 2009). Due to budget cuts, our technology position was lost. I now know that not only do I train my students how to use technology, but must provide training for cyber safety skills and responsibilities. This means that I must remember to include time in a unit to teach technology, as well as curriculum content and standards. I cannot assume that my technology savvy students have the literacy skills to navigate the web and read the content found.

One area that I plan to pursue for myself is collaborative learning groups in a global capacity. My students lack background knowledge and experiences of many of their global peers. I want to fill these gaps with virtual field trips, classroom connections and hands on experiences through global classroom experiences. I am currently educating myself on how to use online opportunities and experiences with groups such as ePals Global communities, Skype, . edu20.org, and Collaborative Internet Projects. Collaborative inquiry based projects allow students the opportunities to learn or reinforce content standards while building learning networks. They also provide authentic experiences with real world application (Laureate, 2009). Science, social studies and math content can be easily be implemented in collaborative inquiry projects, especially for elementary students. Hands on projects that work with whole class participation would be most beneficial.

References:

Collaborative project site http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/gayle/projects/projects.html#other-current

Edu2.0 http://www.edu20.org/

Epals Global Communities http://www.epals.com/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom (DVD). Inquiry Based Projects. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom (DVD). It’s Not About the Technology. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom (DVD). Safe and Ethical Practices. Baltimore, MD: Author

Skype http://about.skype.com/

Square of Life http://k12science.org/curriculum/squareproj/

screencast ABC Navigatio

ABC Navigation on the web

Lewis Tech Quest: Diigo Social Bookmarking

Lewis Tech Quest: Diigo Social Bookmarking

Diigo Social Bookmarking

Please visit and join my social bookmarking list of friends on Diigo

Redirection and Reflection of My Personal Theory of Learning

My main redirection is to create a student centered and focused classroom. I will immediately begin to ask what the students can do. I also want my classroom to become more inquiry oriented. I plan to have my students enhance their understanding of content by generating and testing hypotheses throughout all content areas. The students will accomplish this by utilizing cooperative learning groups and rubrics to guide and direct their inquiries (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). I will also provide more opportunities for the students to create the class PowerPoint Presentations. According to Dr. Orey, learning technology tools are most effective when they are student generated. Allow the students to interact with the whiteboards and limit the lecture style presentations. He also recommends using images in place of text to provide visual and mental imaging (Laureate, 2009). I will also use media such as Discovery Learning to provide background knowledge and allow the students to produce their own movies. .

Two new technology tools that I plan to use are MovieMaker and VoiceThreads. MovieMaker will allow my students to use Discovery Learning images and digital photos to create digital movies. These movies can easily be made from PowerPoints and narrated by the students. Students can also download music to enhance their projects free of charge with sites such as Free play music . Spotlight on Technology introduced us to VoiceThreads. “It is picture slide show that holds images, documents and videos and allows various users to comment using computer microphone, telephone, text, audio file (MP3/WAV), and webcam ”(Laureate, 2009). This technology tool will also allow students to interact with classroom all across the world. Both of these tools provide opportunities for students to engage and create, thus internalizing and taking ownership of the content that is learned.

One long goal would be to become more a constructionist facilitator than a behaviorist awarder. By providing more opportunities to create projects with technology, I will curb the restless or disruptive behaviors. Students will become more excited and engaged about content and standards. We will use sites such as Know It All , Compass Learning Odyssey and Our Timelines for interactive activities on our interactive whiteboards.

A second long time goal is to implement more investigative activities such as Plimoth Org and Darwin . These sites help students distinguish fact from fiction and develop prediction skills. They also assist in expanding decision making skills by modifying or manipulating the environment with various variables. Students can also use Excel Spreadsheets to practice math and manipulate or discover graphical patterns in everyday life. These goals can only be achieved in small increments and achievements. This classroom will require more prep time and teaching student procedure and responsibility from the first day of school.

References:
Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Spotlight on Technology: VoiceThread
[DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Technology: Instructional Tool vs. Learning Tool [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Moviemaker http://www.microsoft.com/education/teachers/guides/windows_movie_maker.aspx?WT.mc_id=moviemakerguide_google

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Pgs 202, 141

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

In Social Learning Theories, Dr. Orey defines social learning as “students engaged with other students with items or projects that they are constructing together” (Laureate, 2009). This theory allows students or learner to begin to apply the knowledge that they are learning. Dr. Orey also states that these collaborative or networking practices can enhance students’ problem solving skills and build their confidence as they learn together. Cooperative learning is an instructional strategy that allows or provides opportunities for students to interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance or strengthen their learning (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). Students can work together to brainstorm, plan strategies of discovery or apply new concepts through projects and inquiry. Cooperative learning groups provide a safe, small learning community to ask questions and build confidence in problem solving.

Jigsaw strategy, as explained by Dr. Orey in Social Learning Theories, creates a cooperative learning group that work together to teach other (Laureate, 2009). Students are divided into two groups. The first group is their base or home group. The second group is the expert group. The expert group researches and studies one aspect of their project and returns to home base as the knowledgeable being. The expert then teaches his home base about his field of study. The group can apply this new information along with their area of expertise. This strategy builds confidence and develops team building skills and interdependence. Students have assigned roles and responsibilities. A cooperative learning group rubric can guide the students through the project. Rubrics can be created for the collaborative group and/or the project with rubistar.4teachers.org . This helps to define the task that are required and the level of expectations.

The Web provides access to experts in every field and instructions to complete any and all projects. Web resources have expanded from being a research tool to a collaborative learning environment (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). Students are able to work and collaborate with other students all other the world. Wikis, blogs and Voicethreads allow students the ability to develop ideas and content without ever coming together. Skype and chat rooms allow students the ability to discuss or brainstorm ideas together with no geographical boundaries.

Keypals are electronic pen pals for the purpose of educational projects. ePALS is the world’s largest K-12 learning environment network. According to their web site they are the “leading provider of safe collaborative technology for schools to connect and learn in a protected, project-based learning network. With classrooms in 200 countries and territories, ePals makes it easy to connect learners locally, nationally or internationally”. Education World, a teacher resource web site, provides a list of sites for creating free student emails and other pen pal sites. These resources will enable the students to develop into 21st century global learners.

“Collaborative Organizing allows students and teachers to collaborate over the Web by logging on to sites that allow them to share and edit calendars, bookmark and share Web links, and create online learning communities” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). Currently we use our class web site to bookmark files, link, pictures and our current blog topics. The students are able to access this site on and off campus. The bookmarks can be saved and archived; thus saving the teacher many hours of preparations. Bookmarking allows the students the ability to access the appropriate sites and allowing more time for collaborative production of the project.

Cooperative learning strategy provides the opportunities for social learning. Students are actively engaged with other students, locally or globally, to construct or build projects, ideas and human relationships. Social networking allows students to become more knowledgeable, build confidence, and develop problem solving skills(Laureate, 2009).  Cooperative learning groups of two- pair sharing verbally or through small web based groups are the building blocks of social networking for the 21st century learner and employee.

References:

Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Connectivism as a Learning Theory [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Social Learning Theories[DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Pgs 139, 140, 141, 149.

Generating and Testing Hypotheses

According to Dr. Orey, “A classroom based on constructionism has many elements that promote a learner-oriented learning environment. In this learning environment, the instructor acts as a facilitator and guides the learners along their paths of learning. Learners are assigned tasks in which they must implement particular instructional goals. They investigate, create, and solve problems” (Orey, 2001). Students are encouraged to make predictions, tackle real life problems, seek solutions and present their findings.


Technology allows the educator to create projects that allow students to apply content knowledge with real life applications. Three technology resources used in generating and testing hypotheses are spreadsheet software, data collection tools, and Web resources (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). These resources allow the students to make apply concepts and data with experiences that are beyond their classroom and beyond.

Web resources and gaming software “allow students to use background knowledge, make decisions, and see the outcome of their hypotheses” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). The virtual world allows the students to visit or interact with situations, people and/or places that they may never be able to experience any other way. One resource that I plan to use is  Plimoth Plantation's You Are the Historian This resource allows the students to attend the First Thanksgiving (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007).  Students travel in time and interactively respond to separate myth from truth.

The second web resource is Primary Access provides students with resources to create their own historical movies (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). We would be able to bring social studies alive.

The third resource Darwin Pond could be used in my classroom to emphasize the influence of the environment on habitats and animals. Students are able to manipulate the environment and make predictions of how these factors will affect the animal or habitat (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007).

References:

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/. Section: Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project-Based Learning.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Pgs 202, 203 ,212,,215.

Virtual Field Trip Clearwater Aquarium

Meet Winter the Dolphin


Concept Mapping Tool to follow along with the adventure of Winter's tail
Lewis Concept map on my class site  Kidspiration
Concept map

Pursuit of Knowledge through Cognitive Theories

Our ultimate goal in teaching should be to guide students in the “task of acquiring and integrating new knowledge. We must be able to help them activate background knowledge and facilitate their process of connecting new information to what they already know”(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). Dr. Orey defines this process as “Knowledge Integration: allowing students to connect new information to prior knowledge and building a larger array of information” (Orey, 2007). He also states in Cognitive Learning Theories, that the more a student is able to make personal connections through dual coding and episodic events; the more likely they are to store information long term (Laureate, 2009). In essence, we must provide engaging lessons and experiences that assist in the ability to make connection that network information for life. We must provide opportunities for them to think!

“Cues, questions, and advance organizers focus on enhancing students’ ability to retrieve, use and organize information”(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). Trailers for the sequel to our favorite action film can now be downloaded to your palm pilots, Google page, or viewed online 24/7. We all love the excitement and a hint of what is to come. We reflect on how much we admired the heroic characters and danger filled story plot of the last film. Our senses are triggered for adventure and action. We re-live the excitement of the movie by sharing episodic events that are stored in our information network that were dual coded by powerful images, sounds and even fear. Why not create that excitement in your students about the Civil War, volcanoes, gardening, math and great literature? Advertise for what is to come, drop hints and clues on your class blog, with posters, brochures or create your own multi media video trailer.

Dictionary.com defines a question “as a problem for discussion or a matter for investigation”. Good thought provoking questions will enable a student to retrieve what they know and investigate how to add new information. The student will need a plan of action to process new information. The advance organizers are “structures that help students focus their learning by classifying and making sense of new content that is being presented to them” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). Advance organizers assist in the note taking and summarizing step. Concept mapping provides the focus for investigation by using images, essential vocabulary and dual code connections to the pertinent concept or skills. Providing students with the proper tools and skills for note taking and summarizing will enhance their ability to organize and process important necessary information. By engaging or exciting students in the process of investigation and discovery, we will develop long term connections, memories and knowledge that go beyond the big test.

Virtual field trips along with concept mapping can not only provide background knowledge and experiences but also allow students to make personal connections to new information or concepts. These trips create episodic learners that through these experiences are able to dual process or code information. The sounds, images, smells or adrenaline will help the student create a new network or connections to the material. Since many of my students never travel more that thirty miles, their experiences and opportunities are very limited. Virtual field trips will allow them to experience far away lands, diverse cultures, and concepts so they can make personal connections to the materials or concepts being taught. In the video Spotlight on Technology: Virtual Field Trips (Laureate, 2009), students were able to explore one of the greatest tragedies in our history- the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The students were able explore and discuss how Booth was able to have access to the president. They were able to observe many artifacts close up. The idea is that all these experiences will create a desire for the students to learn or investigate the concepts further and provide personal ownership to the learning process.



References:

Dictionary.com    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/question

Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009).Cognitive Learning Theories [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Spotlight on Technology: Virtual Field Trips [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/. Section: Cognitive ToolsSection.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Pgs 79, 76,

Reflection Week 2 on Behaviorism

Most of my colleagues agree that technology has enhanced the classroom. Online programs provide positive reinforcement by using immediate feedback and engaging activities. This week's discussion allowed us to share ideas and resources that will only enrich our learning environments. Remember that with a little encouragement from each other and belief in ourselves, we can do great things and achieve much!

"I think I Can" with a Little Encouragement, Effort, Practice and a Touch of Behaviorism

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!" This powerful message of self confidence and personal effort from the beloved story, The Little Engine That Could (Piper, 1930), still needs to be taught today. Many of our students feel defeated by what they cannot do and have become so afraid of failure that they do not even want to try. Belief in one’s self plays a vital role in one’s motivation for learning and achievement (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). The little engine had never driven over the mountain or carried a heavy load, but was willing to try in order to save the day for the children. “The instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances a students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007).

One the students are taught the importance of effort, they should then take ownership of tracking their own effort and achievements. According to Orey (2001), “shaping behaviorism” strives for small, gradual changes that are rewarded and acknowledged. Currently, I use the Accelerated Reader program (Renaissance Learning 2010) in my classroom. The students read books at various levels and point values and take a computerized test that test reading comprehension with immediate feedback, score on test. Students track their own progress and receive rewards for every 10 points accumulated. I meet with the students bi-weekly to review their progress and discuss strategies for further achievement. The Accelerated Reader program has a class record that allows me to view all test attempted and achieved with associated points achieved. We discuss if reading levels are achievable, reading a variety of genres and strategies for independent reading success. This program rewards effort and achievement. We set goals for each nine weeks and yearly. They also love the incentive to go in the treasure box.

“Homework and practice give students a chance to review and apply what they have learned” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). My class web site provides many opportunities for my students to practice the skills we are currently studying. Class links list practice, research and inquiry sites for students to access at home and at school. The students are also able to communicate with classmates and teachers through blogs and instant messaging. One of our favorite school available sites is Key Skills (2010 Sunburst Technology). This site provides drills and practice in math addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. They are able to track success and are rewarded with electronic stickers. Compass Learning Odyssey (Compass Learning, 2008) is another tool we use to reinforce skills in math and reading. The students are intrigued by the “games” and repetitive drills and instruction. The students are able to track success and reports are also available for the instructor to review and assign. This program also provides a “modeling strategy” that the students are able to observe and practice with immediate feedback and remediation if necessary (Orey, 2001). We also use Brain Pop Jr. to introduce new skills or reinforce them. This program allows the student to complete online quiz following each segment. Our class is divided into small community groups. The groups compete for tokens in Jeopardy as reviews for science and social studies. They are working on team building skills and rewarded for correct answers with team marbles (our class behavior management incentive plan). Practice in all areas will help the students to achieve the desired outcome, behavior or skills needed to succeed.

References:

Brain Pop Jr. http://www.brainpopjr.com/

Compass Learning Odyssey http://compasslearningodyssey.com/

Key Skills http://www.sunburst.com/keyskills/index.htm

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/. Section: Behaviorism.
Piper, Watty. (1930) The Little Engine That Could. New York: The Platt & Munk Co., Inc. http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/Little_Engine_that_Could/pages/07_The_Little_Engine_that_Could.htm

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Pgs 156, 187, 188.

Reflection on Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society

I have always had the privilege of working in schools that are equipped with interactive whiteboard, projectors, document cameras and class computers. I have always tried to incorporate technology projects in my class. This course has challenged me to move beyond what I can do as a teacher, to what I can equip my students with the knowledge to do and create. The class has challenged me to not only learn about new forms of media, but the application and hands on experience to create. Some weeks the quick turn around of reading about technology and then quickly producing a product proved to be very stressful. I not only learned how to create wikis, blogs and podcasting but how to reach out to my colleagues by using Skype and cyber discussions. My students loved the opportunity to assist me with my “homework” by using Audacity and creating a podcast. They were so excited that we expanded our class web page to include blogs and podcasting. The students are now excited to complete a written assignment, so they can post it on our class page or blog about it. The few that have computers at home are logging in to our class web page at home and continuing the blogging. They are also using our class links to explore and research for self discovery.

I will continue to expand my knowledge of technology integration with the aim of increasing student achievement through professional development within my district. Our district offers graduate courses targeting innovative technology throughout the year. My third grade team has agreed to collaborate on at least one new technology application each quarter. This summer, we plan to take a road trip across South Carolina and create a podcast showing the regions and history of our state. I also plan to complete my course of study of Integrating Technology in the Classroom Master’s Program at Walden University. I will also continue to network with other teachers globally by participating in professional blog sites and listening to relevant podcasts for professional development.

I have set two long term goals for my classroom that will transform us from a teacher driven class to an inquiry project based classroom. The first goal is to have podcasts that are student written, produced and published not only for our use, but other classes as well. I want to create a podcast center that students will be able to access and create without my assistance. My second goal is to create a class wiki that we can use to produce or display class projects. For example, we are completing our Civil War PowerPoints on selected topics and it would be great to be able to display them on one source such as a wiki. We have a before school program that allows us time to work with students on topics and activities that we normally would not have time to complete such as wiki and podcast training. I am working with my team on teaching the students how to use Audacity and IPods to create projects. We are also working with our district technology liaison to have access to more sites like Youtube and Itunes to allow for more creative and innovative exploration. These goals will take time and patience from everyone involved. It will be worth the effort because it will help my students become better prepared as 21st Century Learners.

Varennes Academy - Connie Lewis

We recently conducted a technology survey to discover our preferences and needs for technology in our third grade class. The students and parents sign an internet user form at the beginning of the year. Our students pictures and voices are allowed on all our internet productions. Our blog page provides a code for the students name.

Our class is comprised of 7 girls and 9 boys. Most of my students are African American. Learning styles vary but the majority prefer hands on activities, collaborative projects and computer projects. They enjoy interactive games and auditory activities. They love to talk.

Our class is a mix of Digital Natives and Immigrants. Most would prefer to type or produce their work in Powerpoint, Word or KidWorks. Their scores are higher when they take a reading test online rather than pencil and paper.

Enjoy our podcast by clicking on the link below proceeded with download. You are welcome to check out our web page as well.

Varennes Academy - Connie Lewis

http://feed.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/3710/mp3.rss

How can I better prepare my class for the 21st century?

Are we equipping our students with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st Century? As life long learners and educators of today’s youth we must be aware of the skills necessary to survive and thrive in our high- tech, global society. Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a partnership of educators, businesses and community and government leaderships. The website offers many resources and tools that assist in the implementation of their mission. There are many opportunities to network with other educators and professional within our field of study.


Their holistic approach and program design of student outcomes and support systems is very informative and enlightening. We must prepare our students with the basic core subjects by using new innovative and creative hands on approach. The students must develop the skills to be self directed and engaged in a more global minded classroom. This 21st century model or approach helps us to integrate life skills and knowledge. This approach also encourages the use of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in the class.

I was surprised how easy they make it sound to integrate the skills into a daily classroom program. How are they able to fit so much into an already crowded schedule? I was also surprised how fast my mind started evaluating my techniques and classroom environment. What can I do to implement the changes needed? Will my school administration allow me the flexibility to implement some of the new ideas and techniques I was able to observe through the online video library? I was surprised about various feelings of excitement and fear that overcame me. Am I ready for the next step in education? I was also surprised how easy it was to access the online tools and resources to encourage me on this journey. The resources include professional development conferences, publications, educational articles and a video library. The videos were demonstrations of the 21st century approach in action K-12th grade.

The program encouraged me as a contemporary educator to continue my journey of lifelong learning and embrace change. My students learning gaps can be achieved if they are able to engage in collaborative, multi-media enriched learning environments. This approach will allow for many diverse types of assessments: standardized, formative, portfolio and technology based. The students need programs that will teach them to leap outside the box to discover new ways of doing, thinking and communicating with their fast paced, never sleeping, global world. Check out Partnership for 21st Century Skills and post your thoughts.

Blogging in the Classroom?

Class web pages are mandatory in our district.  Each homeroom teacher must design and maintain a class web page.  It is even monitored by our district and school principal.  This year they have added the Fusion Tools to our web page.  It allows us to add podcast, slideshows, and blogs to our web page. Many of my students do not have internet access at home so blogging is limited to school time.  I have just added a blog discussion to my web page.  My students have been using the student blog page on scholastic.com but class blog is new.  They seem afraid to respond.  We have also lost our classroom computers to a flood.  Our old radiator heater burst the week before Christmas and destroyed my classroom library (over 800 books) and all four of my computers.  Any way, my students have not been able to play with the blog options too much.

My question for you is how young is too young to blog? What about a blog for parents?  Let me know what you think?  Check out my class page and provide some input for blogging discussion ideas.

Lewis Class Web Page

What technology is a must in your classroom?

The world of technology is changing every day. It is hard to imagine life without the Internet, digital cameras, and social networking. Our classrooms however, are not on the cutting edge. If our classrooms have computers in them for student use, they are probably dinosaurs meaning windows 98 or before.

I am lucky to be in a school that is incorporating new technology tools each year. All of our classrooms are equipped with SmartBoards, Smart document cameras, and Smart Airline tablets. Our third grade is implementing IPods in our curriculum. Each class has 6 IPods for the students to listen and create podcastings. Our K-2 grades were provided Smart Tables, interactive tables for 4.

Smart Boards and the document cameras provide information at our finger tips. These tools allow me and the students to retrieve information from around the world with only a keystroke. Last week, we observed a baby panda bear at the San Diego Zoo through the video cam http://www:sandiegozoo.org/videos/. Many of my students have visited a zoo. I placed this website on our class web site along with other links. The excitement was carried over to their new animal research project. A template for their project was also placed on the class website for easy use. The afternoon was filled with excitement as they researched using videos, and other link web pages.

The problem is having time to learn and teach the technology to staff and the students. We are so overwhelmed with "test preparations" that we cannot incorporate time needed to become proficient in the technology. I know that if we can learn to use these tools we will all excel.

What do technology do you use? Let's share web sites and other ideas to enhance our classroom learning experience.