Monday, May 31, 2010

Evaluating Your GAME Plan Progress Week 5

I am continuing to make progress towards my GAME plan goal with the help of many colleagues. So I would say that my actions have been helping me meet my goal but it has been a slow process. Being that the end of the year is nearing many teachers are busy with their finishing touches along with are not using moodle as much as they were in the beginning of the year. On the other hand I have been using more technology in my classroom along with various assignments using technology. So on one hand I am modeling technology to my students while still learning my way around moodle.

One thing that I have learned so far that I can apply to my instructional practice is the homework page and the use of Elmo a technology tool that has helped with note taking and class discussions. Over this week I have noticed not only the excitement of students due to the use of technology in the classroom but a higher rate of homework competition, which for the end of the year is an accomplishment in itself.

I still need to learn how to set up my own moodle page and learn how to add different sections along with make sure the site is secure for students and parents. I also need to have my students and parents complete a survey to see how many people would actually use the interactive site for the advantages. As for adjusting my plan I am not sure that I need to adjust my plan at this time to use of more technology is never a bad thing.

Any suggestions on how I can improve my GAME plan are welcomed!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Game Plan Progress

Over the past week I have been talking to colleagues about Moodle and all the ways that they use it and how it is beneficial for their classes. One of my colleagues signed me onto their site so I could get a hands on feel for what Moodle is like and all that it has to offer. I also touched based with our computer teacher and he provided me with some resources on internet safety along with a PowerPoint presentation for parents. So far I have found there to be enough resources available and know that next year will bring even more for Moodle. So far I do not feel that I need to make any modification to my action plan but I was wondering if it mattered that a big bulk of my resources for Moodle will be next year. Does anyone have any ideas?

Some of the things that I have learned so far are that in Moodle you can set up different tabs which allow for different types of topics to be going on at the same time. It also allows for you as the teacher to set up a daily log where students can go back to in order to review what happened in class. It also allows for you to add short videos and web sites so students can have resources at the touch of a button. The other neat part about the different sections is that you could have a homework board which tells the students and parents the assignments that are due and were due. One of the teachers had a link that allows the parents to see their child’s grade and what assignments were outstanding while still keeping the privacy of the other students.

When it comes to internet safety I learned that a lot of parents have blinders on and do not want to see what is going on. Most parents also do not take the time to learn the new tools that their child are using on a daily basis so even when they do take the time to talk to them they do not understand them as well as do not have any idea of how dangerous some of the sites they are using daily can be if used incorrectly.

Some questions that have arisen in my research are how long does this take to set up? How many parents and students use it? And lastly privacy factors?

Does anyone else’s district use the Moodle program?

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Game Plan Week 3

My game plan is to not only to create a moodle page but update it daily so students and parents can use it on a daily basis if wanted or needed. I also want to promote technology and responsibility and what better way to do this then be a role model and show the students that I am learning just as they are. I also would like to use the moddle page in order to provide resources for various activities that we are working on and for those students who need extra reinforcement.

Some of the resources that I plan to use are not only my colleagues who currently use moodle but the workshops that my districts have set up for those who want to learn. I also would like to complete some research online and give my students and parents a survey in order to make sure that the moddle page is set up and most effective for not only the students but parents as well. The last thing I would like to learn is how to connect blogging to my moddle page in order to maximize the site to its fullest.

Some additional information that I need to locate and implement are various lessons for the beginning of the year along with an informational packet to send home for parents to look over relating to internet safety. This will hopefully help connect the student’s home life and school life as well as show students how dangers the internet can be if used incorrectly.

Any suggestions on how to more effectively complete my game plan are welcomed!!!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

GAME Plan 6713

Throughout my years of teaching and my effort to try and keep up with technology and how fast it changes has left me struggling with meeting some of the teacher technology standards. Although I have taken many steps in the right direction I still feel that I fall short on the following two standards.

-Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
-Model Digital-Age Work and Learning

Although I feel I do complete some of the standards as a whole I think I need to work on them hence why I am going to make them part of my GAME Plan.

Goals: Everybody in life should set goals for themselves if it be for work or for their personal lives. Setting goals is an important part of life and it is important not only for adults but students as well.

1. My first goal is to set up a moddle page in order to allow for communication to be more open than just an email or phone call.
2. My second goal is post on the moddle page daily allowing for students to check back on daily lessons as well as prepare for future units. This will also allow for parents to become more involved in their child’s life while I model the use of technology.

Actions:

1. In order to achieve this goal I will make moddle my personal development plan for the school year which will allow me to build and learn the program in order to be able to develop and implement my goal completely.
2. I will make sure to discuss and encourage the parents to get involved and look at my moodle page weekly by talking to them about this during back to school night as well as send home some information about the site.
3. Throughout this process I will always promote and model digital etiquette and responsible along with social interactions related to the use of technology and information

Monitor:

In order to monitory my goals I will set dates on my personal development plan making me accountable for my development along with allow for me to keep track of my goals. I will document all findings and use my moddle page to demonstrate my accomplishment of my goal and the progress that has been made towards this goal throughout the year.

Evaluate/Extend:

After trying this out of a year I would like to reflect on the outcome and see if it had any effects on my classroom and the success of my students. I would also like to track the amount of students and parents who used the site and how that effected the classroom environment. Lastly, I would also like to get some feedback from my students along with their parents in order to make and implement modification and model digital technology at its best.

Resource:

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