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?

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!!!

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.

Reflection

Although a good part of my personal theory will stay the same there are some aspects that I am going to make some modifications to. Due to this course I have realized that there are so many resources out there and that I need to start using more of them. Although so far this year I have incorporated more technology then in the past I still feel there is so much more I could be doing. Instead of using a web organizer that’s a piece of paper you pass out why not have them use one of the many programs out there like inspiration or webspiration. By making that simple change you have changed the learning process as well as made your classroom a student centered environment instead of teacher centered allowing for maximum learning to take place. Which in the end is all you can hope for.

One adjustment that I have already begun to do is the use of more visuals. Every day I have a do now projected on the board of what they need to do and the learning target for the day. Instead of using words for certain things I now use pictures. For example, on the do now there is a list of things they need to take out, notebook, pencil, and whatever else is needed for the class. Instead of using words I know use pictures to represent those objects. I have noticed that with the use of visuals my students have been getting prepared for class faster and are on task quicker. In my class I am not only used visuals for the do now but to begin a unit which has allowed for students to be able to picture the topic and has helped with them grasping the concept begin taught. With just this minor change I have noticed a great deal of change in my student’s progress and am happy with the success I have so far.

For my long term goals I would like to learn and implement various web sites in order to keep up with the students these days as they are growing up in a world full of technology. The two goals that I would like to work on incorporating more of into my lessons are virtual field trips and the use of my blog page. Although I have used both of them a few times this year I do not feel that I am taking advantage of they have to offer. I hope I can accomplish these goals in order to master them for the next school year.

Voice Thread link

http://voicethread.com/share/888933/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

“Technology can play a unique and important role in cooperative learning by facilitating group collaboration, providing structure for group tasks, and allowing members of groups to communicate even if they are not working face to face.” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 140). Being able to be social either through a face to face conversation or through email is an important skill that everyone needs in order to be successful in life. By creating assignments that allow for the students to work on a task while being social with either their own classmates or peers around the world is a great way to not only keep up with the times but a way to promote effective social skills. Kids these days struggle with writing a complete sentence for the mere fact that they are texting or using abbreviation on facebook most of their day. Due to all of the current technology students are struggling with writing a basis sentence. I can’t tell you how many papers I receive that either have LOL or some other abbreviation in them even after I remind them of my no text or instant messaging language. I know that this is not something that is just happening in my classroom but creating an assignment that forces students to be social with others outside of their social network might make students think twice about what they are saying or writing. I also believe that an important skill in life is not only being about to communicate with someone but being about to work collaboratively with someone even if you are not friends. Many of my students will ask to be switched or even have gone as far as to cry about who they are working with. An important life skill is to be able to work with others and to me cooperative learning defines that.


Resources:

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

Constructivist/Constructionist

“Technology can play a vital role in generating and testing hypothesis because new developments in probeware and interactive applets allow students to spend more time interpreting the data rather than gathering the data-a process that can be tedious and error prone.” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 203). Although all of this makes sense to me my one question is then when is the right time to teach them how to use the programs? For example the suggestion of using power point in order for students to build the connection between the content and their memory. This is wonderful if the student knows how to use power point but what do you do if the student does not know how? I know that I am a rare case and most of the students probably know how to use the programs better than we do but for me, working with multiple disabled students, this is not the case. Just recently I had my students working on a project relating to cells. They had to research an animal and plant cell and had to tell me what parts are in each cell and their function. To top it off I even gave each student a list of web sites that contained information about the cells which was presented the information in a simplified form. Even with that and the help of five other adults this assignment was a real challenge. So how do I use technology to allow a student to be an individual learner while also allowing for them to resolve disequilibration? Earlier in the unit I was able to connect the nucleus to the principal and the protoplasm to the vice principal which allowed for assimilation that did not require technology. I tried to use the tool of technology to create artifacts but really struggled. The other obstacle that I seem to always face is the availability of computers or should I say the lack of availability. Although I have my students engages in hands on activities and are allowing for them to create and artifact in their mind I would like to incorporate more technology which will also allow for some accommodation, new category, but the amount of time that is needed to accomplish this might not be possible.

Over all I liked the ideas/suggestions this week along with can see how they correlate with constructionist learning theory but struggle with how to use technology in order to accomplish this goal.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

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