Reflection

This quarter I decided to set a goal to focus more on using the Smart Board in my classroom and with my content areas. I set up a GAME plan that would allow me to collaborate with my colleagues, technology specialists as well as web searches to improve my skills using the board. I was able to meet with my technology specialists as well as with a Smart Board instructor that were able to show me different uses for the Smart Board. After spending hours with the two specialists, I met with my colleagues to get their opinion and ideas of using the technology in their lessons. 

I begin to implement the different ideas into my lessons, by starting lessons with different interactive games and activities. The students were able to enjoy the lesson, become engaged and learned not only content but how to use another form of technology. As I reflected on my lessons in which I implemented the technology, I begin to feel a level of confidence that had derived from learning specific skills and ideas. I felt great about each lesson because I grew familiar with the technology and implementing the technology in any way that I could. I accomplished one goal in my GAME plan which is to use the Smart Board more and learn how to use the Smart Board. 

In the near future, I want to continue to use this technology as well as add on another form of technology. I feel that my familiarity with the Smart Board has grown but as I use the technology more in the classroom, I will develop more each year. I would encourage my students to use the GAME plan in their goal setting because it makes the students accountable for what they are learning and how they will become active learners. The GAME plan allows for the students to narrow down to a more specific goal and to focus on that goal for a period of time. This would be great in my classroom while the students discuss their KWHL charts as a class and we could easily implement a GAME plan in order to learn what we would like to know. 

Throughout my lesson planning, I will continue to implement the teaching strategies taught throughout the quarter. I enjoyed creating problem based inquiries for my students to solve and allowing the students to become problem solvers. We are currently still using a classroom blog, so that students will increase their knowledge with the media as well as with social networks. Many students did not realize that our classroom blog was a social network and that with using the blog in the class became an educational network. The students loved using the blog and responding to one another in posts. I will continue to use the digital storytelling, social networking as well as the problem based learning into the classroom as I see fit. I first discovered that it can be challenging to implement problem based inquiries in all content areas, but now I am working on a problem based project that integrates all content areas. I am excited about the activities in which I will have students completing. 

GAME Plan Update

      My GAME plan is going according to how I expected it to go. I have recently ended a SMART board workshop in my local school that has taught me new ways to use the tools with this form of technology. I am able to implement the board more into my lessons for instruction. I have also met with my grade level in order to discuss different ideas that could be used in order to help with using technology in lessons. My colleagues were able to provide different websites as well as web templates that allowed for students to conduct certain tasks for informal assessments as well as formal assessments.

     This week I have planned to meet with other colleagues from the county in order to discuss ways of using technology in the classroom for instruction as well as assessment. Many of the colleagues have incorporated the technology into their lessons or are interested in how to do such plans with limited use of technology. I have began a journal reflecting my daily usage of the technology in my classroom with lessons and assessing the students. I have noted that many times, the technology presents a problem which creates a stumbling block for instruction. Overall,  I am pleased with the knowledge that I am acquiring from entering the workshops suggested and collaborating with my colleagues.

    I have also signed up to meet with a team of colleagues that will assist with making blog pages as well as classroom websites to assist students out of the classroom. I am excited about the new classes and suggestions that I am already beginning to try to implement with small groups within the classroom. I ensure that the technology usage is presenting ways for me to monitor the progress of my students so that we may set ideal goals for achievement in the classroom.

New Class: NETS - T

New Class: NETS - T: The two standards I would like to focus on from NETS-T are: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility Teachers understand ...

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

In order to carry out my GAME plan, I registered for a Smart Board technology class at my local school. I have also collaborated with my grade level colleagues on different ways they use their Smart Boards in the classroom. I begin reading the book, "How to use the Smart Board for Dummies," that was suggested by a colleague. I have found different suggestions to ways that the Smart Board can be used in the classroom as well as programs that will allow for me to use the Smart Board for assessments. Since I have began my research on the Smart Board, I have implemented the use of the board in a lesson recently on "plot" in reading. The activity and usage of the Smart Board allowed for students to drag and post the events of the story into a graphic organizer I created for the students to use. The lesson went very well and I was able to assess students using this by having the students use clickers as the graphic organizer was displayed on the board.

I will continue to meet with my colleagues at my local school as well as with my technology specialist. She has set up days for her and I to meet and discuss the uses of the Smart Board. We also look for specific activities that could be used in the lesson plans I have to help differentiate the instruction. I would like to watch more video clips of how other teachers have successfully used the Smart Board as well as created opportunities for their students to be creative and motivated in learning.

GAME Plan for Integrating Technology

Over the last few years, I have encountered many types of technology being used in the classroom. The technology presented to the students were effective ways of attaining content as well as providing instruction for diverse learners. The only problem that occurred to me was the knowledge the teachers had on the technology being used. Many  of the teachers were not comfortable using the technology and would often times show frustration and take away from the meaning of the lesson. I decided to research the different types of technology that could be implemented in the classroom in order to help with differentiated instruction as well as take professional development classes to assist as well.

After reading through the performance indicators issued by the NSTE (National Educational Technology Standards for Students), I was able to get a clearer idea of where I would like to go next with my journey. I have decided to work on facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity by, "supporting, promoting and modeling creative and innovative thinking with my students." I am also going to work on designing and developing digital-aged learning experiences and assessments for my students, so that the differentiation will be consistent from instruction to assessment. In order to meet my goals and increase my knowledge and experiences, I will first have to decide on a form of media and/or technology that I would like to focus on first. I currently have a Smart Board and document camera in my classroom, so I am going to stick with these two technologies first. I will then begin to research different connections and programs that will enable me to use the technology for assessment as well as instruction. In order to monitor my progress, I will keep a journal of reflections after implementing the use of technology in my classroom. I will look at the response from the students as well as the performance by the students when using the technology. 


I will consistently use the program and ways of assessing throughout a time span to watch the growth of the students and performance levels. This will allow me to better figure out my next steps to using the forms of technology in another way for differentiation and moving to another form of technology.


Resources:
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

Final Reflection

I believe students learn in a procedural manner requiring steps. First, the students should be exposed to the vocabulary and terms being introduced with the content. The students are questioned about their prior knowledge and begin to brainstorm. Next, the students are given the explanation for the subject and how it connects with the vocabulary. I discuss examples with the students where the students are giving more of the information than what I am providing. The students are probed to the information rather than pouring out information. When the students are probed to learning the information, it makes more room for students to be able to make connections. 

After the students have some what begin to understand the information from being probed, the students are shown content through the use of technology. Often times, the examples are interactive and involve great student involvement. The students get engaged and are excited about the content. The use of technology opens the door for students to be challenged by exploring the content more in depth and asked questions that involve critical thinking. The students collaborate in order to complete tasks from the lesson and activities. The last part of instruction to ensure the students are understanding the content is for the students to work on a task independently. This independent task ranges from formal assessment to informal assessment to observational assessments. The students are to complete tasks that will demonstrate their understanding of the content and their ability to make connections with the content and their prior knowledge.

My theory of students learning by using a step by step process remains the same being that it is a general truth to the learning of students. There are many types of learners in the classroom and in order to ensure each of the needs are being met, I have to use differentiated instruction involving the use of technology. This course has allowed for me to see the different learning theories being implemented using different strategies. I enjoyed learning about more strategies to use in the classroom in order to help meet the needs of the students. Being that my undergraduate required we use technology, this course has only introduced me to more forms of technologies. The voice thread is an incredible form of technology that allows for student engagement and does not solely rely on the teacher for information. I did not realize the effect technology had on my students learning until seeing the benefits of their progress in assessments. 

I mentioned previously my enjoyment of the voice thread and how I would like to use this more in my classroom. I created a lesson plan that used the technology and the students responded very well to the presentation. The voice thread asked discussion questions that caused for students to think critically and think back to prior knowledge. This technology can not only be used by the teacher to introduce content but also to allow students to put together presentations. Dr. Orey also brought to my attention the benefits of using images in instruction. It allows for students to make connections and connect the image with the auditory. When using images in lessons, the teachers are breaking down the information and allowing for a certain amount of content to be attained in the student’s mind. In the resources, Dr. Orey discussed the amount of information that could be learned being in a student’s level of proximity. The professor demonstrated the often mistake of presenting too much information at one time for a student to attain. My instructional strategies pool has expanded and I have been able to take a few strategies into my classroom in order to master on my students. I have used strategies suggested in the course on a few of my small group instruction which has allowed another way for my low students to understand and view the information.

The goals that I have set in place for the next few school years is to integrate more interactive technology which allow for more student experiences and to not use technology as just an instructional tool but learning tool. In order to make sure I implement interactive learning opportunities for my students, I will have to create visuals and examples that will facilitate that skill. The resources provided many tools that could be used in the classroom that involves students completing tasks using an interactive board. Although, many of the lessons I plan use technology, technology is not always provided for the lessons. School budgets are a big blockade for using technology in my fourth grade classroom. I want to also use my technology as a learning tool by having students complete projects and activities using different types of technology. I currently use the technology a lot to give instruction due to the lack of computers in the classroom. I have arranged for lab time in order for students to be able to use this form of technology and benefit in its capabilities to break down information and create artifacts for students. 

Integrating technology seems to be difficult with the lack of money provided for students to prepare for the 21st century. I have discovered many types of technology and forms of technology that allows students to be engaged and interactive with their learning. The students are wanting to construct artifacts and displays of their knowledge that they have collaboratively collected. The learning theories that were discussed throughout the course involve focusing on the behaviors of the students, constructionism, and social learning opportunities. These learning theories allow for students to interact with one another as well as technology in the classrooms. Many learning types exist in the classroom and lecturing is not beneficial anymore to any student. The learning experiences of the students will allow for students to remember more and complete desired tasks given by teacher. 

Voice Thread

https://voicethread.com/?#u1757315.b1910962