Learning in a Virtual World...VIRTUAL (Sung to the Tune of Material Girl by Madonna)

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Reflections in UDL & DI

At the close of this course, I have been asked to do the following:

•Summarize how you will use the resources in the Differentiation Station social network to help you implement the principles of Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction.

I plan to use the resources submitted to my group's Differentiation Station to reference and help me in my curriculum planning; especially since I'm teaching inclusion this year! I also hope to keep the relationships within my group current, so that we can continue to share ideas about UDL & DI in the future. I am also excited to have discovered the CAST website along with all the wonderful teaching resources available to me on that site!

•Describe any immediate adjustments you will make to your instructional practice regarding the use of technology integration to customize instruction as a result of your learning from this course.

I have already begun to make immediate adjustments to my instructional practice by differentiating my small group and whole group lessons with the use of my Promethean Board. I have also started sharing these Flipchart lessons with my fellow grade level teachers in hopes it will inspire them to begin differentiating, too.

Overall, I have found this course to be one of the most beneficial and useful to me during my graduate work at Walden. I am excited to see what my final course has in store!

The GAME is Over...

Well, I'm at the end of my course and as always, we are asked to reflect upon an aspect of what we have learned and done over the past eight weeks. Here are my thoughts:

•Reflect on the GAME plan you developed and followed throughout the course.
I actually enjoyed creating a GAME plan and following up with it to reach my goals. I think by using the NETS-T and NETS-S, teachers and students can set realistic goals to help themselves become more responsible digital citizens.

•Summarize any new learning that resulted from your following your GAME plan and explain what impact your new learning will have on your instructional practice.
The most exciting learning that resulted from my GAME plan was that I was able to attend Promethean's Train-the-Trainer course. This was an information filled week that will greatly impact my instructional practice as well as the instruction of other teachers at my school. I learned the ins and outs of the ActivInspire software and how to deliver that knowledge to my fellow teachers. I'm so excited to get back to school and share what I have learned. I'm also extremely excited to see how the students interaction and test scores will improve after having the Promethean boards for a whole year.


•Describe any immediate adjustments you will make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration in your content area(s) as a result of your learning from this course.
Obviously, my entire approach to instruction will change because of the Promethean board. I have always been a teacher who did the majority of her lessons by either showing concepts through technology or by hands-on activities - hardly ever using the dry erase board. Now, I will have ALL of these concepts merging into one place!

I'm also excited about using digital storytelling in the classroom. This is something that I have not used with my students in the past and I believe they will really enjoy working with this media.

Overall, I believe this course has been very beneficial and I will take new skills with me into the classroom and beyond!


References:
ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicatiors for Teachers. retrieved from http://www.iste.o-Trg/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Time for A New GAME Plan...

Take a moment to think about the GAME plan process and the progress you have made over the last several weeks toward meeting the goals you established for learning about technology and technology resources. Using the link provided in Tech Resources located under Course Home, visit the Web site for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and examine the National Education Standards for Students (NETS-S). Consider how the NETS-S and the NETS-T are inter-related. Based on your experience with the GAME plan process and the NETS-T, how might you use the GAME plan process with your students to help them develop proficiency in the NETS-S?

After looking at both the NETS-T and NETS-S, I can honestly say they go hand-in-hand. I really like how the standards promote digital citizenship. I believe this is one of the most important standards on the list. At my school, I know many of my students do not have parents at home monitoring their children's work online. Many of my students have MySpace and FaceBook accounts (although they are not of legal age yet) and I know that cyberbullying runs rampant among them!

I would like to help my students design their own GAME plan, based on the NETS-S to model digital citizenship this upcoming year. This will be a year long process, but one that I feel will be the most beneficial to them. If students can learn to use the Internet responsibly then that will benefit them in the long run.

References:
ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicatiors for Teachers. retrieved fromhttp://www.iste.o-Trg/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

How's Your GAME?

Again this week I am analyzing my game plan. Below are the questions and answers:


•What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
What goals are you still working toward?

After attending Promethean's Train the Trainer seminar last week, I have learned TONS of new ideas that I can incorporate into my flipcharts. The students will benefit from what I have learned because it will make their lessons more interactive. Also, I will be teaching other teachers what I have learned, so in turn, their students will benefit, too! I am still working toward the goal of creating workshops and inservice opportunities for teachers once we go back to school. Clarissa and I have been brainstorming how and when we want to provide these opportunities and what the focus of each should be.

•Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?

I would like to set the following goal for myself according to the NETS-T standards:
customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using
digital tools and resources
While I feel like I already do a pretty good job of incorporating technology into my everyday classroom, I also know that I will be teaching inclusion next year, so I really need to focus on my students' learning styles and try to match digital tools and resources to them.


•If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far?

I believe a new goal will keep me on task. However, I will be extending my Promethean knowledge quite a bit in the future.


•What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?

In the future, I will try to keep an open mind about the learning opportunities presented to me in the future. I know that there are always professional development workshops for us at the beginning of the year, which I am not always excited about. I am going to try to maintain a positive attitude about those this year and learn what I can.

References:
ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. retrieved from http://www.iste.o-Trg/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Yes, I am Still Playing the GAME!

Again this week my assignment is to evaluate my GAME plan and modify it if needed. Below are the questions I must consider:

•How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?

Since I am currently on Summer Break, my goal to become more responsible with my online citations will have to wait until the new school year begins. So, that determination of effectiveness is on hold. As for my Promethean Training, it is going very well! Clarissa & I began it this week and although I was already very familiar with the ActivInspire program, it has been extremely helpful to delve deeper and get TONS of ideas that I can share with other classroom teachers!

•What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?

In the past 2 days of training, I have learned to construct flipcharts and manipulate the layers within them. I have also demonstrated how to apply different actions to objects from the browser to my fellow trainers. This will be helpful to me in the classroom because I will be able to create amazing flipcharts to enhance my students' knowledge and interaction!

•What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?

This week, I still have to learn the different properties of the browser and ways to incorporate them into my flipchart lessons. I will also have to learn HOW to train the teachers at my school to use the ActivInspire software. Any new questions that arose were immediately addressed by our trainer, Catherine. Many of them came up during the activities she was having us do. So far, I have not come up with any questions that have yet to be answered.

•How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?

As far as I'm concerned at the moment, my GAME plan is going as planned! At the end of the week, if I have any questions about how to do something in ActivInspire, I will then need to adjust my plan to fit my needs.

References: ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and PErformance Indicatiors for TEachers. retrieved fromhttp://www.iste.o-Trg/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Wanna Play a GAME?

This week, we were given four questions to make sure we are staying on top of our GAME plan. I will address the questions below.

•Are you finding the information and resources you need?
Yes, so far, so good! I was able to locate a citation generator and have even tried it out a couple of times! I wanted to make sure that if I was sharing it with my students (and others) that it was effective. I am also finding lots of helpful information about learning how to use the Promethean software, ActivInspire. There are a TON of videos in the ActivTips section of the Promethean Planet website, which are very helpful.

•Do you need to modify your action plan?
At this time, I do not feel that my action plan needs modification. However, after I attend the Train-the-Trainer series next week, I will need to reassess my plan to make sure I am staying on track.

•What have you learned so far?
Well, I did not know that citation generators existed, so that was a plus! I have also learned how to create containers, groups, and other neat tricks when making a flip chart.

•What new questions have arisen?
So far, I really haven't had any new questions. However, after next week's training, I'm sure I will have TONS of new questions! Hopefully, they will be answered as we go along during the workshops.

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.

Let's Get This Party Started!

This week, we were asked to continue our GAME plan by answering some simple questions that will better help focus our goals. Below you will find the questions and my replies:

•What resources will you need to carry out your plan (video, reading, experts or colleagues, etc)?
For my first goal - being more responsible with online citations - I plan to use a works cited generator such as Bibme.org, which automatically generates a reference in MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian formats. The ease of using this site will help me stay on track and remember to add citations to any online lesson I prepare.

The other goal I set for myself was to extend my professional development. As I said previously, I am attending Promethean's Train the Trainer series in a couple of weeks. A fellow teacher will be attending this with me, so we will be able to hold each other accountable. We have also begun to speak with our administrators about holding our own in-services at our school for next year. I will also remain up-to-date with all things Promethean by making use of Promethean Planet's forum where teachers from all over the world come together to help each other.

•What additional information do you need?
As far as being more responsible with my online citations, I do not believe I will need any additional information. With the professional development aspect, I will obviously need to attend the training to gain more information about training other teachers to use the Promethean boards with ease.

•What steps have you been able to take so far?
So far, I have searched the Internet to find an easy way to make sure I can be able to cite online sources correctly. There are several citation generators available, so I know that if I am not happy with the one I have chosen that I can change to another. I have also begun to plan in-service opportunities with the other teacher who is also attending the Promethean training with me. We are hoping to be able to offer monthly workshops in order to help teachers come up with new ideas and flipcharts to use.


References:
ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and PErformance Indicatiors for TEachers. retrieved from http://www.iste.o-Trg/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

What's YOUR GAME Plan?

As any good athlete knows, you must develop a GAME plan. No matter which team or what position you play, there should always be a way to monitor your progress and anticipate your next step. Educators are no different. In my classroom, I am constantly setting goals and expectations for my students and monitoring their progress. As a teacher, I should model those actions as well.

After looking at the ISTE website and looking at the five NETS-T performance standards, I have chosen the following two on which to work: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility and Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

In order to strengthen my confidence to be able to Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility I will be more aware of citing digital sources when I use a source from the Internet in a lesson. I will make sure to point this out to my students each time I use a source and explain how important it is to give proper credit where it is due. In order to evaluate my progress, I will look back at my digital presentations from time to time to ensure I have given the proper credit.

I also plan to set up a schedule for my students to use the computers. I will monitor this by keeping a record of scheduled days in the rotation of my students. Each student will sign in and out of their computer with a log that will be placed next to their station. I will evaluate the effectiveness of this by looking at the log and making modifications for time/effort spent with those students who I feel need it.

For my second standard, Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership, I am planning to attend Promethean's Train the Trainer five-part ActivInstruction series. During this week, I will be learning ways in which to teach other educators in my school as well as in my county to use Promethean's technology. I plan to hold and instruct professional development opportunities within the county and will monitor my progress by having the attendees provide feedback of the course through a survey. From the feedback I receive, I will then evaluate what needs to be changed or modified within my instruction in order to facilitate a better understanding of Promethean's technology. I will extend my learning by the use of Promethean's online forum in order to collaborate with other trainers and teachers using the software. This will connect me to others in different states and countries and provide me with the opportunity to correlate ideas in which I had not thought of before. This is probably the standard I most excited about and will have no problem staying on top of my GAME plan!

As I stated before, It is important for educators to create a GAME plan for their students as well as themselves. If we do not constantly set goals, take action, monitor, and evaluate the goals set forth, we cannot grow as teachers and therefore our students will not receive the best education possible.

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.

ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and PErformance Indicatiors for TEachers. retrieved from http://www.iste.o-Trg/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/For Teachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

We're Supposed to Look Up WHAT?!

The most striking revelation I have had while teaching my students during this course is that many of them did not know how to correctly identify legitimate information on a web site. I did the “bogus” website activity with my students and thought surely that if a product or topic sounded too good or too silly to be true, they would recognize that! However, that was definitely NOT the case. I have also learned that my students would rather have the information placed in their hands than to actually have to go out and search for it. This goes back to many years of having this practice done for them. Hopefully, I am helping break this habit by encouraging my students to find their own information and evaluate it correctly.

The knowledge and experience I have gained in this course will influence my teaching by having me re-evaluate the information I ask my students to find. Many times I often ask for information that is very cut and dry. In the future, I would like to direct my lessons more towards my students identifying the questions and information on their own terms. That way, they synthesize the information more clearly because they have been in it since the beginning.

One professional development goal I have for the future is to attend a Promethean workshop this summer. The use of Promethean boards has proven to raise test scores with consistent use. By engaging my students with lessons on the Promethean board and being able to fully construct lessons that help the students build and retain the information presented, I believe they will begin a whole new journey towards the proficiency of new literacy skills.