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

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http://smithst.edu.glogster.com/RCampus Glog by Stephanie Smith/

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.

Reflections

At the begining of this course, I said I most closely related to Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences and I still believe this to be true. While we have learned about several different learning theories, I still think students have distinct ways they learn. Therefore, I have chosen not to modify my theory of learning.

An immediate change I have already made in my classroom was the implementation of voice threads. My students were able to successfully create and use the voice thread application on an assignment about winter holidays.

Two technology tools I would like to implement in the future would be virtual field trips and the use of Kidspiration, which is a program to help students create concept maps. Both of these will help students create and organize their thoughts in order to use them more successfully in their studies.

A long term goal I am making will be to integrate the use of Promethean boards in my classroom. Just before Christmas, we received word that our school will be receiving them through the stimulus monies. We will also receive several hours of training specifically for these boards and I am also trying to convince my principal to send me to Atlanta to become a certified trainer on the Promethean Boards. This technology will completely change not only the way my students will be learning, but the way I plan and construct my lessons. I think it will be a win/win situation for everyone involved!

The other long-term goal I want to make is by using some sort of student-lead technology each week in my classroom. I would like for the students to either blog to each other or create a voice thread about a topic we are studying at the time. This will provide the students an opportunity to build a classroom relationship as well as providing an opportunity for the students to jigsaw their information. I think both of these long term goals will prove to be successful strategies in the classroom!

Voice Thread

lease take a look at my voice thread & leave a comment!
http://voicethread.com/share/784087/

"It's Shake N' Bake and I Helped!"

I believe that this week's collaborative resources suggested in the book Using Technology With Classroom Instruction that Works are very valuable to the cooperative learning theory. I was really impressed with the Revolution game! My class is actually getting ready to discuss the American Revolution and I think this would be a wonderful way to impress upon the students the decisions everyone involved had to make. I also love that each person in my class can take on a character and play each other interactively.

I was also impressed with Dr. Orey's suggestion of Jigsaw learning. I explored the Jigsaw.org website this afternoon and while it was not interactive as I expected, it did give some great ideas of incorporating social learning into a classroom. This is really nothing new to experienced teachers. In fact, I suggested it to my student teacher for next week's vocabulary lesson. She thought it was a really cool idea!

I love that kids love working together and learning from each other. I believe if the teacher sets it up properly on the front end, there shouldn't be too many problems once the students get started. It is a great way to learn and have fun!

Reflection

Thanks for your comments everyone! Again, I believe all three of these methods could be very effective, but it depends on the teacher's comfort level. Jennifer, I know what you mean about not being able to use these with your class this year. Some years you have a class that can handle anything, while other years you get a class where you think you are lucky when they can correctly write their name on their paper!! lol

Tinker Toys

This week, we were asked to read Generating and Testing Hypotheses from the book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. This chapter presented six tasks to help students create their own hypotheses which were, systems analysis, problem solving, historical investigation, invention, experimental inquiry, and decision making. By using one of these six methods, students can construct their own ways to test their hypothesis. This chapter also suggested three technological ideas in order to go about testing the hypothesis. They were Spreadsheet Software, Data Collection, and Web Resources. Honestly, the spreadsheet section confused me and I highly doubt that I would use it anyway. I'm not much of a mathematical kind of gal, so that would not naturally be the tool I would choose. I do think it would work well for students who are more logical and matematically minded and could construct their own spreadsheets to calculate their findings.
The web resources and gaming software brought to life a "Risk" like dynamic where students could logically think through an historic event and play out several scenarios. The constructionist theory works well here because students are creating different methods of play to figure out which would have worked better. I also like the idea of it being more interactive and having different outcomes that can be tested time and time again. There was a great list of several different gaming sites for students to "play" with.
Data collection tools were a more pragmatic way of looking at data. Students have a table created for them where they just plug in the information they found during their experiment and compare it to the other data they have collected. This is more of the traditional way I think we have all experienced when testing hypotheses in the past.
All three methods are great ideas to go about collecting data and testing hypotheses. I guess it just really depends on how comfortable the student or teacher is constructing the experiment and creating the hypotheses. One of the methods should work nicely for each student in a class.

Note Worthy

This week we were asked to read chapter 4, Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers, as well as chapter 6, Summarizing and Note Taking from the book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. In both chapters, we are asked to correlate these methods with the cognitive learning theory.

Chapter 4 discusses many ways to use advance organizers in a classroom. The authors suggest that an essential question should be proposed in the central node of the organizer. Based on this question, the teacher or students will branch off with ideas or thoughts that directly relate back to, or answer the essential question.

This is an excellent way for students to show off what they have learned from a lesson. It is also a great way to introduce a lesson. The use of KWL charts is also a great way to get the kids thinking about why and how things are the way they are. By using these graphic organizers, students are definitely using higher order thinking strategies to relate back to the essential question. Graphic organizers are a wonderful way to analyze the outcomes of ideas, rather than simply “sit and spit” as many children are often asked to do in order to pass a test.

Chapter 6 focuses on note taking as a way to organize and synthesize information into a way it is more easily understood. Several different ways to create notes are discussed from using Wikis and Blogs, to using the Auto Summarize option in Microsoft Word. Again, note taking is an excellent cognitive activity because it forces students to narrow down what is really important. In a way, the students have to come up with their own essential question and decide which information from the notes supports it.

The note taking example I would probably use the most in my classroom would be the combination notes format. This format gives important thoughts or ideas on one side and a visual image on the other. Underneath both sides, a summary of the above information is given. This format seems to be one that would be most easily used in my classroom since my students are younger and do not have much experience with technology. I also like how it combines the written word with a visual.

Overall, I think the two chapters have given me a lot to think about when I present lessons to my students. There is definitely more I could be doing on the front end in order to help them succeed. I would love to try some of these ideas and see just exactly how beneficial they really are.

Effort & Homework

This week's readings in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works have provided some very helpful and inspiring ideas for the use of technology in my classroom. At first, I was not very excited to read about what seemed like such mundane topics, but I was actually quite surprised! I finished reading with some good ideas that are worth trying to implement in my own classroom.

In the first selection, "Reinforcing Effort," it is suggested that students should use a rubric to see just how well effort pays off in the long run. After a short period of time (two weeks) students plugged their self-assessments into a spreadsheet to correlate with their grades on assignments. Theoretically, the effort put forth and the outcome of the grades should match up. This is a great way to get students motivated and excited about education. I believe the more the students get involved in the "whys" of education, the more they understand the "hows" of the way it works! This is a wonderful intrinsic motivator to use in a classroom!

In the second selection, "Homework and Practice," we were given several helpful web resources to aid in selection of multimedia outlets, remediation sites, and communication software services. Honestly, I was mostly intrigued with the fact that Microsoft Word can act as a search engine! I think the mentioned activities, such as using different resources available in Word to make sure the student's writing was on grade level was an excellent tool! Realistically, the ideas given in this chapter would not work well for my students. My students come from low income families; many without Internet connections at home. I do use some of the sites, such as BrainPop in my classroom to introduce and remediate topics with my students.

Overall, both chapters gave excellent ideas that were both tangible and useful. I think they all have a place in a classroom; some more easily than others. I look forward to trying some of them this year!

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

The End is Near!

In what ways have you deepened your knowledge of the teaching and learning process?
I have deepened my knowledge by reaching out more into the technology field and incorporating it into my classroom with my students.

In what ways have you changed your perspective from being teacher-centered to learner-centered?
I believe the students learn more when they are in charge, so it is a goal of mine to make my lessons more learner-centered.

In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology with the aim of increasing student achievement?
Through my Master's program, I will continue to expand my knowledge. I am also planning to take advantage of many in-service opportunities that my county offers.

Set two long-tem goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment by which you may have to overcome institutional or systemic obstacles in order to achieve them. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?
My first goal is to obtain and implement the use of a Promethian board. Through the stimulus money given to Title I schools, I have requested one. However, if I do not receive it, I plan to write a grant asking for one.
The second goal is to create as much of a paperless classroom as possible. I will do this by using more technology based activities such as wikis, blogs, and movies with my students.

Refer to your checklist from Week 1. Have any of your answers changed after completing this course?

I think many of my answers have remained the same. I am still looking forward to getting that Promethian board!

Like a Pea in a Pod

Here's my Podcast link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgOLWmvqFRE

I'm also including it here in case you don't want to follow the link!

21st Century Girl

This week, I've been asked to address the following questions about the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Your reaction to the Web site:

I think this website is a great initiative to get students and teachers all on board for the kids learning skills that are necessary for the 21st century workplace. I have often wondered how many of the skills we currently teach are preparing these kids for their future. Honestly, most of the social skills they learn in school will help them the most.

What information on the site surprised you?

I was actually (not that) surprised to see that Tennessee was not on the list of states that support this initiative. It's sad that we have to be the last ones to grasp on to almost everything dealing with education. For once, I'd like us to be the front-runners.

Did you disagree with anything on the site? Explain.

No way! I think it's a great idea and there were many helpful and informational articles on the site. It is also nice to see so many businesses who are partnered with this organization. Since many of our children will be working for these businesses in the future, it's good to see them taking an advanced step in the right direction.

What are the implications for your students, and for you as a contemporary educator?

By having this organization out there, the implications for the students are amazing! I wish we would adopt more of an initiative to teach these skills in our school. As one teacher, I can only do so much for the students in my classroom, but I know if all the teachers at my school got on board to teach these skills such as navigation, basic typing skills, and how to differentiate between websites that are helpful and those that are full of hogwash, our students would be more prepared to emerge themselves into future technology based assignments.