Tuesday, January 25, 2011
GAME Plan Week 4
This week I have worked on my goal of communication through technology by putting into place my calendar for my web page on the school's web site. I filled in the months with each unit, so for my seniors the 17th and 18th century Age of Enlightenment literature unit will be completed at the end of next week; the Romantic Age in February; the Victorian Age during the month of March; the Modern Age after Spring Break in the second, third, and fourth weeks of April; and the Post-Modern Age in the first three weeks of May. By the end of this week my goal is to add links to documents of any worksheets we completed. Also, this is the fourth week of the semester, but since we missed an entire week of school due to snow and ice, we have really only completed three weeks of instruction. This is usually the time that I send out email updates to parents/guardians of students who may not be performing to their ability. I would like to streamline and enhance my communications through our comment section on our Parent Portal. I have not utilized the Parent Portal as much as I could. I still would like to talk with one particular colleague I know has experience with podcasts in her classroom. By the end of the week I would like to talk with her preferably in person, but at least by email.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
GAME Plan evaluation 1.19.11
This week I've been able to work on some of the Action statements for my GAME plan. I retrieved the teacher web page packet created by our IT person (from under a stack of ungraded essays), and have read through all the features I can bolster with pertinent information for the students and parents. Today I created a template in a Word document titled Weekly Assignments which I will use to post the class lesson plans. This will be added to my Web page as a link so that students who are absent or parents needing make-up work can know what assignments they have missed. This will help me use technology to communicate more effectively with parents and students. Also, I have planned out the units for the rest of the semester and will be completing the calendar portion of the Web page this weekend. A second Action I took this week was to collaborate with another sophomore teacher who gave me a web address and worksheet for an interactive web site on Dante's Inferno. This will be used with my collaborative class, and the teacher said it was very helpful in getting and keeping the students engaged with the curriculum. I will prepare the students by deomonstrating how the web site works 0n my computer/projector and having them help me find the answers to the first two or three questions of the worksheet. I would like for them to turn this information into a podcast. To do this I will need to talk with our IT person about the logistics of student use of microphones with the new computer software. Our school has just completed (as of this week!) a computer/printer retrofit! Over 1,000 computers taken out and new ones put in! I would like to observe a colleague as they present this type of project to their class or when they are actually in a computer lab at work on this type of project. I still need to send out an e-mail to my department and ask for their help and insight on podcasting. I also still need to come up with different ideas for including technology beyond the slide show and podcast! Does anyone have some ideas that you have used and like?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
GAME Plan with NETS-T
GAME Plan for NETS-T
Two of the indicators in which I need to strengthen my confidence is NETS-T 3c and 3d. In reference to 3c (communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats) I have a Goal to utilize my webpage on our school’s web site more than I have in the past. One Action for this indicator is to complete the calendar portion from January to May with the units to be covered and dates for major grades. This will be a very relevant way to communicate information to students and parents. A second Action is to create a link so that students can access class notes and assignments when they are absent. I will Monitor this Action by uploading class information after school each day as well as asking for student help to upload the information. I will Evaluate and Extend my learning by talking with and collecting student feedback about absences and missed work. Another Action for communicating is through the ‘Quick Note’ and ‘Student Note’ sections of our grade book program. Parents, and students, can look up grades on our Parent Portal which contains a section for teacher comments. I want to be diligent to add comments to the assignments i.e. “This was an open book quiz” or attached to an individual student’s grade i.e. “Student did not bring needed materials to class”. I will Monitor this Action on Fridays by checking through the grade book to make sure comments are added to assignments/individual students as needed.
In reference to 3d, (model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning) my Goal is to implement modeling one new digital tool in the next unit we cover. My Action for this will be to choose the technology that can best enrich the lesson for learning the objectives for the unit as suggested by Caitlin Thompson (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b). I do not want to insert technology merely for the sake of using technology. It must, as Ertmer explains, help the students interact with the content (Laureate Education, Inc. 2010a). One possible addition is the podcast through which students could present a class project. I will Monitor my progress by asking a colleague who has used podcasts before to collaborate with me and help me set a time frame for implementing the technology. I will Evaluate my Goal by having students give an assessment of the tool’s effectiveness as well as their suggestions for the next time that tool is implemented in the curriculum.
By following these GAME plans for NETS-T 3c and 3d I hope to enrich the classroom experience for my students and expand my pedagogy. My students should be motivated to increase their own use of new digital technologies when they see me modeling these indicators.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Enriching content area learning experiences with technology, part 1 [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Enriching content area learning experiences with technology, part 2 [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author.
Two of the indicators in which I need to strengthen my confidence is NETS-T 3c and 3d. In reference to 3c (communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats) I have a Goal to utilize my webpage on our school’s web site more than I have in the past. One Action for this indicator is to complete the calendar portion from January to May with the units to be covered and dates for major grades. This will be a very relevant way to communicate information to students and parents. A second Action is to create a link so that students can access class notes and assignments when they are absent. I will Monitor this Action by uploading class information after school each day as well as asking for student help to upload the information. I will Evaluate and Extend my learning by talking with and collecting student feedback about absences and missed work. Another Action for communicating is through the ‘Quick Note’ and ‘Student Note’ sections of our grade book program. Parents, and students, can look up grades on our Parent Portal which contains a section for teacher comments. I want to be diligent to add comments to the assignments i.e. “This was an open book quiz” or attached to an individual student’s grade i.e. “Student did not bring needed materials to class”. I will Monitor this Action on Fridays by checking through the grade book to make sure comments are added to assignments/individual students as needed.
In reference to 3d, (model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning) my Goal is to implement modeling one new digital tool in the next unit we cover. My Action for this will be to choose the technology that can best enrich the lesson for learning the objectives for the unit as suggested by Caitlin Thompson (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b). I do not want to insert technology merely for the sake of using technology. It must, as Ertmer explains, help the students interact with the content (Laureate Education, Inc. 2010a). One possible addition is the podcast through which students could present a class project. I will Monitor my progress by asking a colleague who has used podcasts before to collaborate with me and help me set a time frame for implementing the technology. I will Evaluate my Goal by having students give an assessment of the tool’s effectiveness as well as their suggestions for the next time that tool is implemented in the curriculum.
By following these GAME plans for NETS-T 3c and 3d I hope to enrich the classroom experience for my students and expand my pedagogy. My students should be motivated to increase their own use of new digital technologies when they see me modeling these indicators.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Enriching content area learning experiences with technology, part 1 [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Enriching content area learning experiences with technology, part 2 [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author.
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