Here is the link to my presentation:
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AbziMrK53KrsZGd2aG1ocHdfMjJjM3Q0YnNjOQ&hl=en_US
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology: Final Reflection
After completing this course, Reaching and Engaging all learners through Technology, my understanding of how I can become a more effective teacher and how to help my students can get the most out of their learning has become much clearer. Previous to this course, I thought differentiating instruction meant creating different lessons for different students. I now understand that differentiated instruction is a way of thinking. It involves creating opportunities for all students to utilize the way they learn best. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) model fits well the the concept of DI because they share the same philosophy of creating flexible lessons that allow students to explore information in a variety of ways. UDL adds the element of technology and the key role it can play in creating these opportunities.
I have gathered information that will help me create lessons and experiences using technology that will allow students to develop an understanding based on how they learn. My previous misconceptions about Differentiated Instruction included the misconceived idea that it would mean more work for me. This simply is not true. When paired with technology there are a variety of options for developing lessons where students are allowed the flexibility they need to how they gather, interpret information, and produce a final product that demonstrates understanding.
The beginning of the new school year will be a perfect time to incorporate some of the things that I have learned about DI and UDL. Research tells us that learning style, gender, and culture, impact student learning (Tomlinson, 2009). Therefore, I plan to make use of the online tools that were posted on our Differentiation Station group site http://groups.google.com/group/group-5-reach-and-engage-through-technology?hl=en
to help me collect information about my students interests, learning styles, and intelligences so I can create meaningful learning experiences.
I also plan to utilize several online tools to help differentiate my lesson plans. Some of these tools include voicethread:http://voicethread.com/, Little Bird Tales: http://www.littlebirdtales.com/, and Kidblog: http://kidblog.org/home.php. All of these tools offer the flexibility that students need to create and demonstrate their understanding of content in a variety of ways.
Technology will also play an important role in how I assess my students' progress and learning. I plan to utilize clickers to check student understanding about key points as we work our way through lesson. The information that I gather will help me make decisions about how to improve instructional programs (Salend, 2009).
As my comfort level increases and the integration of these tools evolves, I will create a learning environment that includes UDL and Differentiated Instruction on a daily basis. I am anxious to utilize what I have learned about UDL and DI. The benefits of this type of classroom will be seen in the success of each and every student.
Resources:
Salend, S. (2009). Technology-based classroom assessments. Teaching Exceptional Children, 41(6), 48–58.
Tomlinson, C. (2009). Learning profiles and achievement. School Administrator. 66(2), 28–33.
I have gathered information that will help me create lessons and experiences using technology that will allow students to develop an understanding based on how they learn. My previous misconceptions about Differentiated Instruction included the misconceived idea that it would mean more work for me. This simply is not true. When paired with technology there are a variety of options for developing lessons where students are allowed the flexibility they need to how they gather, interpret information, and produce a final product that demonstrates understanding.
The beginning of the new school year will be a perfect time to incorporate some of the things that I have learned about DI and UDL. Research tells us that learning style, gender, and culture, impact student learning (Tomlinson, 2009). Therefore, I plan to make use of the online tools that were posted on our Differentiation Station group site http://groups.google.com/group/group-5-reach-and-engage-through-technology?hl=en
to help me collect information about my students interests, learning styles, and intelligences so I can create meaningful learning experiences.
I also plan to utilize several online tools to help differentiate my lesson plans. Some of these tools include voicethread:http://voicethread.com/, Little Bird Tales: http://www.littlebirdtales.com/, and Kidblog: http://kidblog.org/home.php. All of these tools offer the flexibility that students need to create and demonstrate their understanding of content in a variety of ways.
Technology will also play an important role in how I assess my students' progress and learning. I plan to utilize clickers to check student understanding about key points as we work our way through lesson. The information that I gather will help me make decisions about how to improve instructional programs (Salend, 2009).
As my comfort level increases and the integration of these tools evolves, I will create a learning environment that includes UDL and Differentiated Instruction on a daily basis. I am anxious to utilize what I have learned about UDL and DI. The benefits of this type of classroom will be seen in the success of each and every student.
Resources:
Salend, S. (2009). Technology-based classroom assessments. Teaching Exceptional Children, 41(6), 48–58.
Tomlinson, C. (2009). Learning profiles and achievement. School Administrator. 66(2), 28–33.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Week 8 Reflection: Final Thoughts
Upon reflection of my GAME plan that I developed throughout this course I learned that it is important to be flexible. I began with a set of goals and and ended with a slightly different version. Part of the game plan involves Monitoring. As I put my goals into action, I found that small adjustments needed to be made along the way in order to meet the needs of my students and the outcomes we were working towards. Through conversations and readings I learned some valuable tools that helped me create my GAME plan and some very valuable lessons.
The learning that came about as a result of following my GAME plan was extensive. I found that by researching tools and how to implement them into my classroom I have developed a much broader understanding of how technology, specifically blogging and wikis, can play a role in the classroom. I have also learned the importance of setting goals to help me as a teacher stay focused on the final outcome and the standards I need to teach to my students.
When developing lessons in the future I plan to incorporate as many problem based lessons that I can. I found Problem Based Learning is an important part of getting students to become active participants in their own learning. I found this model to be a realistic way to incorporate academic standards, technology standards, and 21st Century standards all at the same time. When attempting to create lessons that incorporate all of these things, I will utilize the the GAME plan model. I also plan to teach my students to create goals and act on them using the same steps I used in creating my own GAME plan.
The learning that came about as a result of following my GAME plan was extensive. I found that by researching tools and how to implement them into my classroom I have developed a much broader understanding of how technology, specifically blogging and wikis, can play a role in the classroom. I have also learned the importance of setting goals to help me as a teacher stay focused on the final outcome and the standards I need to teach to my students.
When developing lessons in the future I plan to incorporate as many problem based lessons that I can. I found Problem Based Learning is an important part of getting students to become active participants in their own learning. I found this model to be a realistic way to incorporate academic standards, technology standards, and 21st Century standards all at the same time. When attempting to create lessons that incorporate all of these things, I will utilize the the GAME plan model. I also plan to teach my students to create goals and act on them using the same steps I used in creating my own GAME plan.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Week 7: The GAME plan and my Students
After examining the National Education Standards for Students (NETS-S) I can see how important my job is to help guide students into finding topics to research and projects that are meaningful to students. I think once this is accomplished students will have a more vested interest in their learning and will be more likely to accomplish the goals outlined in these standards.
Much like the way I approached the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T), I will teach my students to develop a GAME plan to help them accomplish their goals. Students will begin by focusing on a few key goals and develop ways in which they plan to reach them. As they work through their goals they will have to make adjustments and changes to help them meet the final goals. In the end, students will have to reflect on what they have accomplished and decide how it helped them become better students. They will also look ahead to the future and assess how it will help them be more successful in the real world.
Students and teachers use the GAME plan every day whether that is what they call it or not. I think pointing out to students the steps that they can use will help them reach all kinds of goals, including those that involve technology.
Much like the way I approached the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T), I will teach my students to develop a GAME plan to help them accomplish their goals. Students will begin by focusing on a few key goals and develop ways in which they plan to reach them. As they work through their goals they will have to make adjustments and changes to help them meet the final goals. In the end, students will have to reflect on what they have accomplished and decide how it helped them become better students. They will also look ahead to the future and assess how it will help them be more successful in the real world.
Students and teachers use the GAME plan every day whether that is what they call it or not. I think pointing out to students the steps that they can use will help them reach all kinds of goals, including those that involve technology.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Revising My Plan: Week 6
Current Goals:
Goal 1: To promote student reflection using collaborative tools.
Goal 2: To Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make use of emerging tools and resources that support student learning.
What I have learned: I have learned that it is important to take things in steps. My original goal was to teach students the basics of using online tools to communicate and collaborate. I did this using a class blog. I now feel that students are ready to move on to creating a wiki. I have also learned the importance of utilizing the thoughts and ideas of other people. Through online collaboration and discussions with colleagues I have learned some valuable tools that will help me become a better teacher and incorporate technology in a way that will help my students learn. My second goal is one that I will continue to work towards indefinately as I think it is one that can never fully be reached!
New Learning goals:
Throughout this course I have developed ideas through collaboration and research to help me find ways for my students to reflect using collaborative tools. I have since met this goal and feel that my students are ready to move forward to a more complex form of collaboration.
The learning goal that I will set for myself now includes: designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessment. I will continue to utilize the GAME plan approach as I work my way through accomplishing my goals with my students.
Goal 1: To promote student reflection using collaborative tools.
Goal 2: To Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make use of emerging tools and resources that support student learning.
What I have learned: I have learned that it is important to take things in steps. My original goal was to teach students the basics of using online tools to communicate and collaborate. I did this using a class blog. I now feel that students are ready to move on to creating a wiki. I have also learned the importance of utilizing the thoughts and ideas of other people. Through online collaboration and discussions with colleagues I have learned some valuable tools that will help me become a better teacher and incorporate technology in a way that will help my students learn. My second goal is one that I will continue to work towards indefinately as I think it is one that can never fully be reached!
New Learning goals:
Throughout this course I have developed ideas through collaboration and research to help me find ways for my students to reflect using collaborative tools. I have since met this goal and feel that my students are ready to move forward to a more complex form of collaboration.
The learning goal that I will set for myself now includes: designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessment. I will continue to utilize the GAME plan approach as I work my way through accomplishing my goals with my students.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Application 5: GAME plan update
Goal 1:. To promote student reflection using collaborative tools.
After trying out blogging with my students I have realized that I want to use a tool that has more capabilities for collaboration. Kidblog.org is a useful tool and seems to be a great way to introduce students to the concept of collaboration, but it is somewhat limiting. I can see that other tools such as a wiki offer more flexibility for sharing and collaborating.
Goal 2. To Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make use of emerging tools and resources that support student learning.
I can see how useful a wiki is in creating opportunities for students to collaborate in a Project Based Learning environment. I will continue to explore how to incorporate a wiki into my teaching.
I have learned that incorporating technology takes time when working with elementary aged students. There are skills that need to be taught and changes need to be made as their understanding progresses. I will make adjustments to my GAME plan by incorporating tools that will better meet the needs of my students and their learning goals.
After trying out blogging with my students I have realized that I want to use a tool that has more capabilities for collaboration. Kidblog.org is a useful tool and seems to be a great way to introduce students to the concept of collaboration, but it is somewhat limiting. I can see that other tools such as a wiki offer more flexibility for sharing and collaborating.
Goal 2. To Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make use of emerging tools and resources that support student learning.
I can see how useful a wiki is in creating opportunities for students to collaborate in a Project Based Learning environment. I will continue to explore how to incorporate a wiki into my teaching.
I have learned that incorporating technology takes time when working with elementary aged students. There are skills that need to be taught and changes need to be made as their understanding progresses. I will make adjustments to my GAME plan by incorporating tools that will better meet the needs of my students and their learning goals.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Application 4: Game Plan Progress
As I continue to work towards my goals that I listed in my GAME plan, I have not only found some new resources, but new ways to use them. After learning more about assessments, I have realized some new ways to utilize the online tools that I have discovered. In my goal to learn more about blogging and how to use it in the classroom, I have discovered that it would be a useful tool for assessing all kinds of learning outcomes. I can also see that some of the online concept mapping tools such as Spicynodes.com or Webspiration.com is a great way for students to create a map of their thinking and a helpful way for me to assess their thought process. As I use these tools with my students I will continue to monitor and adjust along the way. I will continue to seek out new tools and discuss with colleagues how to best use what I find.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Application 3:GAME Plan in the Works…..
As a part of my GAME plan I have discussed my desire to create a blog with my students and fellow teachers and have explored a few different options. I decided to go with a blogging site that I have used before that is “kid-friendly” and has lots of options for me to monitor its use. However, after gathering ideas from colleagues I have decided to go about using it in a different way than I had before. Last week I had my students try writing a response to a question that I posted. My goal at the moment is to get students familiar with blogging and the appropriate way to use it before I have them create one of their own. After I receive all of the responses from my students I will be able to reassess and decide on what step I will need to take next. I think it is important to be open to trying out such projects and then make necessary adjustments along the way. Of course, if anyone has any advice or experiences that might be insightful as to how they have used blogging, or sites that host blogs in the classroom it would be much appreciated!
I have also made great use of my favorite blog, Free Technology for Teachers, to search for useful sites that I can use with my students!
I have also made great use of my favorite blog, Free Technology for Teachers, to search for useful sites that I can use with my students!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
My GAME Plan
After examining and reflecting on the National Education Standards for Teachers I feel that I have been working towards implementing each of these goals into my classroom on a daily basis. However, there is always room for improvement. Each day I try to incorporate some sort of digital image or information to help solidify lesson objectives because I find that students who can see examples of topics or watch animations are much more able to relate to the information I am presenting. Using technology I incorporate experiences that enable students to be active participants in their own learning. I use our classroom website and various other tools to collaborate with parents and students and share what we have been learning in the classroom. When completing projects that involve gathering information from the Internet, I teach my students the importance of ethical use and am consistently keeping up with new ways to help support the learning of my students.
Even though I feel that I have touched on each of the five NETS-T standards in my teaching, there are things that I still need to improve upon. The following is an outline of my GAME plan, which describes how I plan to improve:
Goals: 1. To promote student reflection using collaborative tools.
2. To Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make use of emerging tools and resources that support student learning.
Action: 1. I will research different bloging sites that I can use with my students that will allow them to reflect on and share information about what we are learning. I will explore blogs that have been created by teachers to find out how others are using them.
2. I will continue to pursue information about technology tools that will be useful in supporting my students’ learning. I will collaborate with other colleagues to learn about what other teachers are doing in the classroom.
Monitor: 1. I will take note of different blog sites and the different features that they have. I will also make a list of possible problems and things to keep in mind when using a blog with my students.
2. I will make a list technology tools that I learn about and reflect on their effectiveness. I will collaborate with colleagues to discuss different ways to incorporate the tools that I learn about.
Evaluate: 1. I will reflect on what students have posted respond appropriately. I will make notes about what worked and what I would do differently.
2. I will share what I have learned with my colleagues and brainstorm how they can be used in the classroom.
Resources:
ISTE(International Society for Technology in Education), 2008, retrieved from: iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. on March 5, 2011.
Even though I feel that I have touched on each of the five NETS-T standards in my teaching, there are things that I still need to improve upon. The following is an outline of my GAME plan, which describes how I plan to improve:
Goals: 1. To promote student reflection using collaborative tools.
2. To Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make use of emerging tools and resources that support student learning.
Action: 1. I will research different bloging sites that I can use with my students that will allow them to reflect on and share information about what we are learning. I will explore blogs that have been created by teachers to find out how others are using them.
2. I will continue to pursue information about technology tools that will be useful in supporting my students’ learning. I will collaborate with other colleagues to learn about what other teachers are doing in the classroom.
Monitor: 1. I will take note of different blog sites and the different features that they have. I will also make a list of possible problems and things to keep in mind when using a blog with my students.
2. I will make a list technology tools that I learn about and reflect on their effectiveness. I will collaborate with colleagues to discuss different ways to incorporate the tools that I learn about.
Evaluate: 1. I will reflect on what students have posted respond appropriately. I will make notes about what worked and what I would do differently.
2. I will share what I have learned with my colleagues and brainstorm how they can be used in the classroom.
Resources:
ISTE(International Society for Technology in Education), 2008, retrieved from: iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. on March 5, 2011.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Week 8 Reflection: Final Thoughts
Upon reflection on what I have learned throughout this course I think the most striking revelation is that being literate in the 21st Century involves much more than just being able to use a computer. It involves being able to navigate, evaluate, question, communicate, collaborate, and synthesize information that is found using the Internet. In that past I have taken it for granted that students would be able to determine the authenticity of a website and to find relevant information on their own. The thought of embarking on an inquiry project was overwhelming because I was never sure where to start. My eyes have been opened to some important aspects of what I need to do to help my students be literate in the 21st Century.
I think the QUEST model (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007) will help me in future inquiry projects because I now have a much better understanding of how to break it down into pieces that will create learning opportunities for students to not only practice the 21st Century skills, but gather and construct knowledge on topics that are relevant. I have learned the importance of allowing students to create their own questions to be answered. By teaching them how to find the answers to these questions I am instilling some valuable tools that my students will use for the rest of their lives.
My own personal goal includes taking the steps to be involved in creating an Internet usage, plagiarism, and copyright policy for our elementary school. Currently the policy that was adopted by our school board is very generic and outdated. After talking to fellow colleagues I am not the only one that wasn’t aware that there was one. I think there is a strong need to develop a plan that is not only clear, but shared, understood and followed by all the teachers, students, and parents in our school. Using what I have learned from this course I will develop a committee of parents and teachers to develop a plan that will outline what is acceptable Internet usage. We will also develop a plan that outlines the steps and guidelines that teachers and parents should follow to teach students how to be 21st Century literate.
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
I think the QUEST model (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007) will help me in future inquiry projects because I now have a much better understanding of how to break it down into pieces that will create learning opportunities for students to not only practice the 21st Century skills, but gather and construct knowledge on topics that are relevant. I have learned the importance of allowing students to create their own questions to be answered. By teaching them how to find the answers to these questions I am instilling some valuable tools that my students will use for the rest of their lives.
My own personal goal includes taking the steps to be involved in creating an Internet usage, plagiarism, and copyright policy for our elementary school. Currently the policy that was adopted by our school board is very generic and outdated. After talking to fellow colleagues I am not the only one that wasn’t aware that there was one. I think there is a strong need to develop a plan that is not only clear, but shared, understood and followed by all the teachers, students, and parents in our school. Using what I have learned from this course I will develop a committee of parents and teachers to develop a plan that will outline what is acceptable Internet usage. We will also develop a plan that outlines the steps and guidelines that teachers and parents should follow to teach students how to be 21st Century literate.
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
How to Evaluate a Website
I explored the website about the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. Watch the following Screencast that explains how to determine if a website contains accurate information.
Legit Website
Legit Website
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