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.
I really like your ideas here! I do have a concern and that is, how do you find time to make this list or make that list? I generally have a file open on my laptop that I can add notes to during the school day but even that gets hectic on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI would like to suggest some simplifications. First, I would electronically bookmark sites that have new ideas or tools that can be used. Then you could go back to this anytime you have a minute. And second, I would see if your IT person could set up a collaboration site for all the teachers in the district to post a simple "heads up" to new ideas and sites. That way, you could access these without having to do all the research yourself.
I think you have many great ideas and wish you the best in your classroom!
Great ideas! I do have a Delicious account that I use to bookmark all that I find to be something I want to visit again. Our school also uses Moodle to share ideas. Sometimes I like an old fashioned piece of paper that I can find anywhere!
ReplyDeleteHi Carrie,
ReplyDeleteI think you've come up with excellent goals--(and that you for your helpful responses and site suggestions on others' blogs--I have to play with littlebirdtales today.)
I love blogs as a way to build community--to develop writing skills--and a way to make writing and sharing more social and more engaging and fun. You raise a great point about blog sites having different features that may make them easier to use with students. Even for our class, I find some blogs easier than others to locate postings or reply. You can share your findings with parents and colleagues for recommended sites.
There is so much potential in blogs--so many exciting possibilities.
Thank you for posting.
Susan
I love that one of your goals is to promote student reflection using collaborative tools. I like to use blogs to let my students reflect on projects and some students even go on and reflect each night about the day. The students love it and it is fun to use when teaching. If its liked by you and your students then why not utilize it.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck,
Joe
I like your idea of creating a blog where students can reflect on lessons and activities. My classroom consists of a blackboard account for each student, very similar to our Walden classroom. I have allowed students to reflect on assignments using the discussion board. It may be harder for you to use a discussion board if you do not have access to an online classroom. One of the resources this week talked about www.moodle.org where you could set up free online classrooms. That might be something else you could look into.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ideas! Is blackboard something you have to pay for? I am starting out simple with the 5th graders I'm working with just to get them familiar with how to respond to posts. I am using kidblog.org. I'll definitely look into Moodle more, some of our high school teachers are already using it!
ReplyDelete