Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress
As part of my journey as a teacher, I am working through the process of developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating my personal GAME plan. I have made great strides at reaching my goal in the last week. Time flies! In the last 2 weeks I have made time to sit down and talk with other coworkers about integrating technology into my lessons and theirs. Collaboration is key. So many times just thinking out loud and bouncing ideas off another teacher gives me the answers I am looking for. In the past week I have also utilized the SMART board much more in project upgrade classes I teach. Tech integration takes time but I think the last week has been a real success. I have been doing a lot of research on using manipulatives in math and found the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives at http://nlvm.usu.edu encourages students to use their content knowledge of math principals to solve problems. Each manipulative lesson is related to a national math standard and can easily be applied to my own NJ standards.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Game Plan
New Year - New GOALS!
I'm exploring strategies for seamlessly integrating technology into my classes. There are numerous ways to motivate students to learn and fortunately technolgy offers some of the most powerful tools available. (2009) I need to teach students how to be self directed learners, so that they can adapt to any job they would like to do in the future. My personal journey is to develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate my own personal GAME plan.
What is a GAME plan?
GAME plan is an acronym for setting your own learning Goals, taking Action to meet those goals, Monitoring your progress toward reaching those goals, reflect or Evaluate the Effectiveness of your learning process. (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, pg 30)
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is an organiztion for educators engaged in improving learning and teaching by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. They help set goals for what students, teachers, and administrators should know and be able to do with technology in education. http://www.iste.org
There are two indicators in the NETS-T that I will set goals for strengethening my confidence and proficiency.
Goal
1 - Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S.
Actions I will take to achieve those goals are:
Develop technology-enriched learning environments that let all students pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants with the aide of technology. "Authentic instruction provides for, and builds on, learner autonomy."(2009) Lessons that are relevant and interesting will motivate students. My goal is to learn more about Windows Movie Maker. The current action I am taking is working with another teacher to learn all the features of Movie Maker in order to have 8th grade students develope a storyline and a storyboard to create an organized script for a 5-10 minute movie in our history class covering trench warfare in WWI. Students will be able to have their skits saved in their digital portfolios as well as on our class website to share with a wide audience. I am monitoring my progress through making one video as an example for my class with the aide of a tech teacher. As each class works on their projects I am reflecting on how each class period does and adjusting the lesson as I go.
2 - Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.
Continue with perfessional growth and development classes in technology.
Monitor my progress in implementing authentic instruction and how many professional development and master degree level classes I take per school year.
Evaluate how I am doing with exit slips from class - where students would respond to the lessons/projects we are completing. Ask myself the questions - did my lessons or unti plan work - can it be improved? What would I do differently in the future.
Reflect on current educational research about technology.
I'm exploring strategies for seamlessly integrating technology into my classes. There are numerous ways to motivate students to learn and fortunately technolgy offers some of the most powerful tools available. (2009) I need to teach students how to be self directed learners, so that they can adapt to any job they would like to do in the future. My personal journey is to develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate my own personal GAME plan.
What is a GAME plan?
GAME plan is an acronym for setting your own learning Goals, taking Action to meet those goals, Monitoring your progress toward reaching those goals, reflect or Evaluate the Effectiveness of your learning process. (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, pg 30)
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is an organiztion for educators engaged in improving learning and teaching by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. They help set goals for what students, teachers, and administrators should know and be able to do with technology in education. http://www.iste.org
There are two indicators in the NETS-T that I will set goals for strengethening my confidence and proficiency.
Goal
1 - Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S.
Actions I will take to achieve those goals are:
Develop technology-enriched learning environments that let all students pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants with the aide of technology. "Authentic instruction provides for, and builds on, learner autonomy."(2009) Lessons that are relevant and interesting will motivate students. My goal is to learn more about Windows Movie Maker. The current action I am taking is working with another teacher to learn all the features of Movie Maker in order to have 8th grade students develope a storyline and a storyboard to create an organized script for a 5-10 minute movie in our history class covering trench warfare in WWI. Students will be able to have their skits saved in their digital portfolios as well as on our class website to share with a wide audience. I am monitoring my progress through making one video as an example for my class with the aide of a tech teacher. As each class works on their projects I am reflecting on how each class period does and adjusting the lesson as I go.
2 - Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.
Continue with perfessional growth and development classes in technology.
Monitor my progress in implementing authentic instruction and how many professional development and master degree level classes I take per school year.
Evaluate how I am doing with exit slips from class - where students would respond to the lessons/projects we are completing. Ask myself the questions - did my lessons or unti plan work - can it be improved? What would I do differently in the future.
Reflect on current educational research about technology.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Smartboards Affects Core Content Understanding
One textbook cannot meet the needs of students in my fifth grade class, who read at a wide range of levels. My goal is to reach all students and enable them to engage meaningfully with the content. The textbook alone is inadequate as a tool with which to do this. My plan is to use interactive whiteboard technology (a “Smart Board”) to enhance the understanding of the 5th grade material. My hypothesis states that there is a positive relationship between Smart Board use and greater engagement and understanding of core content material. Students who actively participate in lessons with which Smart Board technology is used will demonstrate greater knowledge of core content and achieve higher test scores on end-of-chapter tests compared to students in other fifth grade classes at my school who do not participate in Smart Board-driven lessons. The research question is this: How will the use of Smart Board technology affect fifth grade students’ understanding of core social studies content, as measured by end-of-chapter exams?
Assessing Student Engagement and Performance
Chapman (2003) discussed various ways in which teachers can assess student engagement rates and performance. According to Mathewson (1994) because of the big emphasis placed on levels of academic achievement in schools there have been several studies done highlighting student engagement; these studies focus on what factors will keep the students involved in the learning process.
Chapman (2003) talked about methods by which student engagement could be measured, including teacher observation and self-reporting by students. The author also reported “some educators have used work samples to assess levels of learning task engagement, focusing again on students’ use of higher cognitive or metacognitive strategies in confronting learning task.” The end-of-chapter tests will serve as the work samples by which the performance of fifth grade social studies students will be measured. Correct answers to objective questions will be easy to calculate. Subjective questions (e.g., short answers, essays) will perhaps demonstrate the level of student understanding to a greater extent, since there is no chance of the “lucky guess” that can skew the results of a true-false or multiple choice test. In discussing open-ended responses, Chapman warned “the efficacy of these methods hinges on the use of suitably structured tasks and scoring rubrics.” It will be important to standardize grading in the classroom when making the case for using Smart Board technology to engage students and increase achievement.
Technology in Today’s World
There is no question that technology in today’s world has made an enormous impact on children, both in and out of school. Olson (2010) cites Pew Research findings about technology and its use by school-age children. He states that in 2008, seventy-four percent of students between 12 and 17 owned or had access to technology. The numbers are astonishing, 77% owned a game system like Xbox, and over 60% have computers. Olson (2010) concluded that “today’s children are not just interested in using technology – they expect to use it” (p. 35). Methods of teaching must respond to these expectations. Some educators decry the use of technology. Tally (2007) cited criticism of educational technology by educator, author and cultural critic Neil Postman, who called classroom use “a distraction and an irrelevance.”
While there may still be teachers who believe that traditional teaching methods are most effective, Taylor and Duran (2006) cited a study that directly contradicts this notion, particularly with respect to social studies content. Having taught 5th grade social studies I concur with the survey findings of over 1,400 American adults who described history class as boring and strived to make history more hands on. “The respondents recalled instructional practices which were overly focused on the reading of textbooks and the memorization of facts”(p.11)
Smart Board technology is relatively new and not enough time has passed to examine the results of any longitudinal studies (if any are being conducted) regarding its effectiveness in the relationship between its use and improved achievement by elementary and middle school social studies students. However, in my findings, some success has already been reported anecdotally.
Byrd (2005) stated "this new wave of teaching is so much more hands-on, integrated and thematic instead of worksheet and drill-oriented.” (p. 12) In teaching social studies content at Byrd’s school, Liberty Drive Elementary in Thomasville, North Carolina, teachers retrieve maps and images from a database; teachers and students alike can use Smart Board highlighters to note geographic features.
Similarly, in a study sponsored by the University of Michigan-Dearborn, social studies teachers reported that students were more engaged in lessons delivered with the use of technology and the level of student achievement increased. Taylor and Duran (2006) were not surprised by this finding and noted “the positive effects which the use of computers has on student achievement in history have been documented by the United States Department of Education.” (p. 10)
The use of technology in the social studies classroom is not a brand-new phenomenon. Even ten years ago, White (2000) concluded that
Social Studies has experienced a tremendous transformation regarding the integration of technology. Despite remaining a discipline whose status in schools and society is much less than adequate, professional social studies educators are engaging in dynamic technology oriented projects. These projects not only have a very positive influence on the discipline of social studies itself, but we are also witnessing a greater impact on our students. (p.1)
Ten years hence, technology has evolved in ways that White, indeed any of us, could scarcely imagine. While there is no data that tells us exactly how many classrooms nationwide are equipped with Smart Boards (and how many of those are being used on a regular basis), there is evidence that there are a good number of teachers of social studies who are using Smart Boards. The Smart Exchange, a free website sponsored by Smart Technologies, invites teachers within all disciplines to post lessons they have created. Anyone can download lessons to use “as is” or to adapt to their own classrooms. As of the writing of this paper, there were nearly eight hundred social studies lessons posted. A simple Google search, using the terms “smart board” and “social studies” revealed that a number of school and district websites are repositories for lessons created by teachers and made available for use by others.
Conclusion
In conclusion research indicates that today’s students are technologically savvy and expect technology to be used in the classroom. Research also indicates that students are more engaged in lessons where they can actively participate, using technology as a learning tool. It seems reasonable to expect that Smart Board technology will be effective for teaching social studies to a group of fifth graders with diverse learning styles and abilities. It also seems reasonable to expect that greater engagement will facilitate understanding of the content, as reflected in scores on end-of-chapter tests, a measure used by all the fifth grade classrooms school-wide.
References
Byrd, D. (January-February, 2005). Sixteen whiteboards capture students’ attention. Media & Methods,41(4), 11-12.
Chapman, E. (2003). Practical assessment, research and evaluation. Retrieved December 3, 2010 from http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=8&n=13
Olson, C.A. (February, 2010). Making the tech connection. Teaching Music. 17(5), 30-35.
Smart Exchange. Retrieved from http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html
?q=social%20studies
Tally, B. (2007, Spring). Digital technology and the end of social studies education. Theory and Research in Social Education, 35(2) 305-321.
Taylor, J.A., & Duran, M. (2006, November). Teaching social studies with technology: New research on collaborative approaches. History Teacher, 40(1) 9-25.
White, C. ed.. (2000). Society for information technology and teacher education international conference: Proceedings of SITE 2000 (11th, San Diego, California, February 8-12, 2000). Retrieved December 3, 2010 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED444562.pdf
One textbook cannot meet the needs of students in my fifth grade class, who read at a wide range of levels. My goal is to reach all students and enable them to engage meaningfully with the content. The textbook alone is inadequate as a tool with which to do this. My plan is to use interactive whiteboard technology (a “Smart Board”) to enhance the understanding of the 5th grade material. My hypothesis states that there is a positive relationship between Smart Board use and greater engagement and understanding of core content material. Students who actively participate in lessons with which Smart Board technology is used will demonstrate greater knowledge of core content and achieve higher test scores on end-of-chapter tests compared to students in other fifth grade classes at my school who do not participate in Smart Board-driven lessons. The research question is this: How will the use of Smart Board technology affect fifth grade students’ understanding of core social studies content, as measured by end-of-chapter exams?
Assessing Student Engagement and Performance
Chapman (2003) discussed various ways in which teachers can assess student engagement rates and performance. According to Mathewson (1994) because of the big emphasis placed on levels of academic achievement in schools there have been several studies done highlighting student engagement; these studies focus on what factors will keep the students involved in the learning process.
Chapman (2003) talked about methods by which student engagement could be measured, including teacher observation and self-reporting by students. The author also reported “some educators have used work samples to assess levels of learning task engagement, focusing again on students’ use of higher cognitive or metacognitive strategies in confronting learning task.” The end-of-chapter tests will serve as the work samples by which the performance of fifth grade social studies students will be measured. Correct answers to objective questions will be easy to calculate. Subjective questions (e.g., short answers, essays) will perhaps demonstrate the level of student understanding to a greater extent, since there is no chance of the “lucky guess” that can skew the results of a true-false or multiple choice test. In discussing open-ended responses, Chapman warned “the efficacy of these methods hinges on the use of suitably structured tasks and scoring rubrics.” It will be important to standardize grading in the classroom when making the case for using Smart Board technology to engage students and increase achievement.
Technology in Today’s World
There is no question that technology in today’s world has made an enormous impact on children, both in and out of school. Olson (2010) cites Pew Research findings about technology and its use by school-age children. He states that in 2008, seventy-four percent of students between 12 and 17 owned or had access to technology. The numbers are astonishing, 77% owned a game system like Xbox, and over 60% have computers. Olson (2010) concluded that “today’s children are not just interested in using technology – they expect to use it” (p. 35). Methods of teaching must respond to these expectations. Some educators decry the use of technology. Tally (2007) cited criticism of educational technology by educator, author and cultural critic Neil Postman, who called classroom use “a distraction and an irrelevance.”
While there may still be teachers who believe that traditional teaching methods are most effective, Taylor and Duran (2006) cited a study that directly contradicts this notion, particularly with respect to social studies content. Having taught 5th grade social studies I concur with the survey findings of over 1,400 American adults who described history class as boring and strived to make history more hands on. “The respondents recalled instructional practices which were overly focused on the reading of textbooks and the memorization of facts”(p.11)
Smart Board technology is relatively new and not enough time has passed to examine the results of any longitudinal studies (if any are being conducted) regarding its effectiveness in the relationship between its use and improved achievement by elementary and middle school social studies students. However, in my findings, some success has already been reported anecdotally.
Byrd (2005) stated "this new wave of teaching is so much more hands-on, integrated and thematic instead of worksheet and drill-oriented.” (p. 12) In teaching social studies content at Byrd’s school, Liberty Drive Elementary in Thomasville, North Carolina, teachers retrieve maps and images from a database; teachers and students alike can use Smart Board highlighters to note geographic features.
Similarly, in a study sponsored by the University of Michigan-Dearborn, social studies teachers reported that students were more engaged in lessons delivered with the use of technology and the level of student achievement increased. Taylor and Duran (2006) were not surprised by this finding and noted “the positive effects which the use of computers has on student achievement in history have been documented by the United States Department of Education.” (p. 10)
The use of technology in the social studies classroom is not a brand-new phenomenon. Even ten years ago, White (2000) concluded that
Social Studies has experienced a tremendous transformation regarding the integration of technology. Despite remaining a discipline whose status in schools and society is much less than adequate, professional social studies educators are engaging in dynamic technology oriented projects. These projects not only have a very positive influence on the discipline of social studies itself, but we are also witnessing a greater impact on our students. (p.1)
Ten years hence, technology has evolved in ways that White, indeed any of us, could scarcely imagine. While there is no data that tells us exactly how many classrooms nationwide are equipped with Smart Boards (and how many of those are being used on a regular basis), there is evidence that there are a good number of teachers of social studies who are using Smart Boards. The Smart Exchange, a free website sponsored by Smart Technologies, invites teachers within all disciplines to post lessons they have created. Anyone can download lessons to use “as is” or to adapt to their own classrooms. As of the writing of this paper, there were nearly eight hundred social studies lessons posted. A simple Google search, using the terms “smart board” and “social studies” revealed that a number of school and district websites are repositories for lessons created by teachers and made available for use by others.
Conclusion
In conclusion research indicates that today’s students are technologically savvy and expect technology to be used in the classroom. Research also indicates that students are more engaged in lessons where they can actively participate, using technology as a learning tool. It seems reasonable to expect that Smart Board technology will be effective for teaching social studies to a group of fifth graders with diverse learning styles and abilities. It also seems reasonable to expect that greater engagement will facilitate understanding of the content, as reflected in scores on end-of-chapter tests, a measure used by all the fifth grade classrooms school-wide.
References
Byrd, D. (January-February, 2005). Sixteen whiteboards capture students’ attention. Media & Methods,41(4), 11-12.
Chapman, E. (2003). Practical assessment, research and evaluation. Retrieved December 3, 2010 from http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=8&n=13
Olson, C.A. (February, 2010). Making the tech connection. Teaching Music. 17(5), 30-35.
Smart Exchange. Retrieved from http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html
?q=social%20studies
Tally, B. (2007, Spring). Digital technology and the end of social studies education. Theory and Research in Social Education, 35(2) 305-321.
Taylor, J.A., & Duran, M. (2006, November). Teaching social studies with technology: New research on collaborative approaches. History Teacher, 40(1) 9-25.
White, C. ed.. (2000). Society for information technology and teacher education international conference: Proceedings of SITE 2000 (11th, San Diego, California, February 8-12, 2000). Retrieved December 3, 2010 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED444562.pdf
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Reflective Post on Most Recent Walden University Class 4/24/10
My most recent master’s level course - Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society has had a huge positive impact on me. By no means am I saying I am old when I say that I do not use technology in the classroom – on the contrary. But as an educator who has not grown up as a “digital native” I felt overwhelmed trying to figure out how to create a blog, wiki, and podcast and how to incorporate it into my class – at first. Many teachers I work with feel technology takes a lot of time – time they do not have. This is false! Technology not only can help you lighten your teaching load, it can help motivate your class too! No longer are you “ the fountain of all knowledge” instead you are the facilitator. I hear my students referring to all types of collaborative technology they use on a daily basis outside of school and I understand the need to incorporate it into their class environment.
Technology makes any class relevant to the student. Take for example a Wikis; it has wonderful features that enhance learning. “In using wikis, students are not only learning how to publish content; they are also learning how to develop and use all sorts of collaborative skills, negotiating with others to agree on correctness, meaning, relevance and more. In essence, students begin to teach others.” (Richards, pg 61) Working collaboratively in pairs and groups allows students to negotiate meaning together to internalize their learning. When students of varying abilities work together, they can assist each other. I have noticed students learn more when they have to teach others what they have learned. Quality breed’s quality and once they are successful at a group project where they have to teach others what they learned; the students want to do more creative projects like this – encouraging them to be thinkers and life long learners. The students certainly can teach each other just as well as I can. The only difference is I am no longer the holder of all the information – they are! This process will foster students’ independent learning, which will prepare them for the unknown jobs of the future.
2 Long term goals I have for transforming my class environment into a place where technology is integrated seamlessly to meet instructional goals and increase student achievement is first to create centers around my room set up in such a way that the students will be the gathers of knowledge and I will be a facilitator. There will be computer stations where students can work on their blogs and podcasts as well as centers where groups of students can work together to help one another gather and answer questions – designed in such a way adults work in the real world. Projects would be assigned and presented in such a way that the students are the teachers. A second need in not only my class but in my district has a whole is to stop restrictions of many internet sites that myself and my colleagues would like to use in the classroom. I agree there is a need to block some sites – but not educational ones. There is also a need for my technology training and professional development. The more training we get the easier everyone will see it is to integrate technology into the classroom.
Technology makes any class relevant to the student. Take for example a Wikis; it has wonderful features that enhance learning. “In using wikis, students are not only learning how to publish content; they are also learning how to develop and use all sorts of collaborative skills, negotiating with others to agree on correctness, meaning, relevance and more. In essence, students begin to teach others.” (Richards, pg 61) Working collaboratively in pairs and groups allows students to negotiate meaning together to internalize their learning. When students of varying abilities work together, they can assist each other. I have noticed students learn more when they have to teach others what they have learned. Quality breed’s quality and once they are successful at a group project where they have to teach others what they learned; the students want to do more creative projects like this – encouraging them to be thinkers and life long learners. The students certainly can teach each other just as well as I can. The only difference is I am no longer the holder of all the information – they are! This process will foster students’ independent learning, which will prepare them for the unknown jobs of the future.
2 Long term goals I have for transforming my class environment into a place where technology is integrated seamlessly to meet instructional goals and increase student achievement is first to create centers around my room set up in such a way that the students will be the gathers of knowledge and I will be a facilitator. There will be computer stations where students can work on their blogs and podcasts as well as centers where groups of students can work together to help one another gather and answer questions – designed in such a way adults work in the real world. Projects would be assigned and presented in such a way that the students are the teachers. A second need in not only my class but in my district has a whole is to stop restrictions of many internet sites that myself and my colleagues would like to use in the classroom. I agree there is a need to block some sites – but not educational ones. There is also a need for my technology training and professional development. The more training we get the easier everyone will see it is to integrate technology into the classroom.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Grade 1 - Technology Survey
Grade 1 - Technology Survey: "A 1st grade student took a survey about how muc..."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)