Since school is approaching quickly, I will be able to begin a better evaluation of my plan then. As for now, my plan has been thoughtfully planned according to the GAME plan criteria (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). “During the evaluating stage, you reflect on how well you have met your goals and determine whether you should modify your strategies for future learning tasks” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3). I feel as though my goals will be met with my current actions, yet I continue to modify my plan to better meet the needs of my learners.
I will be able to meet my NETS- T goal: “Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments” by focusing on the indicator that suggests I “develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress” (NETS-T, 2008). I have taken action towards this goal by using my Walden colleagues as resources, which allowed me to find several resources that I can use for my math classroom. In looking at the resources, I also found several other technology based choices that I can provide my students to heighten motivation (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). The resource I am excited to use is at http://www.figurethis.org/index.html. I have learned that not only do I need to look at choice and student interest, but I should also think about the readiness level of the students if I truly wish to differentiate learning (Laureate Education, 2009). To make sure this new area is covered, I need to find math resources, preferably technology based, that have various levels for the different readiness levels of students. Colleagues, have you used any online math resources that figure out the level a student should work at based on their performance on other problems? I know of freerice.com, which is a great resource to get my classroom started. The complexity of the questions change based on the answers the student gets correct. I need a program like this that keeps the student data online, so the students can monitor their own progress. I know I have a lot to learn about the various resources available to me, but I feel as though I am gaining by the resources presented to me and by spending time searching for valuable tools.
My NETS-T standard “4d. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility, develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools” goal is ready for action (NETS-T, 2008). After doing some planning with a math colleague, we set a plan to incorporate blogging into our math classroom. Since my students will vary in cultural representation, I can use blogs in addition to communicating with the ELL classroom to also meet this NETS-T goal. Perhaps I can even have the ELL math class join our blog so they can participate in the math discussions we have online. How awesome it would be for students to discuss math topics with a diverse group of students? “The nature of a blog is to share personal reflections, opinions, and feelings,” so students would learn about each others cultures and math simultaneously (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 75). For this activity, I wonder if all of my students and the ELL math students will be able to join one protected blog. I know there is a limit to how many people can be invited to one protected blog.
As I began evaluating my plan, I have realized the true impact of a GAME plan. It is ever changing, evolving. As I reflect and evaluate, it just keeps getting deeper. I am “updating my knowledge and skills” week by week to better meet the needs of my learners (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 7).
References:
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.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Introduction to differentiated instruction. Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.
National Education Standards for Teachers. (2008) Retrieved July 7, 2010. Website:http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Monitoring My GAME Plan
Have I located the resources and tools that I plan on using to kick start this plan? I already have the table giving various comprehension tasks for students in the book titled Differentiation Instructional Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas (2009) by Carolyn Chapman and Rita King. Since the professional development resource is in a box in my new classroom, I have not been able to yet locate that tool. So, I went online to find additional resources. I found a resource that could be in my tic-tac- toe choices. YacaPaca.com allows teachers to find fun online assessments that can be emailed to certain students. Then I can send the assessment to the individual students who selected that choice assessment. I also found http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/Choice+Boards where there are sample tic-tac-toe choice assessment boards, even for math! At that site, there are choice boards that focus on the Multiple Intelligences too! My colleagues and I have a meeting at the beginning of August where I will begin accessing their expertise in giving choice assessments. A question that came up for my blogging community is- does anyone know of valuable, free resources online that would be useful for creating choice assessments? I would love to also use the knowledge of my online teacher community to help me find the best resources available to me.
I realized that I might need to make a few modifications to my GAME Plan (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). Although ePals is a fantastic resource for getting students to communicate with other cultures using digital tools, I realized that I have the resources to do this task in my own school building. As I mentioned before, there are many cultural backgrounds represented at my school, and the ESL teacher would be more than excited to begin this collaboration to build school community. The reason I am not limiting myself to just ePals is because I went searching for classrooms that might involve my new subject area of math. Unfortunately, there are not many classrooms looking for math pen pals. I will continue looking for the perfect classroom match, but I want to make sure I have a back up plan just in case ePals is not the perfect resource. I understand that "there should be a clear link between your [my] students' learning goals, the instructional activities you [I] select, the resources you [I] include, the assessments you [I] administer, and the tools that support them" (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 116). I did learn something new by searching ePals website that they provide more than just pen pals. I can use this site to also have online forums, upload student work, and allow students to collaborate on project based learning projects. I thought that was interesting, because it connects perfectly to my NETS-T standard two indicator to “develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress” (NETS-T, 2008). This could be a choice assessment possibility for my students! I love when goals overlap so nicely!
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.
Chapman, C., & King, R. (2009). Differentiated instructional strategies for reading in the content areas. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
National Education Standards for Teachers. (2008) Retrieved July 7, 2010. Website:http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
I realized that I might need to make a few modifications to my GAME Plan (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). Although ePals is a fantastic resource for getting students to communicate with other cultures using digital tools, I realized that I have the resources to do this task in my own school building. As I mentioned before, there are many cultural backgrounds represented at my school, and the ESL teacher would be more than excited to begin this collaboration to build school community. The reason I am not limiting myself to just ePals is because I went searching for classrooms that might involve my new subject area of math. Unfortunately, there are not many classrooms looking for math pen pals. I will continue looking for the perfect classroom match, but I want to make sure I have a back up plan just in case ePals is not the perfect resource. I understand that "there should be a clear link between your [my] students' learning goals, the instructional activities you [I] select, the resources you [I] include, the assessments you [I] administer, and the tools that support them" (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 116). I did learn something new by searching ePals website that they provide more than just pen pals. I can use this site to also have online forums, upload student work, and allow students to collaborate on project based learning projects. I thought that was interesting, because it connects perfectly to my NETS-T standard two indicator to “develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress” (NETS-T, 2008). This could be a choice assessment possibility for my students! I love when goals overlap so nicely!
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.
Chapman, C., & King, R. (2009). Differentiated instructional strategies for reading in the content areas. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
National Education Standards for Teachers. (2008) Retrieved July 7, 2010. Website:http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Putting the GAME Plan into Motion!
Carrying out my GAME Plan will require many resources (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). I must carefully craft exactly what tools I will need to better succeed, because “all students deserve the opportunities and resources to develop skills to pursue life’s goals and participate fully informed, productive members of society” (Davis, 2007, p. 5). My desire is to get this plan into motion so that I can prepare my learners for the world!
Last year I took a differentiation professional development class that had many tic-tac-toe choice assessment examples. Since I moved classrooms, I will need to locate this resource, so that I will not have to totally recreate something that is already prepared. Of course I will need to adapt the choices according to the needs of my students, because “the needs of the students in your [my] classroom will change continually throughout the school year and from year to year” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 116). I will at least have a starting point with my current resources. When looking at student needs, I will use one of my readings from another course titled Differentiation Instructional Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas (2009) by Carolyn Chapman and Rita King. On page 46, figure 3.4, there is a table giving various comprehension tasks for students. What is helpful about this table is that options are given for students listed in categories of the eight different Multiple Intelligences. As for additional information, I will need to use my colleagues’ experiences with choice assessments to be able to start off on the right track. I know that “Sharing what you have discovered with a colleague is a critical step in improving your instructional effectiveness” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 115). Teachers with experience can help guide me, often offering resources that cannot be found any other place.
I have already learned valuable information from a colleague while blogging! I now know that ePals can be quite a challenge when you cannot connect with another classroom. In order to help with this problem, a colleague suggested that I begin searching now for a classroom teacher who will collaborate with me on ePals for the 2010-2011 school year. So that is the first step I will take to grow in the area of NETs-T standard 4d. “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools” (NETS-T, 2008). Are there any other resources that teachers have used to collaborate with other cultures online? If there are better resources available to me, I would love to explore those options so that I can meet my goals. So again, I will use the experiences of my colleagues to help guide me to valuable tools that I have yet to encounter. Another way to carry out my plan is to use the resources my already multi-cultural building! We have a high percentage of English language learners from various cultures around the world, such as Korea, Mexico, China, Libya, and Jordan just to name a few. I could have my students use email as a means of communication to connect with these students who are learning English in our ESL classrooms. This would be a great way for my classroom to build a community with people in our school who we do not get to communicate regularly with because of the language barrier. This would also give the ELL students a way to practice their English with support from their teacher. So I guess I will need to know whether the ESL teachers would be willing to begin this cultural exchange using digital technology.
As I begin looking at the resources I have, I believe I have a solid foundation. I have already been able to locate resources such as the Multiple Intelligence table and the ESL classroom in my school. These beginning steps are important in committing to my goals. The next step I need to take is to begin searching for a classroom on ePals and searching for my differentiation professional development resources. From now on, I must “continue a dialogue outside of common planning times and staff meetings” to collaborate with colleagues and use them as resources (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 115). I am well on my way… I feel the motion! Do you?
References
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.
Davis, D. (with Spraker, J., & Kushman, J.). (2004). Improving adolescent reading: Findings from research. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
Last year I took a differentiation professional development class that had many tic-tac-toe choice assessment examples. Since I moved classrooms, I will need to locate this resource, so that I will not have to totally recreate something that is already prepared. Of course I will need to adapt the choices according to the needs of my students, because “the needs of the students in your [my] classroom will change continually throughout the school year and from year to year” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 116). I will at least have a starting point with my current resources. When looking at student needs, I will use one of my readings from another course titled Differentiation Instructional Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas (2009) by Carolyn Chapman and Rita King. On page 46, figure 3.4, there is a table giving various comprehension tasks for students. What is helpful about this table is that options are given for students listed in categories of the eight different Multiple Intelligences. As for additional information, I will need to use my colleagues’ experiences with choice assessments to be able to start off on the right track. I know that “Sharing what you have discovered with a colleague is a critical step in improving your instructional effectiveness” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 115). Teachers with experience can help guide me, often offering resources that cannot be found any other place.
I have already learned valuable information from a colleague while blogging! I now know that ePals can be quite a challenge when you cannot connect with another classroom. In order to help with this problem, a colleague suggested that I begin searching now for a classroom teacher who will collaborate with me on ePals for the 2010-2011 school year. So that is the first step I will take to grow in the area of NETs-T standard 4d. “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools” (NETS-T, 2008). Are there any other resources that teachers have used to collaborate with other cultures online? If there are better resources available to me, I would love to explore those options so that I can meet my goals. So again, I will use the experiences of my colleagues to help guide me to valuable tools that I have yet to encounter. Another way to carry out my plan is to use the resources my already multi-cultural building! We have a high percentage of English language learners from various cultures around the world, such as Korea, Mexico, China, Libya, and Jordan just to name a few. I could have my students use email as a means of communication to connect with these students who are learning English in our ESL classrooms. This would be a great way for my classroom to build a community with people in our school who we do not get to communicate regularly with because of the language barrier. This would also give the ELL students a way to practice their English with support from their teacher. So I guess I will need to know whether the ESL teachers would be willing to begin this cultural exchange using digital technology.
As I begin looking at the resources I have, I believe I have a solid foundation. I have already been able to locate resources such as the Multiple Intelligence table and the ESL classroom in my school. These beginning steps are important in committing to my goals. The next step I need to take is to begin searching for a classroom on ePals and searching for my differentiation professional development resources. From now on, I must “continue a dialogue outside of common planning times and staff meetings” to collaborate with colleagues and use them as resources (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 115). I am well on my way… I feel the motion! Do you?
References
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.
Davis, D. (with Spraker, J., & Kushman, J.). (2004). Improving adolescent reading: Findings from research. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
My GAME Plan
I have completely accepted the fact that technology will continue to expand with or without me; I want to be a part of the change, instead of resisting it. In order to fully become a master teacher, I must embrace even the things that are difficult for me. I want to strengthen my weaknesses in order to become an effective 21st century teacher! After reviewing the NETS standards and indicators for teachers, I have chosen two that I will focus on for my GAME plan (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). For each goal, I have given actions to achieve my goals, ways to monitor my progress as a learner, and how I can evaluate and extend my learning for the future.
2010-2011 School Year NETS-T Goals
NETS-T standard two is “Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments” (NETS-T, 2008).The indicator I would like to focus my attention on is “develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress” (NETS-T, 2008). I would like to allow students more freedom. Peggy Ertmer explains that perhaps our beliefs about learning need to shift (Laureate Education, 2009a). Do teachers need to have all the control over what students learn (Laureate Education, 2009a)? Although I do not believe that teachers should posses all the control, I need to figure out how to manage all of the different projects and effectively know if students are in fact learning. To achieve this goal, I will allow students to choose their choice of assessments by a Tic-Tac-Toe menu of options (Laureate Education, 2009b). On the menu of options, there might be a formal written essay, a written blog, a wiki presenting thoughts, a film, podcast, a digital story, PowerPoint, or PhotoStory. Students get a feeling of empowerment when they are trusted to choose the project that suites them best (Laureate Education, 2009b). I will monitor my progress so that I can achieve this goal. If I have created one Tic-Tac-Toe menu of options for assessment, creating 9 differing projects offered, I will have succeeded in progressing with NETS-T standard 2b. To evaluate whether students did feel empowered, I will create a survey on surveymonkey.com that allows students to respond about what assessments made learning worth while for them, if they liked the Tic-Tac-Toe menu of options, what assessment options should be added, and questions like these. I will reflect after viewing the results to my survey so that I can grow in mastering NETS-T standard 2. I would need to extend my learning in creating valuable rubrics for each of the differing projects, because with choice activities rubrics will differ in what skills are evaluated.
The second NETS-T standard I want to further develop is “4d. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility, develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools” (NETS-T, 2008). I know there are many ways to achieve this goal, but I would like to explore epals.com. I will connect with a teacher from Mexico or a country in Central America. Because I will be teaching math next year, students can communicate with students from a different country to gain insight about the math principles that were generated from the early Mexican culture. Not only will students learn about math related history, but students will be connected by 21st century tools that they will undoubtedly use for their future jobs. They will “engage directly in knowledge creation with others who are not physically present” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 74). I know in geography students study Mexico and Central America, so this would be a wonderful extension of learning for my students that expands across content areas. This is also a great extension of learning for me as a teacher, because I am becoming cognizant about making valuable connections for my students that go beyond one subject matter. If students are able to connect with students through epals at least twice, preferably more, during the course of the year, I will be excited about my growth towards NETS-T standard 4d. Students will need to reflect on their experience with epals so that I can evaluate the effectiveness of this activity. I will have students email me a reflection about epals, explaining how this opportunity was beneficial for their learning and what ideas they have to improve the experience. I will then be reflective and make the changes necessary to enhance the learning for years to come.
References
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.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Enriching Content Area Experiences with Technology, Part 1.[Motion picture]. Introduction to Educational Research; Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Knowing your students. Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.
National Education Standards for Teachers. (2008) Retrieved July 7, 2010. Website:http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
2010-2011 School Year NETS-T Goals
NETS-T standard two is “Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments” (NETS-T, 2008).The indicator I would like to focus my attention on is “develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress” (NETS-T, 2008). I would like to allow students more freedom. Peggy Ertmer explains that perhaps our beliefs about learning need to shift (Laureate Education, 2009a). Do teachers need to have all the control over what students learn (Laureate Education, 2009a)? Although I do not believe that teachers should posses all the control, I need to figure out how to manage all of the different projects and effectively know if students are in fact learning. To achieve this goal, I will allow students to choose their choice of assessments by a Tic-Tac-Toe menu of options (Laureate Education, 2009b). On the menu of options, there might be a formal written essay, a written blog, a wiki presenting thoughts, a film, podcast, a digital story, PowerPoint, or PhotoStory. Students get a feeling of empowerment when they are trusted to choose the project that suites them best (Laureate Education, 2009b). I will monitor my progress so that I can achieve this goal. If I have created one Tic-Tac-Toe menu of options for assessment, creating 9 differing projects offered, I will have succeeded in progressing with NETS-T standard 2b. To evaluate whether students did feel empowered, I will create a survey on surveymonkey.com that allows students to respond about what assessments made learning worth while for them, if they liked the Tic-Tac-Toe menu of options, what assessment options should be added, and questions like these. I will reflect after viewing the results to my survey so that I can grow in mastering NETS-T standard 2. I would need to extend my learning in creating valuable rubrics for each of the differing projects, because with choice activities rubrics will differ in what skills are evaluated.
The second NETS-T standard I want to further develop is “4d. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility, develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools” (NETS-T, 2008). I know there are many ways to achieve this goal, but I would like to explore epals.com. I will connect with a teacher from Mexico or a country in Central America. Because I will be teaching math next year, students can communicate with students from a different country to gain insight about the math principles that were generated from the early Mexican culture. Not only will students learn about math related history, but students will be connected by 21st century tools that they will undoubtedly use for their future jobs. They will “engage directly in knowledge creation with others who are not physically present” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 74). I know in geography students study Mexico and Central America, so this would be a wonderful extension of learning for my students that expands across content areas. This is also a great extension of learning for me as a teacher, because I am becoming cognizant about making valuable connections for my students that go beyond one subject matter. If students are able to connect with students through epals at least twice, preferably more, during the course of the year, I will be excited about my growth towards NETS-T standard 4d. Students will need to reflect on their experience with epals so that I can evaluate the effectiveness of this activity. I will have students email me a reflection about epals, explaining how this opportunity was beneficial for their learning and what ideas they have to improve the experience. I will then be reflective and make the changes necessary to enhance the learning for years to come.
References
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.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Enriching Content Area Experiences with Technology, Part 1.[Motion picture]. Introduction to Educational Research; Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Knowing your students. Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.
National Education Standards for Teachers. (2008) Retrieved July 7, 2010. Website:http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
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