Reflection: A Successful Change Agent

As I reflect on my learning in this course, I have to admit that a lot of the diverse, new and emerging technology tools that are available to educators were new to me. I remember learning about Blogs, Wikis, Voicethreads, Concept Maps, etc. in prior classes and I was amazed. This course taught me to take notice of technology tools that are being developed every day. In reference to digital gaming, multi-user learning environments, and learning modules, I have a better understanding of the invaluable skills that these technology tools provide for our students.

What I think will influence my teaching the most is the concept of McLuhan’s Tetrad. McLuhan said that with each new technology, it will enhance, make a former technology obsolete, it “reverses” or rekindles something from the past and finally it retrieves, or will eventually be pushed into something different which will cause itself to be obsolete (Thornburg, 2008).

One innovative learning tool that I have become very interested in and have grown to be an advocate for is digital gaming. Digital gaming “is not just another in the long line of passing fads (or short-term opportunities) in educational technology. It is, rather, a real key to helping our students understand the world” (What Works in Public Education, 2010).

I need to consider the fact that I need to not just share my ideas with my colleagues regarding technology but to elucidate my knowledge to my administrators. I can demonstrate different tools and explain the benefits of employing them in the classroom. I can begin to research avenues for funding through grants and initiate grant proposals. Using the knowledge that I have gained throughout this course, I should be able to provide credible and valuable evidence of support for the integration of technology tools such as digital gaming in school learning environments.

References:

Thornburg, D. D. (2008). Emerging technologies and McLuhan’s Laws of Media. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

What Works in Public Education. (2010). Eutopia. Retrieved April 13, 2010, from www.edutopia.org/computer-simulations-virtual-learning.

Spotlight on Emerging Technology: Online Learning in K-12 Schools

We have known for a long time that not all students learn the same way. Some students learn by doing, some by reading, and some by watching. These multiple intelligences, as they have become known, created a rather large hurdle for educators to overcome in their attempts to reach and engage all learners. Until the recent onslaught and availability of technology in the classroom, there was little educators could do to reach all these different learning styles. The concept of differentiated instruction came into play in an attempt to reach all students. With differentiated instruction and technology educators are reaching more students than ever, however, there are still too many students falling through the cracks. There are still those students that do not work well with others, have anxiety about being in public, or do not do their best thinking from 7:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. For these students e-Learning can offer a wonderful, engaging, and fulfilling academic experience.

One way to reach some of the students that are “falling through the cracks” is with e-learning. There are many systems that are in place that that take care of the technocal aspect of managing and arranging an online learning environment. RCampus offers an online learning environment with free access that is easy to use Save time with our intuitive toolset to streamline your teaching and learning needs. We are our own users, so we've designed our system to be easy-to-use. You can quickly build courses and classes, websites, ePortfolios, rubrics, and much more. and highly secure. RCampus also has the capability of cTo protect the privacy of both faculty and students, we take extra measures to provide a highly secure environment and do not share, publish, or sell any personal or confidential data. ollaborative learning.Students and faculty can collaborate in a number of ways, through communication tools within their courses, websites, communities, and ePortfolios, to collaboration on building and sharing content. “At RCampus, you can do all your school-related work from building personal and group websites to managing your courses, eportfolios, academic communities, and much more,” (RCampus Website).

This type of learning can appeal to many different students. Students who are agoraphobic can find a learning environment where they feel safe. Students who are not morning people and who do some of their best thinking in the evenings can work any time of day they chose. Students with other responsibilities such as jobs, or caring for younger siblings or ailing parents can continue their education on their own schedules. These students, in the past, had to give up their education altogether. These are just a few examples of the implications of this type of learning.

Week 8: Reflection (EDUC-6714)

As this course draws to a close, I can say confidently that I have learned things I can use in the classroom. The knowledge that I have gained will lead me to make the adjustments needed in my teaching practice, especially when it comes to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction (DI). Individualizing instruction sounds harder than it really is. Incorporating technology is an important strategy in order to better serve students and meet their diverse learning needs.

Our Differentiation Station social network group has provided various resources that I can use in classroom. The resources we have gathered will become useful tools to have in hand in designing differentiated instruction that will meet the needs of all learners with their different learning styles. The Differentiation Station has allowed us to come together and share relevant, useful resources in an effort to improve our effectiveness as educators.

This course has also helped me to realize the importance of being aware of the different learning styles that may be present in the classroom. “People learn differently and given the chance to express learning in various ways could increase the success of students in the classroom” (Tomlinson, 2009).

One immediate adjustment I will make to my instructional practice to customize instruction and assessment as a result of my learning from this course will be offering more choices for students regarding the format they select to demonstrate learning. As far as assessment, I will offer the option of using technology to write essays, digital storytelling, Voicethreads, Concept Maps, and other multimedia presentation.

Tomlinson, C. (2009). Learning profiles and achievement. School Administrator. 66(2), 28–33.

GAME Plan – Final Reflection

Cennamo, Ertmer, and Ross (2009) say that, “the GAME plan enables you to customize your approach to learning tasks, to develop relevant skills that are important to you, and prepares you for lifelong learning” (p. 3 - 4). I think that I enjoyed going through the steps of my own GAME Plan. Although I haven’t reached my goals completely, but it was nice to set goals, monitor my actions trying to reach those goals, and then evaluate the progress.

The goal on which I most focused throughout this course was to learn new technological tools that I can integrate into my classroom. While working toward this goal, I learned about some nice tools that will have a great impact on my teaching practice. GeoGebra, Geometer’s Sketch Pad, Digital Storytelling, and Online Collaborations are wonderful tools that will change the learning environment in my classroom. By using Digital Storytelling activity in my lesson plan, students can create video presentations. This will allow students to create a product that connects what is going on in the classroom with what students may see outside the classroom and in their day-to-day life.

One adjustment that I need to consider in my teaching practice is to have a back up plan when my lesson requires technology access. As fantastic as technology can be in any classroom, it can easily go wrong. Internet connection could go down, websites could be down or blocked, or any other unexpected technological problem may happen.

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach (Laureate Education custom edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

As educators, one of our major goals is to create self-directed, life-long learners; individuals that continually seek new experiences, knowledge and skills. Learners that “engage in three key processes: planning, monitoring, and evaluating their learning activities” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, pg. 3). The GAME Plan provides an outline and directions for learning that puts the responsibility, evaluation, and extension of learning directly in the learners hands.

Throughout the time of this course, I have tried to find out the best way to implement the GAME Plan with my own students. Although I was overwhelmed because of the speed with which we were moving forward, however, that has provided me with a good sense about the pacing to consider when applying this strategy with my students.

According to the International Society for Technology in Education’s standards, students must be able to demonstrate creative thinking and innovation, communicate and work collaboratively, demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning, use critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills, use digital tools to research and use information, understand and practice legal and ethical behavior relating to technology, and transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies (ISTE, 2007).

Applying the GAME Plan to reach proficiency in these standards supports the accomplishment of our goals. It will also allow students to set their own goals and then plan for their actions and then monitor, evaluate and extend those goals. This way we create within each one of them a self-directed and a life-long learner.

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach (Laureate Education custom edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National Educational Content Standards. Retrieved February 17, 2010 from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS

Revising my GAME plan

The progress on my GAME plan continues. So far, I have learned few things that can help in integrating more technology in my classroom. I have learned new features -to me- when using the graphing calculators, and I have also learned about wonderful software, GeoGebra, which I feel that it is more user friendly than the Geometry Sketch Pad. In addition, I was able to connect math lessons to real life situation and using real life examples more often in my teaching practice.

I believe that learning new technological tools should be a lifelong goal that every teacher needs to work toward through everyday in this career, because there are always new tools out there that educators need to learn about and incorporate in their classrooms to improve their instructional practice.

My new learning goal will be based on NETS-T 4b: Teachers address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources (National Education Standards for Teachers, 2008). To be able to differentiate instructions in order to reach all learners in my classroom, I will meet with teachers form special education department and from ELL/bilingual department during the common planning period to discuss different strategies and any available technologies that may help addressing the diverse needs of my students.

Reference:

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved February 10, 2010 from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf