Thursday, September 16, 2010

Game Plan

According to Dr. Ertmer, there are four that go along with using technology effectively. These include; knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and supportive culture (Laureate, 2009). Based on the NETS-T standards, there are a couple of areas that I could improve on. The two areas I should focus on are modeling digital age work and learning, and engage in professional growth and leadership.
My game plan is as follows:

Set Goals

My first goal is to collaborate more with parents about the various forms of technology that we are using in the classroom. Most all students have computers and internet at home, or at least have access to it. I want to offer parents the opportunity to know and use the technology forms that we are using in the classroom. The second goal is to participate in ongoing professional development opportunities where I will learn more about the technology to use in the classroom as well as share what is working in my own classroom.

Take Action

In order to reach the above goals, I must take action. I will have weekly communication with the parents through my webpage, where I will list what forms of technology we are using each week. This will include websites for students to use to study and interact with the content. In order to meet my second goal, I will attend a professional development workshop on integrating technology in the classroom. In addition, I will meet with other reading teachers to discuss what working technology wise in the classroom for me and see if they have anything to suggest.

Monitor

In order to monitor this, I will send a form home to parents asking how often they use the sites, as well as keep a counter on my website to see how many students and parents visit the site. I will also monitor the students’ progress based on the use of technology with the content. After professional development conferences, I will self reflect on how effective the workshop or conference is.

Evaluate and Extend

After reviewing over feedback on the websites from students and parents, I will evaluate the use of my classroom website. I will continue to extend this by adding websites and opportunities for students to interact with the content through technology use. I will evaluate the professional development that I participate in based on how the students react to it. I will extend this based on the response of the students. Even though I started by giving them websites, I will also give them the opportunity to explore for themselves.


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.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. Retrieved September 14, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Program four. Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology, Part 2 [Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). Program three. Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology, Part 1 [Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.

5 comments:

  1. Linzie,

    I read your goals and they are both areas I would like to improve upon. It is great to have a website for parents to see what is happening in your class. The addition of sites that could help students to study and interact with the content would be a godsend to most parents. I am going to add this idea to some of the areas on my site. Thanks!

    Professional development is also an area I would love to improve upon, especially in the area modeling digital age work and learning, and engage in professional growth and leadership. With most of my colleagues being nearly computer illiterate and nearly zero money budgeted for professional development, it may come down to teachers sharing their technological skills with colleagues. It will be up to teachers to learn new skills on their own and then sharing their ability with fellow teachers.

    Thanks,

    Craig

    ReplyDelete
  2. Linzie,

    Your first goal is very similar to an ongoing goal of mine. I put a great deal of effort into maintaining a class blog that is laden with information, fun games, class worksheets, and various other additions. It is important to me that I provide this to my students and their parents, but I sometimes wonder if my efforts are being used by my students.

    I am excited to get feedback from my students and parents to help me understand what is useful and what gets ignored. Have you considered using an online survey tool to collect information?

    Your idea about sharing the technology used in class on your website was really smart! I sometimes forget that my students do not communicate what happens in class with their parents and that it is up to me to share and even boast about the wonderful activities that we complete in class. The website is a great way to share and promote what happens in your classroom.

    -Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nancy,

    I think that an online survey tool would be a great way to get feedback from parents. I will certainly take your advice and see how it works with my parents.

    Thanks!

    Linzie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Linzie,

    You have some great goals and some good ideas about achieving those goals. I chose the same standards that you did and after reading you GAME plan I will use some of the same ideas in my GAME plan. Good luck reaching your goals.

    Jonathan Garrett

    ReplyDelete
  5. Linzie,

    Keeping parents informed is being proactive in a way that will avoid any surprises. Parents love to know what is going on in their child's school day without having to ask, and a blog is one of the better ways of doing this. I also have a blog on which I post daily activities, important dates, special reminders, and other miscellaneous items. So far, I have received nothing but positive feedback from parents.

    ReplyDelete