Progress Report of Game Plan ~ Week of March 28

Thank goodness for the refreshing time of spring break as I've come to the planning process with a fresher, clearer mind in how to approach accomplishing my GAME plan.  

As I have spent time this week researching technology mentors and resources relating to my two goals, one simple idea became clearly obvious to me about my first goal.  Each resource that captured my attention and effectively demonstrated student reflection and collaboration highlighted the use of a vibrant, growing, interactive blog.  While I have a class blog within my website with SchoolWorld, its capabilities are limited, and I'd have to say it is not accomplishing what I desire and am drawn to in other great classroom blogs!  I have had an internal struggle for the last year about changing my blog, but I knew this would be a bit of a complicated process, so I kept putting it off.  After thinking through and contemplating how I would accomplish goal 1 of my GAME plan, I knew it was time to change blogs!  One factor that made this switch easier to accomplish is the familiarity I have developed with blogspot.com because of my blogging experiences in graduate school.  This week I have successfully launched our new class blog, and cannot wait till my students return to school to get them started in the collaborative process!!!


Not only will my new blog help me accomplish goal 1, but I am wanting to use this platform as a springboard into students using technology to pursue their individual curiosities sharing them with the class and our blog audience.  Not only will our class blog be used in collaboration about creative student learning, but it will also be a place to document student curiosities, learning goals, and assessment of individual and group progress within academic learning.  The blog become a type of journal where students share and fellow collaborators become active participants in goal setting and assessing of individual and group progress.  


I have to admit, my confidence in accomplishing my GAME plan has grown in leaps and bounds this week.  I feel as if I final have the focus for implementation of my goals.  As I move forward, my questions are about how to work around my student teacher's solo teaching time and what will be my first couple of academic activities that will easily lend to collaboration, student curiosities, goals, and assessments.  


Here's an excellent article I came across this week about a 3rd grade class in Minnesota using their blog in an effective way:
     They're learning to write, and they've got readers

My Progress Towards Accomplishing My GAME Plan:

In working through the many steps in accomplishing my goal, I am at a frustrating point.  With limited time due to several school responsibilities that have left me stretched thin, I am having a difficult time finding information and resources to accomplish my goals.   My thoughts are that over my spring break, this next week, I want to spend more time researching resources necessary to accomplish my goals.  I also want to reconnect with several professional collaboration websites and starting talking to other teachers about how they are working through the ideas I’m contemplating. 

I have also considered as I read through my goals, that I may need to be less broad and focus on one or two key ideas that would encompass the two ISTE-NETS that I desire to grow in.  I think in the beginning when I wrote my GAME plan, I was unsure of what I was aiming for.  Whether talking to my instructor or re-reading instructions, I want to gain a clearer picture of the end goal I am trying to achieve with my GAME plan.  After more indepth time contemplating these issue, I forsee having many more ideas to share of what I have learned or new questions that have come up in my learning process.  

Carrying Out My Game Plan

In reviewing my Game Plan, several resources are necessary to carry out my plan.  First, developing a network of resources to study and analyze learning more about student reflection using collaborative tools allows me to build a foundation of learning for my plan.  Also, I need other teachers who can share their use of these collaborative tools and how they effectively incorporate these strategies into understanding their students thinking through the use of these collaborative tools. 

This week to help me begin the process of achieving my GAME plan, I reached out to a teacher within my district to begin this process of learning from another peer on student reflection collaborative tools and other ideas I am learning in this class.  She responded positively and was supportive in wanting to assist in any way she could.  Another step I am wanting to take is more reflection on which curriculum topics would be suited for this type of learning approach.  Sometimes I have difficulty with this, especially in the area of Math.  

My Game Plan ~ NETS-T

In considering the ISTE- NETS-T (for teachers, http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx), I found several areas I felt confident in.  In contemplating areas I wanted to develop more confidence in, I have chosen these two areas of the NETS-T:

#1: Facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity: promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.

#2: Designs and Develops Digital-Age Experiences: 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.

G: My goal: to develop confidence in the two areas listen above. 

A:These are the following actions I will take to meet goals:

·      1. research each area online to find other teacher/schools who have dealt with the same difficulties

·      2. read articles addressing the areas of weaknesses

·      3. talk with other teachers within my district to determine how they pursue fulfilling these two areas of concerns I desire to grow confident in.  

M: How I will monitor progress towards the achievement of my goals:

·      1. journal about conversations, contacts, articles read, anything dealing with my learning about these two areas.

·      2. write down questions and concerns of implementing these goals.

·      3. find teachers to discuss these concerns with.

E: How I will evaluate whether goals were achieved; extend learning to new situations:

·      1. my evaluation of whether or not I have achieved my goals will be determined through an analysis rubric based upon this game plan

·      2. evaluation will also be determined by growth of students as they implement my new learning and development of my goals.  

10 steps to successful tech integration…

I read these tips on a blog I am currently following, and I wanted to share these with my readers.  I have personally experience each of these steps as I have grown in my understanding of technology as well as when working with other teachers as they develop their technology skills.  

1. Start with two people.

Ideally you need a technology facilitator and another teacher whose focus is more on learning and pedagogy. That way, it’s never lonely when there’s resistance, there are complementary outlooks and more hands are available to help.

2. Invite volunteers.

Don’t try and force anyone to implement technology before they are ready. Work with a small group who’s willing to give it a go. Gradually others will come on board, when they see what’s been achieved by their peers or when their students initiate it. Don’t even think about presenting tech PD to large group of teachers all at once.

3. Offer plenty of support.

Once teachers have seen a tool demonstrated, they will need support practicing and applying it. Don’t be judgmental. Differentiate. Everyone can learn, but we all learn in different ways and at our own pace.It looks like this. Allow for it. Team teach. Offer to go into a class with a teacher who’s ready to give it a go. Demonstrate. Solve problems. Be there.

4. Aim for ‘just one thing’.

Don’t expect teachers to be experts. They just need to be willing. Make them aware of that. Aim to get teachers to try just one new thing. The concept is expressed really well here!

5. Get teachers teaching teachers.

Once teachers have used a tool to enhance learning in their classes, provide an opportunity for them to show others what they did. Have a show-and-tell session where ideas and examples are presented by teachers for teachers. Invite teachers to show others how to use tools they have already mastered.

6. Start from the learning.

This one is the most important. Tech for tech’s sake is a waste of time. Teachers are far more likely to integrate technology if they see the educational purpose. Begin with your learning goal, then plan your learning experiences and see what tools might support or enahnce the learning. See an example here.

7. Bring Admin onside.

If the heads are not leading the way themselves, invite them to training sessions. Invite them to classes. Show them what’s happening. Talk about what’s possible. Tell them what you need in order to move the school forward. Share examples from other schools. Share examples from yours.

8. Involve the students.

Teachers don’t need to know how to do everything. Kids will readily and enthusiastically help both the teacher and each other. Encourage teachers to release control to their students and become learners themselves. Here’s one teacher’s take on it.

9. Follow-up.

Create a wiki for teachers to refer back to. Add the tools they have learned. Include examples of how the tools can be used for learning. Add written instructions to which they can refer back if they are stuck.This is our wiki, maintained by the inimitable Linda (@lindawollan)

10. Be persistent.

Never miss an opportunity to suggest a way in which technology could enhance the learning. Offer to take care of the tech side yourself, if it means teachers will try something new in their teaching. Never, ever give up.

References:

http://whatedsaid.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/10-steps-to-successful-tech-integration-2/#comment-2303

Final Reflection of Learning Theory Instruction and Technology

In reflecting back on the “Personal Theory of Learning” I developed in Week 1 of this class, I would enhance this theory with a couple thoughts as a result of my learning in this course. Analyzing each curriculum learning experience for which learning theory approach to use brings a solid research based decision, instead of a “hopeful teacher’s intuition.” In the “brain based research” presented over the last eight weeks, I have grown in understand not only what research says about how learning occurs best, but how and why each learning theory would be best suited for a particular approach in a curriculum activity. First, understanding behavior results in “learned habits” that are studied to understand how these habits develop, and the behaviorist learning approach can be recognized by strategies and technology that help change behavior through reinforcement and rewards. “Behaviorism directly links with “observable and measureable aspects of human behavior (Orey, 2001). On the other hand, I’ve learned cognitive learning theories reflect a process of putting together new information within the context of existing knowledge, helping the learners become aware of why and how they are thinking throughout the learning process. “Questions, and advance organizers support student’s cognitive abilities to “retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Effective cues hint about the learning to come while questions provoke student’s thinking about prior experiences. This information then becomes the framework to classify and structure the new learning. Finally, “Constructionism asserts that knowledge is not simply transmitted from teacher to student, but is actively constructed by the mind of the learner” (Thurmond, 1999) while constructivism says, “each individual actively constructs his/her own meaning” (Orey, 2010). Students actively construct their own learning through generating and testing hypotheses. This course has deepened my knowledge and understanding of these learning theories and how to identify educational technologies and teaching strategies that meet these types of brain based learning. 



Since taking this class, I would integrate virtual field trips and voicethreads as vital instructional technology tools in my classroom. These two technology tools will be helpful in supprting and enhancing my students’ learning in the following ways. First, in virtual field trips, students come away with a real world example of what we were studying and this became useful for sharing their own ideas in adding to their network of learning about the topic of study. As they share, they grow in their ability to think through their network of ideas as they explore their ability to apply their ideas in useful learning scenarios. This process of learning fully exceeds my expectations of what I would want my students to take away from a virtual field trip.

Second, I see voicethreads as an excellent tool to clearly understand the thinking of my students. In utilizing cooperative groups, I may not be able to hear all the thinking of each students, but through voicethreads this becomes a real possibility. I see this tool allowing students students to summarize their learning, develop discussion groups, input ideas, analyze problems, display understanding of process steps, and many more interactive strategies. My repetoire of instructional skills has expanded in these ways as a result of this course.

The following are two long-term goal changes I would like to make to my instructional practice regarding technology integration. First, I will place a major focus on having students connect nonlinguistic and linguistic representations for curriculum learning. Students struggle to know how to work with what’s in their head, and need cues in how to get these mental pictures actively involved in their learning process. As these two tools work together the effects on learning are profoundly effective. I can achieve the power of this practice through allowing students to video, take pictures, or build online concept maps to represent the merging of their linguistic and nonlinguistic learning. The approaches can be used as either an introductory or summarizing strategy to communicate learning.

My second instructional strategy goal includes promoting a stronger focus of students identifying similarities and differences within curriculum content. This instructional strategy allows them to “restructure their understanding of curriculum content” making “new connections, fresh insights, and correct misconceptions” (Pitler, et al, 167). This strategy can be accomplished by including more sorting, classifying, creating analogies, or even simple sentence stems such as _____ and _____ are similar/different because__________. Technology tools such as the interactive whiteboard, online concept maps, Microsoft Word and Excel present excellent tools for these types of activities. These two approaches will help me as I seek to improve my instructional technology integration practices.

References:

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.


Thurmond, A. (1999) Constructivism and Constructionism.  Retrieved from: http://online.sfsu.edu/~foreman/itec800/finalprojects/annmariethurmond/
home.html


Social Learning in the Classroom

Voicethreads are an excellent example of what Bandura was talking about when he said, "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do” (Bandura, 1977). In exploring other voicethreads on the website, I observed so much creativity with students, teacher, and community working together to bring understanding and knowledge to the designated topic. "Individuals create meaning through their interactions with each other and with the environment they live in" (Kim, 2001).

Voicethreads would be an example of multimedia Pitler discusses in Chapter 7 on cooperative learning. Creating a VT requires many roles and responsibilities that can be accomplished through small group participation. Cooperative groups allow all students to take an active role in their understanding of the task at hand thus enabling their voice to come together in the community of voices that Bandura talks about in his theories of social learning.

Another example of connectivism that allows students to come together across the globe is through collaborative organizing. Web 2.0 tools or the "Read/Write Web" allows participants to "collaborate and share information online (Pitler, 149). Web based tools such as Delicous, Dropbox, Google Calendar and Documents, and wikis bring important information to once central storage area. Collaboration groups share information about any topic with the only requiring being a willing participants sharing their ideas, research, and data. These resources can be edited, enhanced, and changed by any participant within the group from any location at any time of the day, provided they have internet access. Many minds can come together to create a collaborative perspective of any curriculum topic.

Finally, communication software that allows classes to utilize instant messaging, video conferencing to share "real time" learning either through chatting or face-to-face conferencing. Programs such as Skype and TodaysMeet provide this powerful access to anyone anywhere in the world. Social networking and cooperative learning knows no limits through these powerful resources.

Examples of Skype in action in my classroom:


Warum Deutsch? from Colegio Goethe on Vimeo.
Our class meets other 4th Graders in Argentina.




Our class meets other 4th Graders in Hungary.


TodaysMeet: you have the capability to set up a private chat room for you students to discuss curriculum content. Invite epals, parents, and other teachers to join your converstion.

Delicious

Dropbox

My Wiki


My voicethread: http://voicethread.com/share/1548750/



In 4th Grade, students experience classifying the describing the three main types of clouds. While clouds are not new to students, learning to classify and describe them is. My class studied weather in August and September, but I wanted a way for my students to review clouds throughout the year. This voicethread creation seemed like a perfect way to present this curriculum content continuously throughout the months ahead. I can see my students producing their own cloud voicethreads to springboard off of my creation.

I have gained so many ideas and inspiration for future voicethreads by browsing through the library on the website. After creating my voicethread, here are other voicethreads on clouds:

http://voicethread.com/?#q+clouds.b124116
http://voicethread.com/?#q+clouds.b1037349.i5530054
http://voicethread.com/?#q+clouds.b168590.i898186
http://voicethread.com/?#q+clouds.b329149



References:

Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press.

Kim, B. (2001). Social Constructivism.. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved November 30, 2010, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.