Blog On

I think that working on a Problem Based Learning lesson for this week’s assignment falls right in line with my GAME plan goals. I need to find an authentic lesson that my young students can relate to and utilize my lab to complete. I probably won’t be able to put it to use until at least November as the first few class sessions are going over and reviewing the basics of computer lab procedures, familiarizing the classes with the programs accessible from their desktops and properly saving files. Once we can get past that stage I feel I will be able to test drive my plan on the students and monitor their progress so I can see where to tweak it.

GAME Plan moves along

What I am finding out while developing this GAME plan is that there is a wealth of options out there for implementing new technology into my lab. I am finding different free technology by subscribing with an RSS feed on my blogger page. I bookmark what might work in my classroom and see what my students might be able to use. What I am finding a bit difficult is monitoring and modifying because I am not currently using some of this technology because we are on break. It is hard to say what will work for any particular group of students when you cannot get any feedback from those students. I have definitely adjusted my mind-set after going through these graduate courses as to what my expectations for my students are. I want to make sure that they believe in their minds that using this 21st century technology, they can do whatever it is that they imagine in their minds.

Resources for the GAME plan

What I need to set up for my classes in order to allow them to explore real world issues would be a class blog that would link them to current events and other things that may be of interest to the students. By setting up the blog I could get feedback from the students on what they would like to learn more about. I could also solicit ideas from my colleagues as to what could also tie into what they are studying back in their homerooms. I have not been able to do too much on my plan this week as some family health issues have taken away from my computer time. If I am back in the same teaching situation in the Fall, I will have access to online encyclopedias, Safari Videos and Brain Pop animations to help the students find out more about their topics.

GAME Plan

My GAME plan for boosting my proficiency in NETS-T would have to focus on these two indicators:
1.b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
And
2.b. 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.
My goal would be too have my students be able to work independently on web-based projects that interest them. My action would be to model using the tolls for a research project at each grade level, gradually preparing them for becoming self-directed learners. I would monitor my progress by assessing if the students are becoming more and more independent with each project. At each assessment I would determine what is working well and what needs to be reworked or augmented in some way. I would continually look for new technology to introduce to the students so that many different learning modalities are incorporated.

A Turnaround

The course I am taking now, has me looking at things from a different perspective. Usually I am trying to fit the content to the software programs that need to learned. With this course I have to try and look at it from the classroom perspective, how do I use technology in the content areas. It would be nice if the classrooms had the necessary technology to link up a whole class. Our school is fortunate to have portable laptops that can be sent to classrooms for use.