A Fresh New Start

The new year starts Tuesday and I will be traveling from room to room with a cart full of art. It is something that I thought would happen 5 years ago when I first Interviewed at Falconer School. We shall see what happens as I start this journey. I just hope my beat up body can take the walking. Drawing is what we'll start with, just so I can get an idea of how this will work with the amount of time for travel and set-up/clean-up. Only time will tell if it is a hit or a miss.

Reflection week 8

- Reflect on the GAME plan you developed and followed throughout the course.
as I look back on my GAME plan, I don't think I would change my goals, just how I would go about reaching them as I have changed teaching positions. I would still have my students attaining their Fine Arts standards using technology to explore areas of the Fine Arts that they are interested in pursuing.
- Summarize any new learning that resulted from your following your GAME plan and explain what impact your new learning will have on your instructional practice.
What I really got out of following the GAME plan was that it is very adaptable because you are constantly monitoring and reflecting on it as you proceed. This creates a new mindset for how you think about, plan and develop lessons with technology in mind.
- Describe any immediate adjustments you will make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration in your content area(s) as a result of your learning from this course.
I have been offered a new position this Fall which take me out of my computer lab and sets me up with a mobile lab of laptops to go to each class that I will service. They basically created the position specifically for me as they knew I have a Fine Arts/Music background along with my love for technology. I went from thinking about integrating core subjects like Science and Social Studies, which get the least amount of attention in the homerooms, to thinking about how I can approach that from a Fine Arts with technology integration standpoint. I have so many new ideas about using video, graphic arts, animation, voice-threads and more to make the Arts seem more relevant and current to this tech-savvy generation of students. I am looking forward to using technology to share my love of art and music with my students.

More Blog matters-week 7

I decide this week to add this goal From NETS-T to my GAME Plan:
3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
b. collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
I will be able to do this through my web page by posting announcements, links to my blog and e-mail. I hope to incorporate video and slide shows of students projects throughout the school year. I won't be able to monitor how well this will work until I have access to all my tools at work.


http://lab-205.falconer.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/integrated_home.phtml?gid=1478351&sessionid=d8d7356d5fe5b5a78a5dbde767b2f6dc

Just after originally posting I found out that I will no longer be teaching in the Primary Computer Lab. So check out the link to my lab before it gets taken down. I guess what I've learned about using the NETS-S standards over the past 2 years is that the children will pick up and become proficient with the technology at hand by practicing with the different programs. I will put this to the test as the students who I taught some of the basics to will be my students for Fine Arts/Technology with integration. I will try to implement some of the goals from my original GAME plan but have to excecute that plan from a different approach.

GAME plan T.O.

I have not had much time to do anything with my GAME plan other than work on the lessons for our weekly assignments, and even that has had to take a back seat to caring for my wife who recently took a fairly bad spill down our back steps. That being said I have found some things in our text that are similar to lessons that I have previously used on recycling that would fit not only my GAME plan for the Unit but the GAME plan I set out to accomplish in this blog.

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.