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GAME Plan Update - Week 7 EDUC 6713 and Course Reflection

As I have been working toward my goals, progress has been slow but steady.  I think the most important thing is to always keep my goals at the forefront as I make decisions and work on projects with my colleagues.

My first goal was ISTE Standard 1B: “Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.”  Our students are still working toward making a dent in our first real-world problem: the fact that students in different countries don't know much about each other or the problems that affect one another.  Our students have begun creating a digital book about our community to share with the students in Spain.  Due to state testing, teacher strikes in Spain, and general lack of time, this has been making very slow progress.  I look forward to continuing this project at a faster pace once testing is over.  

My second goal was ISTE Standard 2B: “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” (ISTE et al, 2008).  I published three blog posts for my coworkers, promoting just one aspect of a technology-rich learning environment: student web presence. 

Student Web Presence: A Necessary Infrastructure

Student Web Presence: Sharing Learning with an Authentic Audience

Student Web Presence: Maple Lake Exemplar Teachers

I can revise my plan by adding more topics to my blog (relating to technology-rich learning environments) and trying to get a feel for what some good "next steps" would be for our classroom teachers when it comes to enriching their environments.

New Learning Resulting from my GAME Plan:

By following my GAME Plan, I have learned that it kept me focused on specific goals.  Having a GAME Plan is a good tool because there are so many resources and ideas available that it can be easy to lose focus and not progress toward anything.  I often find myself dabbling in several different new ideas at once, but never bringing them to completion.  A GAME Plan reminds me what my most important goals are and helps me to be continuously evaluating whether I am meeting them, need to change them, or need to plan new steps to bring me closer to the goal.  This would be a great tool for bringing about focused change.

How I could Modify and Use a GAME Plan with students:

I think this model could be used to help students stay focused on their goals in classrooms following a Project Based Learning model.  One of the biggest questions when having students do open-ended projects or research is how to keep them focused on what is important so they can finish in a reasonable amount of time and have something worthwhile to show for their efforts.  I think this is a skill that needs to be taught, reinforced, and reviewed.  The GAME Plan format could be a framework for teachers to use.  To incorporate this well, a teacher would need to model continuously, not just teach it once.  I think it would be beneficial for teachers to begin each class with a think aloud (teacher modeling the project while speaking mental steps and reasoning out loud), and then allow students to begin working.  In this way, students would slowly but surely be conditioned to use the GAME Plan in the way it was intended.  

EDUC 6713 Course Reflection:

My instructional practice will change as a result of this course because I now see the importance of introducing my colleagues to a different way of structuring the classroom.  Inquiry-based learning is an option that is difficult to implement, guide, and assess.  Yet, it puts the student in a new role where they are more active learners and can do things that matter to them.  

Right now, I think the best way of demonstrating how to implement inquiry based learning is through blog entries and coteaching with my colleagues.  I have a lot to learn, and I recognize that until I have tried something with students, it is ineffective to suggest it to others.  I am thankful for the teachers who allow me to come alongside them and bring new methods into their space.  This gives us both experience from which to learn and to teach others.

Problem-Based Learning:

I gave a presentation to my colleagues a couple of months ago about best practices for online research.  I hope for the opportunity to enter their classrooms and be a part of digging deep into online research skills with students, opening the door for inquiry and question-based learning.  I routinely contact different departments of our school with ideas and always give the option for them to request my help.

Social Networking:

I have been doing research and authoring a social media policy for our school.  I do this in hopes that it will unlock websites that are collaborative in nature but which are currently blocked, such as Google Hangouts and Twitter.  I would also like to see younger students receive Google accounts so that collaborative features can be used and accessed by more teachers for their projects.

Digital Storytelling:

I ordered a new digital storytelling app for our Elementary School iPad cart, called Book Creator.  I plan to assist teachers in learning how to use it with their students.  I hope they can see it not just as a fun app or a way to create temporary engagement (because it's new) but as a way to integrate 21st Century learning and connectedness into their classroom.

EDUC 6713 has been a course where I have researched and tried practical applications for the Connected Classroom.  I enjoyed exploring the "why" behind doing these things as well as the "how."

GAME Plan Update - Week 4 EDUC 6713

My first goal was to “Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.”  - ISTE Standard 1B (ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) and Performance Indicators for Teachers, 2008). 

I have been exploring ways to facilitate a connection between our 2^nd/3^rd grade students and some 3^rd graders in Spain.  After attempting to use news media to find relevant real world issues in their country, I decided to change my strategy because I was not acquiring the information I needed.  I learned, by spending time researching online news in Spain, that their news media is just as “sensationalized” as ours.  This means that everything is presented as urgent, detrimental, and shocking, when in reality it may or may not affect the average person in such a dramatic way.  Because of this, I am modifying my action plan to reach out to the teachers and students in Spain and ask them to tell us about real world problems in their country.  I feel that this will give a more realistic picture of which real world problems are of concern to the average citizen.

I have reached out to the teachers at my school with an action plan for our students.  I suggested that we have our students create two eBooks to teach the Spanish students about our country and our town.  I am waiting to see what the teachers’ response will be.  Since it is “testing season” and there are only 15 more teaching days before the big state test, I am unsure whether they will feel able to commit time to this project right now.  We may need to wait a few weeks to actually implement it.  I will respect their guidance on what is best for their classes.

My second goal was to “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” - ISTE Standard 2B (ISTE, et al). 

At first, I focused on how I would prepare for doing this in the future, with a classroom of my own.  However, I do not have plans to have my own classroom within the next couple of years, so I began to think about my position as Technology Integration Specialist, and how I could help the teachers in my district to develop their learning environments for this purpose.  I wrote a three blog posts about creating a digital infrastructure – only one of which has been published as of today.  The other two are scheduled to post within the next two weeks.  A high percentage of my coworkers are subscribed to my blog, and I believe this will at least expose them to these ideas.  While doing this, I researched each of our teachers' official webpages and discovered several who were already providing a digital platform for their students.  Before my research, I was not aware of how some of our teachers were utilizing online space for student content creation.  

My reflection has been about what message I would like to offer to our staff about the “why” behind 21^st Century Learning.  This has created some new questions in my mind.  As I explore the use of technology in the classroom, I continuously revise my own “why”.  This journey is something I want to begin sharing with the other teachers in my district.  How does 21^st Century Learning interact with standards-based education?  How do we balance the need for high test scores, the need to cover the curriculum, and these ideas about self-regulated, exploratory learning?  What does this look like practically, every day, for real teachers?

I am progressing slowly but surely toward my goals.  I know I am truly learning because each goal presents questions, and as I strive to answer my questions I develop new questions.  My learning grows in many directions and I am excited to continue on this journey.

References:

ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. (2008, January 1). Retrieved March 11, 2015.

GAME Plan Update - Week 3 EDUC 6713

My GAME plan requires a shift of philosophy, and begins with small steps.  Since I am aiming to engage students in real-world problem solving, I need to be more aware of current real-world problems that are age appropriate for various groups of students that I may work with.  My first small step is to make myself more aware of what is going on in the world.  I want to do this by viewing websites and reading newspaper articles.  As I had planned, I started an Evernote file to keep track of websites I can visit for this purpose.

Since I know that I am about to begin a connection between 4 classes at my rural Minnesota elementary school and 88 students in Spain, I attempted to find out more about what is going on in Spain.  However, it was difficult to find real world problems in Spain that would be appropriate and compelling for the second and third graders with whom I will be working.

I have thought about starting our interaction with this real-world problem: “students in different countries don’t know very much about each other or the problems kids in other countries face”.  The students could certainly use technology to help solve this problem, especially since we have access to an overseas group of students, and they have access to us.  This cross-cultural connection will allow the opportunity for self-reflection and exposure to differences (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer 2009).  It might be interesting to ask the students in Spain what they think are the biggest (or most interesting) problems there, and to have our students communicate about problems here in the US. 

My next step will be to communicate with the teachers involved in this project to find out how much time they are able to invest.  This will determine what we will be able to do with the project.  As our school’s Technology Integration Specialist, I have to find a balance between promoting 21^st Century Learning and respecting teachers’ general feelings of being completely overwhelmed.  In order to be granted access into a classroom, I often need to reduce the amount of time I would ideally like to use for an activity.  I plan to give the teachers a basic outline of what I would like to see happen in our communication with the class in Spain.  We will discuss how this helps to meet my goals and theirs, and plan from there.

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

GAME Plan Week 2 EDUC 6713

I have always enjoyed learning about technology and using it in my classroom.  Because of my desire to keep learning about and trying the newest ideas and applications, I feel comfortable with NETS-T Standard 2A, “Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity” (ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) and Performance Indicators for Teachers, 2008).  I also feel comfortable with Standard 3B, “Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation” (ISTE et al, 2008).  I have used student and classroom blogging, email, video conferencing, and a class website to achieve this. 

            I feel that I still have a long way to go in establishing true 21^st century learning in my classroom.  While I shine in the areas of trying new digital tools and communicating using technology, I have not taken the time to integrate real-world problem solving or self-directed research into my classroom.  My GAME plan for becoming more proficient in these areas is as follows:

Goals:

ISTE Standard 1B: “Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.”

ISTE Standard 2B: “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” (ISTE et al, 2008).

Actions:

In order to engage students in real-world issues, I can look to the example of colleagues who are doing this.  I have found that emulating successful teachers in my desired areas of improvement is a good place to start.  I can subscribe to their blogs and try some of the same activities with my students. Once I have a few experiences under my belt, I will feel more comfortable designing my own.  I will subscribe to the following blogs:  Erin Klein, Elementary School Teacher at http://www.kleinspiration.com/ (Klein, 2015), and Sonya terBorg, Technology Coach at http://sonyaterborg.com (terBorg, 2015). 

It will also be helpful to stay updated with current events so that I understand the real-world problems that are currently affecting people.  I can do this by reading or watching various news outlets or education websites designated for compiling real-world problems.  I will read or watch news events from the Minneapolis Star Tribune (StarTribune, 2015).  I will also commit to reading examples of real-world problems used in education at the PBSKids website (Resources, 2015) and at the Stem Collaborative website (STEM – Additional STEM Resources, n.d.).

In order to create a learning environment where students manage their own learning, I will begin the school year with this goal in mind.  I will use the first few weeks to train my students in the routines and practices necessary for independent goal-setting, action planning, monitoring, and evaluating.  I will guide them through this process many times, starting with small tasks and building up toward larger projects.  This will be a major change from “marching through the curriculum” and viewing the students as containers to be filled with knowledge – by me.  Instead, I will view them as learners to be trained and released into the world of knowledge.  They will attack it and I will be their guide.  To be ready for this, I will need to look over the required standards and plan projects for the beginning of the school year.

Monitoring:

I can monitor my progress toward engaging students in real-world issues by keeping a file in Evernote with ideas for real-world problem lessons.  This will be a resource that I can refer to when making lesson plans, and it will document my research.  Each month, I can reflect on whether I have used this resource.

I can monitor the creation of a self-directed learning environment by considering what characteristics I would see in my students and their learning if I have succeeded.  I will look for the students’ ability to create a GAME plan and carry it out, as stated by Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer (2009).  I will monitor which areas of the GAME plan my students are doing independently and which areas still require more guidance. 

Evaluating:

            As I reflect each month on my collection of real-world problems for lessons and how I have used them, I will determine what has been successful during the lessons and what I could change.  I will implement changes during the following month and keep the components that fostered success.  I will determine if my sources have been helpful or if I need to explore different sources. 

            After each self-directed research project, I will evaluate whether my students demonstrated the desired characteristics.  I will attempt to determine what parts of my learning environment contributed to their success and what may have hindered or distracted from their success.  I will modify my methods accordingly and try to shape our classroom to meet the needs of my students.

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards Based Approach (Laureate Education, Inc. ed.). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.

ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. (2008, January 1). Retrieved March 11, 2015.

Klein, E. (2015, March 10). Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://www.kleinspiration.com/

Resources. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/resources/index.html?category=electricity

StarTribune. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://www.startribune.com

STEM - Additional STEM Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://www.stemcollaborative.org/additionalResources.html

TerBorg, S. (2015, January 1). Sonya terborg. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://sonyaterborg.com

EDUC 6711 Final Reflection

     As we began this course, I stated that my personal theory of learning centers on a student's emotions.  My belief was that the most important influence on a student's learning is how they feel each day in the classroom.  I still agree wholeheartedly with my original statements.  The most important thing you can do for your students is to give them a safe place to learn, try, fail, and try again.  This course has expanded my understanding of my own personal learning theory because I examined teaching practices that give students more autonomy and opportunity to take ownership of their learning.  Dr. Michael Orey stated that teachers can use technology as an instructional tool (teacher-centered, often used to present information).  Teachers can also use technology as a learning tool (student-centered, directly used by the students for learning) (Laureate, n.d.).  Using learning tools for themselves is a tremendous emotional boost for students because they are drawn in, engaged, and given respect when the impetus of learning is placed on their shoulders.

     I would like to make immediate adjustments to my classroom practice by allowing as much direct student use of learning tools as possible.  I could do this by flipping some lessons in order to minimize in-class lecture time.  Information given in a video lesson, to be watched at home as homework, is often shorter and more concise than in-class lectures which are interrupted by behavior issues, fire drills, and unrelated discussion.  By having students watch the lecture portion at home, I could use class time for hands-on activities, practice, or in-depth discussion.  I would also like to use more collaborative online tools with my students.  As they approach a future where online collaboration will be more and more important, we must prepare them for the "fast paced, virtual workplace" they will inhabit (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012).  I can do this by giving them age-appropriate, content-driven online experiences in socially collaborative settings.  Tools such as Kidblog, wikis, Prezi, and Google docs are examples of technology I could use for this purpose.
   
     My repertoire of instructional skills has expanded as we studied each of the nine instructional strategies in depth.  Pitler, et al. documented these strategies as Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback, Reinforcing Effort/Providing Recognition, Cooperative Learning, Cues/Questions/Advance Organizers, Nonlinguistic Representations, Summarizing/Note Taking, Assigning Homework/Providing Practice, Identifying Similarities and Differences, and Generating/Testing Hypotheses (2012).  Each of these has many applications using technology.  It is the teacher's responsibility to choose wisely, using technology that enhances the lesson and allows students to do things they couldn't do otherwise.

     A long term goal for positive change in my classroom practice includes using nonlinguistic representation more in my teaching.  Orey stated that putting information in a Power Point and then reading the words to your students is the worst way to teach (n.d.).  I could improve my teaching by using pictures and videos, and explaining them with my words.  I could also teach students to do this when they are presenting.  I will prepare for this change by creating future slideshows differently, keeping this in mind.  I will create rubrics for student presentations differently as well.  I will explicitly teach this skill to students.

     Another long term goal for positive change in my classroom practice is to use technology to touch on many different intelligences.  Howard Gardner stated that there are eight primary intelligences.  They are musical–rhythmic, visual–spatial, verbal–linguistic, logical–mathematical, bodily–kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic (Theory of Multiple Intelligences, n.d.).  I will implement this change by using images, audio, video, and physical activity in my lessons.  I will provide opportunities for students to experience each kind of learning, using technology when appropriate.  

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Technology: Instructional tool vs. learning tool [Video file].             

     Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that 

     works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Theory of multiple intelligences. (2014, November 12). Retrieved December 15, 2014, from 

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligences

Technology and Social Constructivism

     Vygotsky stated that "learning can be maximized through well-designed, intentional social interaction with others" (1978).  This is the heart of cooperative learning.  Students can be arranged in pairs or groups to work on a project.  This can take on many forms such as jigsaw learning, pair-share, or groups with divided responsibilities (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012).

     Cooperative learning correlates well with social learning theory because "social constructivists believe that reality is constructed through human activity" (Orey, 2010).  It is the interaction between people that constructs their knowledge and alters their view of topics or issues that are addressed during their time together.  By working in pairs or groups, students begin to assimilate or accommodate new ideas and sort and re-sort existing schema to fit.  The social environment shapes their perception of reality.

     Teachers who provide opportunities for this type of learning may see increases in student engagement and dedication.  When students feel needed by their group, they are motivated to be present and engaged.  This makes it more likely for them to absorb the information in a meaningful way.

     Cooperative learning is a practical way to implement social learning theory by giving students ample opportunity to construct their knowledge through interaction with others.

References

Orey, M. (2010, January 1). Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology.

     Retrieved November 24, 2014, from

     http://www.textbookequity.org/oct/Textbooks/Orey_Emergin_Perspectives_Learning.pdf

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that 

     works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978).  Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. 

     Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.