Final Reflection

Technology is rapidly changing the face of education. The technologies that we are currently seeing in our schools have become mainstream in the eyes of the public, yet there are many more emerging technologies that education has barely had a glimpse of yet. When we begin to imagine the possibilities of technology in the classroom it allows for teachers to be more innovative to allow authentic learning to take place.

Throughout this course a variety of emerging technologies has been made known to me. Up to this point I did not know much about MUVEs or their uses within the classroom but am starting to see how they may potentially have benefits with the right students. My lesson that I created deals primarily with learning module systems. I have become more comfortable using learning modules which offer teachers and students a whole new learning experience right from their computers. I am encouraged to try sites like R Campus and MOODLE which may offer more flexibility for my students both in and out of the classroom. Parents can become more involved as students begin accessing homework and discussion questions directly from the learning module. This allows parents to be a part of education like never before to make the home and school connection stronger than ever. The benefits of using learning modules are that it opens up communication and collaboration between students within the same classroom as well as collaborating with students in different regions of the country.

One of the most important things that I can do now is to continue to learn about emerging technologies. It has been eye opening to learn about some of the types of technology that may soon become accessible in education. Up to this point I have been devoting my time and effort towards technologies that have already hit the mainstream without giving much thought to what may be coming down the road. The possibilities of technology in education are limitless and by keeping abreast of these new technologies teachers can begin thinking and planning for our diverse 21st century learners.

Another important step to take in continuing on the technology journey is to discuss and collaborate with colleagues both in my district and around the country. By joining educational forums that focus on technology, teachers can share their experiences, frustrations, and lessons that have been created. When teachers can collaborate and learn from each other it shows our students how important communication can be. Discussions with administration need to also occur to truly embrace 21st century skills and technology. When administration can see how emerging technology can affect the students in a positive way it can give teachers the support they need to truly create change in their classrooms and in the school.

On-Line Learning in K-12 Schools

On-line learning is quickly becoming more and more prevalent in schools across the country. With the increase in technology usage schools can now utilize more tools than ever to assist in classroom learning and techniquies. R Campus in an on-line tool which allows teachers to set up learning modules for their students and parents. Please copy and paste the following URL to learn more about R Cmapus and the benefits of on-line learning.

http://www.screentoaster.com/watch/stUEhXSkBKRFtYRVxaU1pfVF9U

Final Reflection

Social networking is very quickly becoming more and more popular in the educational setting. Teachers can use social networking to collaborate with other teachers, parents, and to allow students to communicate with one another. At an elementary level there are some drawbacks to using social networking, however. One of the issues of using social networking sites is the idea of cyber bullying. True, teachers are monitoring what their students are posting, but it will be a hard sell to parents and administrators knowing that the issue of bullying could potentially become more prominent. Social networking sites also require that members have an email address which if most students do not already have one could become problematic as well.

One of the things that I enjoyed about the social networking site was the ability to post resources that could be viewed and shared by everyone involved in the group. I was able to find and utilize a few new tools and sites based on other teachers' recommendations. When teachers are able to collaborate on sites and tools that they have already used it helps teachers sift through sites and tools much more quickly. This kind of collaboration is positive for everyone involved as they can share their successes as well as reach out for further support and help if necessary.

Technology has greatly increased my knowledge for implementation of Universal Design for Learning. Utilizing the tools generated by my social networking group opens up many more strategies that I can use within my classroom. Varying assessment options becomes much less laborious of a task with the aid of technology.

One thing that I would like to start doing as a result of this class is to using technology in conjunction with UDL and differentiation. Differentiation is not a new concept to me, but up to this point I have used technology separately from it. I would like to use the tools and sites that I have gained from this class to fit the two together to make my classroom more engaging and motivating for all of my students.

Final Reflection

Throughout the course we have had the opportunity of learning about new types of technoloy and how this new technology can increase our teaching and assessment while creating problem based inquiry projects. While creating a GAME plan we had the opportunity of creating goals to use the new technology and educational strategies posed throught the course. The GAME plan is a great way to set goals and then take then necessary steps to accomplish them. Goal setting is important both as a teacher and as a student and so these types of plans are beneficial within the classroom.

One new type of technology that I have learned through the process of working through my GAME plan was digital storytelling. I have used Voice Thread before but became intrigued by the idea of digital storytelling and its many uses within the classroom. My GAME plan included learning about differnt types of technology and using it with my students so creating digital stories was one way that I could incorporate my GAME plan into my clasroom. I have decided to try and use a digital storytelling project with my students this spring during our life science unit on animals. By showing students the types of things that can be accomplished using technology, it is my hope that the students will become more excited and engaged which will further enhance their knowledge of the content.

As stated in previous posts one thing that I have learned about creating GAME plans is to not try and over do it all at once. When starting out, I wanted to try a new type of technology in my classroom every week. This quickly became stressful both for myself and my students. My students were not able to learn a new type of technology this quickly and I was not able to effectivley learn all the technology that quickly. I chose to readjust my GAME plan with the idea that quality should trump quantitiy. I want to really learn a new technology well and then make sure my students learn it well before moving on to something else. This causes much less stress to both myself and my students. It is important to set goals and when students see their teachers creating goals and sticking to them it provides a great model for the students.

Week Seven GAME Plan

Throughout the process of developing a GAME plan I have found that by setting small goals which are easily attainable and then working towards larger goals I find myself more motivated and am greeted with greater success. My students are the same way- when they are able to see the small steps leading up to a larger goal they are more motivated to keep with the goal than to give it up if they don't meet it immediately.

When asking my students to develop a GAME plan I think a better idea for my elementary students is to develop a class goal rather than individual ones. The class can then work together to develop the goal and the action steps needed to fulfill it. As the year progresses the students can begin to develop their own goals, but until they are taught this they need guidance and practice. The students can then help each other throughout the GAME plan process so that the students are working as a team toward the goal rather than as individuals.

One area in which I have concerns about creating a GAME plan to meet the NETS-S standards is the lack of time and technology we have in our school. We can develop a goal and even steps to achieve it, but having faulty technology and only a thirty minute per week time slot in the computer lab makes it difficult to achieve all that the NETS-S have outlined. The NETS-S standards are a great idea, but until time and technological equality find their way into the classroom it may be difficult to implement.

Week Six- GAME Plan

While developing and implementing my GAME plan I have once again realized the importance of creating a clear and concise goal and then developing steps to achieve it. It may sound obvious, but after being out of the classroom as a student for a while such structured practices fall by the wayside. Sticking with a plan is important to meet with success. By retraining myself to take a step by step approach and plan out each section of my plan I have been able to see results in a way that I haven't before. I can measure success at each step rather than becoming frustrated by having to wait to see the end result.

During the process of working through any type of plan it is important to evaluate frequently what is working and what is not throughout the process. I am continuing to work on gaining access to different types of technology that up to this point have been banned by my district. This is one area that may be a continual discussion as time goes on. I do not think that there will be easy closure on this one, but an on-going dialogue outlining the importance of such technology usage.

One new goal that I would like to work on is collaborating with parents and students via technology. This was one of my origional GAME plan goals and I have been so focused on designing and developing technology rich projects with my students that my second goal, collaboration using technology, has settled onto the back burner. Using technology to communicate with both parents and students is very important. Currently I communicate via email with parents when neded, but would like to set up a website or blog that parents can access to find information about upcoming events, homework, topics being learned in class, etc. This type of communication with parents is important and is a goal that I would like to achieve over th enext few months.

I think that I am ready to set new learning goals, as outlied above. Now that I have followed and created a GAME plan I think that in the future I will try to narrow down my goals so that they are more readily attainable. When too many goals are set at one time frustration sets in and the plan becomes unsuccessful.

Week Five

In reflecting upon my GAME plan I am so far finding it to be effective. After making a few minor adjustments my plan seems to be solid and helping me to become more productive as a teacher as well as enabling my students to become more technologically literate. So far I have been able to connect with other staff members to discuss technology needs and how to best meet them. By having other staff members' support it makes the integrating of technology much more attainable. By sharing technology projects with other teachers it helps to not only learn new way to use technology, but also is an important collaboration strategy to share the work.

So far I have been learning about new ways to integrate technology into my everyday lessons and have been able to learn about new resources that I have not been previously aware of. I have been more curious about blogs and how I can use them in the classroom. I have also been interested digital storytelling and how I could use it in my classroom. I have been looking into websites that allow digital storytelling and am trying to develop lessons that would incorporate it into my content areas.

One of the biggest pitfalls that I have encountered is that most of the websites and types of technology that we have been learning about is banned in my building and school district. Blogs, wikis, and many websites for publishing (podcasts, etc.) are not accessible on our school computers. The main question that I have now is how can I create projects involving technology without using traditional sites that I am familiar with? Administration is not in favor of social networking sites like blogs and wikis because of the privacy issues involved for students. It is one of the biggest drawbacks that I have encountered so far.

I will have to adjust my plan by finding alternate ways of using technology in the classroom that does not include banned sites and programs. I have found that allowing the students to create digital stories using the SMART Board software is one way to get around the ban on many websites. Students will still be able to create a project, but complete it in the confines of a program rather than on the Internet. The students will still be able to share their projects via the SMART Board and instead of parents accessing a website I can email them the file with their child's work so that they can view it at home.