Post your thoughts and ideas about how you will use the GAME plan process with your students to help them develop proficiency in the technology standards and indicators outlined in the NETS-S. Reach out to your colleagues in this learning community for assistance if needed.
I think the GAME plan process could be very useful in my language arts classroom. It's always a good idea to make sure students are aware of the standards connected to any lesson so they know their goal for each day. Students often think they know a lot about technology and what it can do for them; however, we know, as teachers, that this is not always the case. Because of this, I would definitely show students the NETS-S standards, so they know what their goals are for using any type of technology in the classroom. I would like for my students to choose a standard where they would like to focus for the year. They could use the GAME plan process much like we did in the class, but of course, over a longer period of time. Students would reflect on what they have learned, how they have learned it, and how they could approach their goals in the future based on their goals for that particular time period.
I think this would be very beneficial for any student. It is not only a lesson for class, but a life lesson that can help them reach goals and/or revise any approach to goals.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Revising the plan..
I’ve definitely learned that you have to take things one step at a time. The goals that I’m reaching for are not necessarily goals that can be achieved in a one-month span, but rather they are goals that must be intricately planned and take time to establish. For my blog, I am sticking by my opinion that it is a routine that must be established at the beginning of the year. If parents know they can expect something from the beginning of the year, they will be more likely to participate. I am not ready to set new learning goals; however, I would like to make an attempt to blog with parents and students at the start of next year.
Next time, I will definitely try to participate in a collaborative discussion with colleagues. It’s very important to brainstorm and bounce ideas off one another. We currently do not have a meeting where teachers can have the opportunity to do this. I know that I have a lot to share with my colleagues and I’m sure they also have a lot to share with me.
Next time, I will definitely try to participate in a collaborative discussion with colleagues. It’s very important to brainstorm and bounce ideas off one another. We currently do not have a meeting where teachers can have the opportunity to do this. I know that I have a lot to share with my colleagues and I’m sure they also have a lot to share with me.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Evaluation
•How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?
•What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
•What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?
•How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?
1. To help me reach my goal of modeling digital citizenship, I have been citing any and all resources I use in my lessons and unit plans. I even cite images and point out to students that I have done so. When I give out assignments, I'm sure to make it very clear that my students should also be following suit by doing the same --citing all sources AND images. I have learned that I need to really force students to take the extra time to give credit where it's due and explain that it may take time and effort but it's very important. For now, everything seems to be going as planned and modeling digital citizenship is easier than I had initially thought it would be.
2. For blogging, I have learned that a lot of parents are really interested in the blog at first, but not much communication is going on the blog. However, even if they aren't contributing to the blog comments, they are getting a good amount of important information just from reading the blog. So, I have to find a good way to get parents excited and motivated to use the blogging comments. For now, I will continue to post on the blog, so parents can read about the progress in our classroom, and in the future, I will speak about the blog at back to school night to get them excited about using it.
•What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
•What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?
•How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?
1. To help me reach my goal of modeling digital citizenship, I have been citing any and all resources I use in my lessons and unit plans. I even cite images and point out to students that I have done so. When I give out assignments, I'm sure to make it very clear that my students should also be following suit by doing the same --citing all sources AND images. I have learned that I need to really force students to take the extra time to give credit where it's due and explain that it may take time and effort but it's very important. For now, everything seems to be going as planned and modeling digital citizenship is easier than I had initially thought it would be.
2. For blogging, I have learned that a lot of parents are really interested in the blog at first, but not much communication is going on the blog. However, even if they aren't contributing to the blog comments, they are getting a good amount of important information just from reading the blog. So, I have to find a good way to get parents excited and motivated to use the blogging comments. For now, I will continue to post on the blog, so parents can read about the progress in our classroom, and in the future, I will speak about the blog at back to school night to get them excited about using it.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Checking my progress..
1. For my goals for promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility, I have learned that for the most part I have not been an appropriate model for my students. I do encourage them to cite all of their sources when completing any project, but I do not do the same for when I use someone else’s work, such as for lesson or unit plans. As far as this goal goes, everything is going as planned. I am spending more time and effort citing sources and explaining to students the importance of giving credit.
2. Model Digital Age work and Learning - So far, I have learned that parents are extremely interested in seeing a blog about the day’s events or plans for my classes. However, not many of them like to leave comments. My goal is to encourage parents to share their comments on the blog, so other parents who may have the same questions can also get answers at the same time. One way I would definitely modify my plan is to notify parents at the beginning of the year or marking period when students switch into their classes. It’s difficult for parents to keep up with paperwork and actually pay attention to all the information going home at random times during the year. I feel that if it were to go home at the start of a class, then parents would be more likely to pay attention to a small detail such as this.
2. Model Digital Age work and Learning - So far, I have learned that parents are extremely interested in seeing a blog about the day’s events or plans for my classes. However, not many of them like to leave comments. My goal is to encourage parents to share their comments on the blog, so other parents who may have the same questions can also get answers at the same time. One way I would definitely modify my plan is to notify parents at the beginning of the year or marking period when students switch into their classes. It’s difficult for parents to keep up with paperwork and actually pay attention to all the information going home at random times during the year. I feel that if it were to go home at the start of a class, then parents would be more likely to pay attention to a small detail such as this.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
GAME Plans...
1. Promoting and M0deling Digital Citizenship and Responsibility -
This takes me back to my days in high school. Even though I love reading and writing and English, I absolutely hated citing my sources at the end of the essay. Even now, as an adult, I find it difficult to take the time to cite my sources. I understand the importance of citing the sources, and I also force my students to remember that they can't steal other people's ideas. In order to carry out my plans, I need to continuously keep up-to-date with information regarding plagiarism and documenting sources. Since I am teaching technology this year, it's very important for me to keep letting my students know that documenting sources does not just stay in the English classroom, so I will make sure to include lessons about this topic frequently. So far, when I give my assignments, I always set aside a section in my rubrics for grading the documented sources. It's important that students know that they are being held accountable for documenting the information that they find, so they understand the importance of digital citizenship.
2. Model Digital Age Work and Learning -
In order to get in touch with my students' parents via blog, I will have to build my foundation. I will have to organize my materials for the parents. Taking a suggestion from another classmate, I would prepare a busniess card that would provide all the necessary information for my blog. Parents would know the blog address and receive instructions on how to set up their own blog or how to repsond to the blog.
Before I expect parents to contribute, I have to see what their level of comfortability with technology is. As always, I will also have to be considerate of those parents who do not have computer/internet availability. For the most part, I am extremely well-versed in blogging, so learning how to blog/use a blog won't be necessary.
If blogging does not seem like the best option for communicating with parents digitally, I would also have to consider alternatives to this, hopefully finding a source of communication that will work best for the majority of my parents.
This takes me back to my days in high school. Even though I love reading and writing and English, I absolutely hated citing my sources at the end of the essay. Even now, as an adult, I find it difficult to take the time to cite my sources. I understand the importance of citing the sources, and I also force my students to remember that they can't steal other people's ideas. In order to carry out my plans, I need to continuously keep up-to-date with information regarding plagiarism and documenting sources. Since I am teaching technology this year, it's very important for me to keep letting my students know that documenting sources does not just stay in the English classroom, so I will make sure to include lessons about this topic frequently. So far, when I give my assignments, I always set aside a section in my rubrics for grading the documented sources. It's important that students know that they are being held accountable for documenting the information that they find, so they understand the importance of digital citizenship.
2. Model Digital Age Work and Learning -
In order to get in touch with my students' parents via blog, I will have to build my foundation. I will have to organize my materials for the parents. Taking a suggestion from another classmate, I would prepare a busniess card that would provide all the necessary information for my blog. Parents would know the blog address and receive instructions on how to set up their own blog or how to repsond to the blog.
Before I expect parents to contribute, I have to see what their level of comfortability with technology is. As always, I will also have to be considerate of those parents who do not have computer/internet availability. For the most part, I am extremely well-versed in blogging, so learning how to blog/use a blog won't be necessary.
If blogging does not seem like the best option for communicating with parents digitally, I would also have to consider alternatives to this, hopefully finding a source of communication that will work best for the majority of my parents.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Get my head into the GAME ...
Throughout this course, I will be exploring technology and how it can fit into my classroom, providing a seamless integration between the content and technology. In the NETS-T standards for technology, I believe I can improve my approach on many of the standards, but there are two in particular that I need to become more comfortable with addressing with my students in my classroom.
1 - Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility - As an English teacher, I know the importance of citing information correctly and giving credit to author's when it is due, and in the middle school classroom, it is particularly important to stress the importance of being a responsible consumer of digital information. It is very easy to simply highlight and drag to copy information from the internet, and just teaching the consequences of plagiarism isn't enough. For this reason, I would like to model responsible use of digital materials for my students. When I use resources other than my own, I will continually give credit where it is due, and when students are researching or collecting and information, they will always be encouraged to cite sources (even pictures!). Lessons on the importance of being a responsible citizen will saturate units focusing on the collection of information. To monitor my progress, I will monitor and evaluate my progress through discussions with students on a regular basis. If they are aware and capable of voicing their throughts and opinions on these topics, then they are learning to be responsible and ethical digital citizens.
2 - Model Digital Age Work and Learning - For this standard, I would like to focus specifically on commicating relevant information and ideas effectively to students and parents and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats. Currently, the only way I communicate digitally with parents, students, and peers is through email. I would like to try to communicate with each of these groups in other, more sophisticated and interesting ways. My action will be to set up a blog or other online collaborative tool to use with parents. This will allow us to communicate with each other in a different setting while also including others in the conversation. To monitor this goal, I will make sure I am keeping up with the blog, updating it and participating in discussions with parents. To evaluate this goal, I will keep in touch with parents to see how effective the blog was and what I can do to make it more effective and better.
1 - Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility - As an English teacher, I know the importance of citing information correctly and giving credit to author's when it is due, and in the middle school classroom, it is particularly important to stress the importance of being a responsible consumer of digital information. It is very easy to simply highlight and drag to copy information from the internet, and just teaching the consequences of plagiarism isn't enough. For this reason, I would like to model responsible use of digital materials for my students. When I use resources other than my own, I will continually give credit where it is due, and when students are researching or collecting and information, they will always be encouraged to cite sources (even pictures!). Lessons on the importance of being a responsible citizen will saturate units focusing on the collection of information. To monitor my progress, I will monitor and evaluate my progress through discussions with students on a regular basis. If they are aware and capable of voicing their throughts and opinions on these topics, then they are learning to be responsible and ethical digital citizens.
2 - Model Digital Age Work and Learning - For this standard, I would like to focus specifically on commicating relevant information and ideas effectively to students and parents and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats. Currently, the only way I communicate digitally with parents, students, and peers is through email. I would like to try to communicate with each of these groups in other, more sophisticated and interesting ways. My action will be to set up a blog or other online collaborative tool to use with parents. This will allow us to communicate with each other in a different setting while also including others in the conversation. To monitor this goal, I will make sure I am keeping up with the blog, updating it and participating in discussions with parents. To evaluate this goal, I will keep in touch with parents to see how effective the blog was and what I can do to make it more effective and better.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Many options but how many answers?
Scenario 1: Ten students are available for in-depth interviews. Participants will be selected based on their involvement with the peer mediation program. They will be observed over three weeks. Analysis will attempt to determine issues concerning peer mediation.
I believe the most appropriate method for researching this scenario is the qualitative research method. McMillan and Schumacher (2008) describe the qualitative method as describing and analyzing “people’s individual and collective social actions, beliefs, thoughts, and perceptions. The researcher interprets phenomena in terms of the meanings that people assign to them (p.135). In this particular case, there are no numbers involved but only direct interviews and observations of the participants in the study. The qualitative method allows the researcher to conduct research and interpret meaning based only on these observations and interviews.
Scenario 2: Two classrooms of students are selected. There are 30 students in each class; each group will have similar demographics—age, sex, race, socio-economic background, etc. Classes will be randomly divided into two groups of 15 students. Of these two groups, one randomly selected group will get training on peer mediation and the other group will not. Thus in each classroom there will be one group that is trained in peer mediation and one that is not. Analysis will occur on which groups have the fewest office referrals.
The best research method would be the quantitative research method because the research is based on the interpretation of numbers of randomly selected groups, a major characteristic of quantitative research. The two groups are being compared, which is one of the main constituents of the experimental design of quantitative research where the researcher “makes comparisons between subjects who have had and others who have not had the interventions” ((McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 23). The main analysis will occur based on the outcome of the numbers of office referrals.
Scenario 3: A school counselor is interested in knowing how student attitudes affect the value of peer mediation to decrease the number of office referrals that are being filed for inappropriate interactions.
For this scenario, I believe the action research method would fit this type of research. In action research, practitioners in the school are the main conductors of research, and in this case, the counselor in the main conductor of the research. Because the situation is also looking at numbers and specific causes and information, action research would promote the use of both the qualitative and quantitative methods within the case study. (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 175-176) The counselor is receiving feedback on student attitudes (qualitative) and also managing the number of office referrals (quantitative).
Scenario 4: Peer mediation has become widely used in many schools. The feelings of those involved in the process are little known—either from those doing the mediation or those receiving it. The ZASK-R Acceptance Preference Survey will be given as pre- and post-tests to 40 students participating in mediation. Follow-up interviews will be conducted on a bi-monthly basis.
For this particular scenario, the best choice for researching is the mixed method approach. The mixed method approach can begin with a number-based research followed by a qualitative approach to broaden the understanding of the numbers, specifically the triangulation approach (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 164). The students will participate in the survey (quantitative results) and the follow up interviews will provide more accurate information found in qualitative research.
I believe the most appropriate method for researching this scenario is the qualitative research method. McMillan and Schumacher (2008) describe the qualitative method as describing and analyzing “people’s individual and collective social actions, beliefs, thoughts, and perceptions. The researcher interprets phenomena in terms of the meanings that people assign to them (p.135). In this particular case, there are no numbers involved but only direct interviews and observations of the participants in the study. The qualitative method allows the researcher to conduct research and interpret meaning based only on these observations and interviews.
Scenario 2: Two classrooms of students are selected. There are 30 students in each class; each group will have similar demographics—age, sex, race, socio-economic background, etc. Classes will be randomly divided into two groups of 15 students. Of these two groups, one randomly selected group will get training on peer mediation and the other group will not. Thus in each classroom there will be one group that is trained in peer mediation and one that is not. Analysis will occur on which groups have the fewest office referrals.
The best research method would be the quantitative research method because the research is based on the interpretation of numbers of randomly selected groups, a major characteristic of quantitative research. The two groups are being compared, which is one of the main constituents of the experimental design of quantitative research where the researcher “makes comparisons between subjects who have had and others who have not had the interventions” ((McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 23). The main analysis will occur based on the outcome of the numbers of office referrals.
Scenario 3: A school counselor is interested in knowing how student attitudes affect the value of peer mediation to decrease the number of office referrals that are being filed for inappropriate interactions.
For this scenario, I believe the action research method would fit this type of research. In action research, practitioners in the school are the main conductors of research, and in this case, the counselor in the main conductor of the research. Because the situation is also looking at numbers and specific causes and information, action research would promote the use of both the qualitative and quantitative methods within the case study. (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 175-176) The counselor is receiving feedback on student attitudes (qualitative) and also managing the number of office referrals (quantitative).
Scenario 4: Peer mediation has become widely used in many schools. The feelings of those involved in the process are little known—either from those doing the mediation or those receiving it. The ZASK-R Acceptance Preference Survey will be given as pre- and post-tests to 40 students participating in mediation. Follow-up interviews will be conducted on a bi-monthly basis.
For this particular scenario, the best choice for researching is the mixed method approach. The mixed method approach can begin with a number-based research followed by a qualitative approach to broaden the understanding of the numbers, specifically the triangulation approach (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 164). The students will participate in the survey (quantitative results) and the follow up interviews will provide more accurate information found in qualitative research.
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