Carrying out my Game Plan

In hopes of accomplishing the GAME plan I have set for myself I have to find the necessary resources and information to carry out the game plan. Technology is something that is always changing and through my experiences with Walden I hope to continue to build on things I can offer to my students. I have been working steadily on a pacing guide for my 4th grade classroom. It started with looking at the benchmarks and objectives for my state standards and diving them into the 4 marking periods we have throughout the school year. Each benchmark has a specific goal but I am trying to get each lesson to go deeper so my students experience a higher order of thinking when it comes to technology and are ready to meet the demands of the 21st century.

I want students to understand the specific areas that the Internet can be an asset yet also look and find reasons that the Internet can be misleading. I hope to be able to find resources to share with colleagues and to present to my students so they have an interactive approach to understanding the benefits of the Internet.

STANDARD 2: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
I began with something that I have found to be very interesting and greatly interactive for my learning process. I researched technology web quests and virtual field trips that the Internet has to offer and this is what I came up with ( I am hoping to find many more)…

http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic4.htm

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/why_webquest.htm

I found many videos on the Internet on how to use a computer. A simple start for students in the district in which I teach because unfortunately a lot of them do not have computers at there home. These quick videos can be found at http://www.youtube.com/ Honestly, I like to consider myself somewhat savvy when it comes to using the Internet but I also learned some things from watching these quick video clips. I want to the site and typed in how to use a computer and found many interesting new ideas and information.

To begin to carry out my GAME plan I have created a classroom wiki site for students to share information, http://mrsivesters4thgrade.wikispaces.com/ Students will post information to this wiki and share information with classmates about what they have liked or disliked about technology. Students will be responsible to find new material that has good meaning.

ASSESSMENT TOOLS: Students will be assesed on their contribution to the class wiki.

Standard 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

A great idea I found was to have students create an http://www.google.com/ig . The entire classroom can create a media site to share information and be surrounded from the beginning of the day. I found this AWESOME IDEA at https://sites.google.com/site/thingstolearnwith/28-your-class-as-a-news-channel. Students create an igoogle site and upload videos, documents, and pictures to share with the class. I would have students make sure they are properly crediting sources that they get information from. This site will be shared in front of the class each morning.

I would also have students create a classroom website through http://www.weebly.com/ that would be a tool for parents to view to keep up to date with what our class is doing. Students would be assigned to specific duties to keep the class website up and running.

GAME PLAN

The Game Plan indicators that I feel I need to have a GAME plan for...

The ISTE
National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T)
and Performance Indicators for Teachers that I feel need strengthening are:

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to
maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S.

Teachers:
a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity

G = GOALS

I want to be able to provide students with good authentic material that is meaningful in their learning experience and help assist in all content areas. I want to develop a plan so students have a clear understanding of expectations and are able to master new skills.

A = ACTION

Develop a detailed pacing guide that inserts technology into all content areas.
Set student expectations high so they are gaining maximum exposure for all aspects of technology and provide them with numerous hands on oppurtunities that get them the knowledge and experiences to master new material.

M = MONITOR

Students will be monitored on the classroom blog and allow them to share with the entire class through the website.

E = EVALUATE AND EXTEND

Students will use prior technology applications and new technology applications to apply to all content areas for further growth.

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical
behavior in their professional practices.

Teachers:
a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright,
intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources

G: GOALS...

I want to develop a curriculm for my students so they understand the proper way to use the internet and all it has to offer. I want them to understand both the negative and positive effects technology has on society and the consequences of doing something that is not proper.

A: ACTION

Develop a program for 4th graders to view video clips and information that is real to them on the proper use of technology. I want to show www.brainpop.com technology video clips to help them see the proper use of technology.

M: MONITOR

Students will go through a guided virtual fieldtrip to see what aspects technology has to offer and what kind of benefits it has.

E: EVALUATE

Students will use a common assesment to answer questions that deal with proper technology use.

Final Reflection ED 6712

Describe the most striking revelation you had about the teaching of new literacy skills to your students as a result of this course.

After completing this course I found it very overwhelming, yet refreshing at the same time due to the amount of information that we obtained. I found new ways to introduce students to technology although I was taken back at how much I did not comprehend that using technology involved. As a teacher I am constantly wanted to enhance my knowledge base to bring new, innovative ideas into my classroom but from what I have learned the last eight weeks I found that I was only briefly introducing students to what technology had to offer and not giving them a deeper look which is a skill they will need well beyond my 4th grade classroom. I always understood that everyone learns in different ways, I just never looked at technology as an efficient literacy tool. Maya B. Eagleton and Elizabeth Dobler (2007) state that “since we believe that there is no single method of teaching that will reach all learners at all times in all places, it is imperative that we help children learn how to learn so they can adapt and extend their knowledge and strategies when they encounter new tasks in new contexts” (pg. 8). The most striking revelation I took from this course was that I need to teach students literacy beyond core curriculum and apply literacy skills to all aspects of school learning.

Describe how the knowledge and experience gained in this course will influence your teaching practices going forward.

The knowledge and experiences that I gained in this course will influence my teaching practices because I want to provide a more literacy approach to technology and incorporate technology in every core subject I teach (spelling, reading, writing, social studies, etc.) so students are literate in all aspects as 21st century learners. There was a great amount of detail involved in literacy education that it is frustrating knowing where to begin. I gained new experiences by looking at websites under a new light. I found that I just don’t look at a website anymore; I tour the website to find valid key points, detailed information, and links for proper search techniques. I found new ways to model to my students how to use the internet much more effectively. I hope to give my classes numerous opportunities to explore the web properly for good, detailed information. I want to model for them and give them many opportunities. I want my students to become good investigators of the web. I want to also begin to asses students on different scales with formative and summative assessments through observation, questioning, and good self evaluation skills.

Identify at least one professional development goal you would like to pursue that builds upon your learning in this course and develops your own information literacy or technology skills. Describe the steps you will take to accomplish this goal.

One goal I set for myself before I began this class was to develop a technology plan for my class next year. I wanted to be able to develop and teach new skills incorporating everything students will need to know to be efficient 21st century learners. After I completed this course, I took the first semester plan (that was already created) and re-wrote the entire curriculum. I want to incorporate new, improved literacy skills that will not only be self driven but also something that my students are motivated to do. I am now serving on a new technology committee in my school system and I want to bring in all of the technology applications that have been introduced so students have a broad range of new acquired technology backgrounds when they leave our school system to better equip them for college. I also want to be able to introduce new technology to fellow staff members.


References
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press

Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Retrieved from http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program Four. Teaching Online Literacy Skills [Motion Picture]. Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the classroom. Baltimore: Author