Monitoring GAME Plan Progress

The idea of have a GAME plan, described by Cennamo, Ertmer and Ross (2009) involves the steps of setting goals and taking the appropriate action to implement and achieve those goals, including monitoring and adjusting or evaluating their success as needed. While all of these elements happen on a continual basis, resources are needed to start the process of any plan’s implementation. For my personal GAME plan, I have selected two areas of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) on which to focus, the first of which is to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity (NETS-T, 2009) particularly through the use of collaborative tools for reflection. By using the VoiceThread and screencasting applications available to me to accomplish this goal, I am in need of technology resources such as computers with internet access, microphones and brief training on the software used. Most of this training can be found using online tutorials, so I will show those to my classes and help where needed. Ross (2009a) tells us that we should not be afraid to allow learners to have options and choice in the classroom, as the choices are built to reinforce primary instruction, not replace it. By using these technologies in addition to classroom discussion, I hope to bring those choices to my students. Choice is a direct way to affect accountability and increase empowerment and ownership in the classroom, as well as outside it (Glasser, 1998).
So far, there has not been any issue in accessing information or resources. All the sites I have used were open to my research and my students’ research. The only area with which I have had difficulty has been in downloading necessary software, such as Jing, for use in the classroom. While I have administrative rights over my computer, my students do not. This was resolved by asking our school’s network administrator to install the necessary components on the computers we use.

The other area I wish to improve my skills in is to "engage in professional growth and leadership" (NETS-T, 2009). By using a blog type of interaction with my colleagues, I can increase my own awareness and understanding of technology available to me and to my students and offer more variety in the project-based learning assignments and assessments to them (Ross, 2009b). Information and materials needed are also computers, internet access and permission to use the software in my school with my students. Most of these are already available to me, so it would not be too difficult to start implementing these strategies soon. The steps I have already taken to allowing my goals to be met in these areas are to create and use a blog regularly, show students screencasting software and have them start interacting with it, and I plan to start using VoiceThread on a regular basis next semester, although we have had some limited interaction with it already. By implementing the GAME plan designed, I hope to make more learning opportunities available to my students and to myself.
So far, I have learned that to truly use new technologies in the classroom, we must focus on one item at a time to allow ourselves and our students to master each area before moving on (Ross, 2009c). This way, we can more effectively use that which is helpful to improving student achievement. In this discovery and realization, I will modify my GAME plan to focus only on the use of one technology at a time so it will be used and not rushed through, as so many other educational initiatives are in today’s world.

-Stephen St. Georges

References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Glasser, W. (1998). Choice theory: A new psychology of personal freedom. New York: Harper and Row.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Program five. Meeting students' needs with technology, part 1 [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Ross, J.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). Program six. Meeting students' needs with technology, part 2 [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Ross, J.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009c). Program sseven. Assessing student learning with technology [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Ross, J.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf on November 24, 2009.

Carrying Out the GAME Plan

The GAME plan as described by Cennamo, Ertmer and Ross (2009) involves the steps of setting goals and taking the appropriate action to implement and achieve those goals, including monitoring and adjusting or evaluating their success as needed. While all of these elements happen on a continual basis, resources are needed to start the process of any plan’s implementation. For my personal GAME plan, I have selected two areas of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) on which to focus, the first of which is to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity (NETS-T, 2009) particularly through the use of collaborative tools for reflection. By using the VoiceThread and screencasting applications available to me to accomplish this goal, I am in need of technology resources such as computers with internet access, microphones and brief training on the software used. Most of this training can be found using online tutorials, so I will show those to my classes and help where needed. Ross (2009a) tells us that we should not be afraid to allow learners to have options and choice in the classroom, as the choices are built to reinforce primary instruction, not replace it. By using these technologies in addition to classroom discussion, I hope to bring those choices to my students. Choice is a direct way to affect accountability and increase empowerment and ownership in the classroom, as well as outside it (Glasser, 1998).

The other area I wish to improve my skills in is to "engage in professional growth and leadership" (NETS-T, 2009). By using a blog type of interaction with my colleagues, I can increase my own awareness and understanding of technology available to me and to my students and offer more variety in the project-based learning assignments and assessments to them (Ross, 2009b). Information and materials needed are also computers, internet access and permission to use the software in my school with my students. Most of these are already available to me, so it would not be too difficult to start implementing these strategies soon. The steps I have already taken to allowing my goals to be met in these areas are to create and use a blog regularly, show students screencasting software and have them start interacting with it, and I plan to start using VoiceThread on a regular basis next semester, although we have had some limited interaction with it already. By implementing the GAME plan designed, I hope to make more learning opportunities available to my students and to myself.

-Stephen St. Georges

References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Glasser, W. (1998). Choice theory: A new psychology of personal freedom. New York: Harper and Row.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Program five. Meeting students' needs with technology, part 1 [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Ross, J.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). Program six. Meeting students' needs with technology, part 2 [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Ross, J.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf on November 18, 2009.

Developing a Personal GAME Plan

When viewing the indicators for performance using the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T), I have chosen to focus on two for personal improvement as I complete my tenth year of teaching. The first of which is to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity (NETS-T, 2009) particularly through the use of collaborative tools for reflection. To accomplish this, I intend to use the VoiceThread application to comment on screencasts created by both myself and my students. In this way, we can also solicit conversation from others around the globe. At first, we will use the technology within the classroom so I can monitor student use and make suggestions as to how the programs work. Eventually, this type of activity will be carried on both inside and outside school time. The idea behind this use of technology is to provide more access to class discussion and perspective. In this way, "students [will be] challenged to think more deeply about the topic at hand" (Cennamo, Ross, Ertmer, 2009). To evaluate this progress, I will compare notes with other teachers in this program to see how their uses of this or similar technology are working. No matter I do, it's important to remember that there is always another person ready to network with the same area as well (Davis, 2009b).

A second area I would like to improve my skills in is to "engage in professional growth and leadership" (NETS-T, 2009). I would like to start this process by using networking software such as SchoolRack or Ning, Blogger, etc. to communicate with other teachers and generate ideas for useful technology integration in the classroom. One way I have already started this process is through the completion of this program. Ertmer (2009a) mentions that students need "confidence" when working with technology in the classroom, but teachers need it as well. While many new technologies have been presented to me to use throughout these courses, I will choose to use only a few of these in my teaching so I can present a high level of quality for my students and others to view. In this way, I can choose how to present material and still receive training in new teaching tools and grow in my leadership potential. This, hopefully, will lead to more students placing me and my instruction into their "quality world" (Glasser, 1998) which will, in turn, spur them to improve their knowledge base and create more meaningful projects for themselves and others.

References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Glasser, W. (1998). Choice theory: A new psychology of personal freedom. New York: Harper and Row.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Program three. Enriching content area learning experiences with technology, part 1 [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Ertmer, P.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). Program four. Enriching content area learning experiences with technology, part 2 [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Davis, V.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf on November 10, 2009.

Reflection: "It's not about the Technology"

Warlick (2009) describes our function as teachers as one of facilitating sharing of information and responding to other areas of learning. Some ways we can create interaction between students and teachers in the world using technology are through blogging, podcasting and social networking tools. In this course, one such technology which was both new and extremely exciting to me was the use of screencasting. Even though the idea is not new, it was certainly new to me, and I have begun using this technology on a near daily basis within my classes. In addition to the interactive capability it provides both for me and my students, this can lead to portfolio products and better sharing opportunities for students and teachers alike.

Monitoring and adjusting instruction and products are very important ways to increase ability and to continue exploring ways to create meaningful and tangible evidence of learning. Eagleton and Dobler (2007) illustrate this point by asking us as teachers to reflect on the QUEST method of learning, and to take stock of technology literacy skills in our classrooms and lives. One way I would like to continue development of literacy skills in this century of learning is to allow students to create and share screencasts through the VoiceThread application. In this way, students could create meaningful research projects which are both informative and fun. This would also help increase the breadth and depth of students’ knowledge in the areas studied. The knowledge I have gained from using these applications in my classroom have increased my awareness of students’ drive to be involved in the creation of tutorials, class notes and discussion as well as their wish to become more interactive learners.

In the end, this course has brought new technology to me and to my students in a meaningful way and I am excited to continue the development started here as I progress in my own career.

-Stephen St. Georges

References

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program thirteen. “It’s not about the technology” [Motion picture]. Supporting information literacy and online inquiry in the classroom. Baltimore: Warlick, D.

Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction and Technology: Reflection

Throughout this course, I have discovered new ways to motivate my students with technology and learned more about how my own teaching will help or hinder this integration. Orey (2008a) would most likely describe my teaching as being from a "social constructivist" method. I suppose that is the nature of being part of a performance ensemble - to create something collectively. Since I also subscribe heavily to Glasser's (1998) idea that we all choose our actions, I must choose to use technology in my classroom in a way that is both enriching and exciting.

It would be easy to say that while my personal theory about teaching is the same, the way I will choose to implement my strategies will change. The harder part is actually changing my teaching when I have done it this way for so long. As an immediate start to this change, I will use technology for more assessment related material. Specifically, I would like to use the VoiceThread application for projects in my non-performance classes and podcasting software for my performance ensembles. Orey (2008b) would describe the VoiceThread project as a connectivist type of activity. The way these will be used is to create a virtual museum, and using the VoiceThread tool, have students comment upon works of art set to music. Although the project itself will be time-consuming due to research, the use of the software will not take long to learn. For performance ensembles, we do record playing tests already, so the podcast will serve to make the recording more akin to a mobile digital portfolio. Pitler et al (2007) believe in this use of technology to track assessment, and charts can be made and published to demonstrate change in performance. In this way, parents and students can measure growth more accurately.

In the long term, I would like to make more consistent use of my Smart Board. Right now, it is a useful tool for my teaching, but I would like to make it more useful for my students' learning as well. I plan to investigate how other teachers are using the board to the students' advantage through internet research, collegial support and student inquiry. Also, I would like to set up individual digital portfolios for my performance ensemble students. I will seek the advice of my colleagues as to how they have set up similar assessment models so that I am not overwhelmed at the prospect of this project's creation. In this way, I hope to improve and increase the level of "quality work" (Glasser, 1998) in my classroom.

-Stephen St. Georges

References:

Glasser, W. (1998). Choice theory: A new psychology of personal freedom. New York: Harper and Row.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008a). Social learning theories [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology . Baltimore : Orey.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Connectivism as a learning theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology . Baltimore : Siemens.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

VoiceThread about student technology use in the classroom

Just click on the title to this post to go to the voice thread about students' use of their cell phones and laptops in school. Our school will be discussing this issue soon, so your feedback is appreciated!

-Stephen

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

This week, we are asked to examine how social learning theories relate to certain cooperative learning strategies and social networking tools. Orey (2008a) discusses the "zone of proximal development" (Laureate Education, 2008) as what a student is capable of learning right now. How will these students learn this information in today's society? Mostly through collaboration with others (whether they learn right or wrong information, this is still the most likely method with which they will attain said information.)

Pitler et al. (2007) label many methods for collaborative learning in this week's resources, some of which I have used in the classroom, others I have not. One of the ideas I found intriguing was the idea of "keypals." This modern version of the penpal is instant, and could also use an application such as facebook to help students compile information and share ideas. This is an area I would like to explore as a teacher. In the past, I was actually afraid to use that technology, as there had been many stories about internet predators and misuse of social networking tools in schools.

However, instead of running away from the tools towards which students gravitate, we should be seeking to include them in our instruction. Siemens (2008b) describes connectivism as the integration of social networking technology into the learning environment. While still constructionist in theory, now social interaction can help boost idea generation. This can be achieved through use of wikis, podcasts, voicethreads and presentations. Hopefully, we can use the information gathered and compiled to increase achievement and knowledge.

-Stephen St. Georges

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008a). Social learning theories [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology . Baltimore : Orey.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Connectivism as a learning theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology . Baltimore : Siemens.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.