Class Nine Reflection

I have mixed feelings about the Differentiation Station social networking assignment. Even though I did get several good source from my classmates, I thought I found plenty of good ones on my own. Also, the thing I like best about this online program is that I can work at my own pace. Being a busy mother of three, I often do my work the day it is due. At times I felt pressured to get my work done early because my group wanted to share our work before submitting it. I did not like the pressure of feeling like I had to get the work done earlier than it was actually due.

I feel that I already do an awesome job of differentiating instruction using technology. I will not make any immediate changes at this time.

Reflection

Creating my GAME plan forced me to take a closer look at the NET-S. Many of the learning indicators are already being covered in my classes, so writing my GAME plan helped me to focus on those that are not currently being covered.

The GAME plan has also encouraged me to make some changes in my current instructional practice. I have invited visitors in to speak to my classes about careers that involve using technology. My students are 8^th graders, so it is time for them to begin thinking about their future and what career path they might want to consider as they begin high school next year.

I have also invited someone in to talk to mu students about internet safety. Our students each have their own laptops, which they are allowed to take home if they have insurance coverage. Even though we try to do our best to monitor their behavior when they are on the computer at school, we do not know how much supervision they have when they take their computer home. Therefore, it is important for them to know of the dangers that are out there.

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

I teach at a technology magnet school where each student has their own laptop. Technology is something we use on a daily basis. Creating the GAME Plan forced me to revisit the NETS-S and think about what I need to do to help my students develop proficiency in the technology standards and indicators.

As I continue to implement my GAME Plan at the beginning of the new year, I will continue to monitor and evaluate the progress made by me and my students. I look forward to increasing their knowledge in the area of technology related careers. I think students will be surprised at all the different ways technology can be used in a wide variety of careers. Students will also benefit from lessons on internet safety as well as application updates.

Revising My GAME Plan

Even though I do not plan to carry out my GAME plan until after the winter break, I have started to make contacts to arrange for visitors to come in and talk to my students. They will have a local police officer come in to talk about internet safety. They will also have local professionals come in to talk about various careers and what type of technology they use in their occupation. I am arranging for these visitors to visit our classroom in January.

I have learned that, technology will help to “level the playing field” for students with different abilities, needs, or preferences, (K. Cennamo, J. Ross, and P. Ertmer, 2009). Not only do students enjoy using technology, but it also helps those struggling students to have more of an advantage they would not otherwise have without technology. It can also provide extensions for those higher-level students who need and want something more challenging to do when they have completed the required assignment. The way I see it, technology has something for everyone!

One goal that I have not yet begun to work on is "Students will troubleshoot systems and applications." I have not yet approached our administration about the idea of forming a troubleshooting team consisting of students. Even though I think this is a great idea, I have a feeling they will not be very receptive to the idea.

One new goal I would like to set for myself and my students is number two on the NETS - Communication and Collaboration. Even though I have students communicate with classmates to discuss the novel, I would also like to have them "Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures." This is something I will try to incorporate into my next unit of study third quarter.

As I mentioned last week I am not doing much with my GAME plan at this time. I hope to get moving on it after the holidays. One thing that I am doing is having students hold their novel discussion online by using Gaggle. This is a site approved by our district for students to use. I have set up the chat rooms and they are only allowed to chat with the members in their discussion groups, so I know it is a safe environment. I am also printing out their discussions so I can make sure they are staying on track and discussing appropriately.

I do not feel the need to modify my action plan at this time. This plan is going to take some time to fully implement. At this time my students are in the middle of reading a lengthy novel and working on writing and revising their research paper on Illinois history. These activities will take us through December and into January. Hopefully, second semester I will find some time to invite our guest speakers in to talk about internet safety and careers that use technology. The only questions I have are about the implementation of the GAME plan. Are we expected to fully carry out this plan before this class is over? I hope not because my curriculum is jam packed right now. I want to carry out the plan, but feel that I can not move forward with it at this time. Is anyone else feeling this way?

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

Resources: I will need to make some phone calls to ask volunteers to come to my classroom to talk to students about careers that involve technology. I also need to contact someone from the police department to talk to the class on internet safety. I have seen them speak before and they do an excellent job. I will also be inviting district technology support staff into my classroom when we near the end of our novel unit to talk about the updates in iMovie and iPhoto. This will help them when they begin their technology project at the end of the novel.

Additional Information Needed: I do not know how to go about getting a team of students trained to do the troubleshooting. It sounds like a wonderful idea, but I’m not even sure that my principal or district administrators would go for this. This would mean they would be touching another student’s computer, which is currently against the technology rules for our building / district.

Steps taken so far: One of my goals is Students will exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity. We have already begun to work on this goal. Students are currently reading a novel called “Beyond the Western Sea” to support our immigration unit. All of the activities that go with the novel will be completed on their laptop. So far students have made predictions about the book and held a discussion over chapters 1-10 on their laptops. We are using a site that has been approved by our district called Gaggle. For each class I have set up five or six chat rooms. The students in the chat rooms make up their discussion group. Students only have access to chat with the students in their group. One thing that was bothering me was that I couldn’t figure out how to print out their conversation/discussion. I want to make sure that their conversation is appropriate and each group member is participating, so I could attach some points to the assignment. Through their conversation it is also obvious which students have kept up with the assigned reading. When I asked our district technology staff abut this they were unsure of how to do it. I found that when I printed it only printed what was in the window at the time instead of the entire conversation. It also would not let me copy and paste the entire conversation into a Word document. I ended up sending an email to the Gaggle staff asking them how to do this and they responded very promptly. Students definitely have a positive attitude about this unit, they are collaborating, and they are using technology.