Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Writing in the 21st Century Blog Post
Hello my fellow classmates! I look forward to blogging with you all in the near future. My past posts are from my Master's courses. Feel free to check them out.
This week, we are supposed to create a question about writing in the 21st century. The following question is one of great interest to me. I feel like many teachers are ready to begin, if not already, writing in the 21st century in their classrooms. Why do I feel like our school administrators have a different idea about 21st century writing than our professors in these courses?
Over the past 3 years, I have been learning how to implement technology into my classroom. Recently, the technology people from the district re imaged my computer. They also linked it to the district server. Internet tools I have been using are now a struggle to get to because of the filters. My computer as a whole works slower. I lost files from past programs on my computer. Even the timing of the re image seems funny. In the middle of the year? Why not in the summer? I just feel like I am getting mixed messages. How many times has someone told you to be really careful about blogging in your classroom? You never know who is accessing your blog pages. It always seems like an administrator is discouraging you by putting the fear of a potential problem in your head. It also seems like our school is focusing this semester on improving certain areas of the paper pencil writing section of the CSAP test. Many LA teachers have been told to scrap the CAP and focus on a specific area of the CSAP test because the district predicts scores to be low. Which is more important, writing in the 21st century or passing the CSAP handwritten test?
This week, we are supposed to create a question about writing in the 21st century. The following question is one of great interest to me. I feel like many teachers are ready to begin, if not already, writing in the 21st century in their classrooms. Why do I feel like our school administrators have a different idea about 21st century writing than our professors in these courses?
Over the past 3 years, I have been learning how to implement technology into my classroom. Recently, the technology people from the district re imaged my computer. They also linked it to the district server. Internet tools I have been using are now a struggle to get to because of the filters. My computer as a whole works slower. I lost files from past programs on my computer. Even the timing of the re image seems funny. In the middle of the year? Why not in the summer? I just feel like I am getting mixed messages. How many times has someone told you to be really careful about blogging in your classroom? You never know who is accessing your blog pages. It always seems like an administrator is discouraging you by putting the fear of a potential problem in your head. It also seems like our school is focusing this semester on improving certain areas of the paper pencil writing section of the CSAP test. Many LA teachers have been told to scrap the CAP and focus on a specific area of the CSAP test because the district predicts scores to be low. Which is more important, writing in the 21st century or passing the CSAP handwritten test?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Learning Management Systems
The following is a link to my voicethread trying to convince my co-workers of the importance of LMS.
www.voicethread.com/share/1537991/
www.voicethread.com/share/1537991/
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Final Reflection 10/28/10
Throughout this course, I have gained a large variety of support and resources to improve myself as an educator. I intend on implementing several ideas learned from my social network into my classroom strategies. I also plan on making some immediate adjustments to my current instructional practices to customize my instruction as a result of my learning in this course. I am constantly looking to improve myself as an educator. This course has really given my some ideas to improve the way I currently operate in my classroom.
Working with my social network has been great! Together, we learned and discussed new ideas about UDL and DI. We discussed strategies to be used to support each individual learners readiness, interest, and learning profile. We created a list of quality resources to use when planning lessons and assessments to meet the expectations of UDL and DI. We actually created our own web page to help display our learning for two weeks of our course. We reviewed the importance of using UDL and DI in our classrooms. We spent time discussing the CAST web site. Together, we explored and found tools such as objective builder and lesson plan builder to be used with our classroom planning. All in all, it has been a pretty productive network. I hope to continue this network even after our course work has finished.
This course has already helped me develop new ways to incorporate UDL and DI into my classroom. The word that rings a bell is "Flexibility". Carol Ann Tomlinson has driven home the point that I need to be more flexible in the way I approach my objective, lesson, and assessment planning. I need to provide options in every aspect of my classroom. Students will thrive, if I just work with them to better undertsand their readiness, interests, and abilities. The biggest idea I have taken away from this course and Carol Ann Tomlinson is that there is no one way to differentiate. Every teacher can use UDL and DI differentely and be successful. I look to continue adding choices to my classroom activities. I plan on working closer with our instructional coach to improve the way I differentiate in my classroom. I recently created a tiered assignment and have began to include options in my daily homework activities.
This course has really empowered me with ideas and collaborative networks to support my use of UDL and DI in my classroom. I look forward to bettering my classroom by allowing more choices and flexibility into my all around activities. My whole mission is to provide an atmosphere of choices that allow everyone an opportunity to in the best way possible.
Working with my social network has been great! Together, we learned and discussed new ideas about UDL and DI. We discussed strategies to be used to support each individual learners readiness, interest, and learning profile. We created a list of quality resources to use when planning lessons and assessments to meet the expectations of UDL and DI. We actually created our own web page to help display our learning for two weeks of our course. We reviewed the importance of using UDL and DI in our classrooms. We spent time discussing the CAST web site. Together, we explored and found tools such as objective builder and lesson plan builder to be used with our classroom planning. All in all, it has been a pretty productive network. I hope to continue this network even after our course work has finished.
This course has already helped me develop new ways to incorporate UDL and DI into my classroom. The word that rings a bell is "Flexibility". Carol Ann Tomlinson has driven home the point that I need to be more flexible in the way I approach my objective, lesson, and assessment planning. I need to provide options in every aspect of my classroom. Students will thrive, if I just work with them to better undertsand their readiness, interests, and abilities. The biggest idea I have taken away from this course and Carol Ann Tomlinson is that there is no one way to differentiate. Every teacher can use UDL and DI differentely and be successful. I look to continue adding choices to my classroom activities. I plan on working closer with our instructional coach to improve the way I differentiate in my classroom. I recently created a tiered assignment and have began to include options in my daily homework activities.
This course has really empowered me with ideas and collaborative networks to support my use of UDL and DI in my classroom. I look forward to bettering my classroom by allowing more choices and flexibility into my all around activities. My whole mission is to provide an atmosphere of choices that allow everyone an opportunity to in the best way possible.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Final Reflection 8/19/10
Developing my personal GAME Plan over the past 8 weeks has been very beneficial to me. I began back in July creating goals I thought I could accomplish that would really bump my classroom instruction to the next level. One of my original goals was to successfully integrate at least 3 relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity during each trimester of the 2010-2011 school year. The other was to be able to model and facilitate the effective use of the digital tools before and during the the 3 relevant learning experiences to be created for each trimester of the 2010-2011 school year.
Once my goals were established, I began looking into the content I was teaching this year. I started looking for past activities that I could easily incorporate into my lessons. Our course textbook help give ideas for possible lessons or resources that could be used to support my goals. My blog posts have helped give me feedback from my peers about possible tools I could use to accomplish my goals. I am currently ready to use and model tools like bubbl.us, most Google Applications, voicethreads, screencasts, animoto, panoramio, and many others. Our course text helped give actual search engines for student research. The Library of Congress site is one that I will use on a regular basis.
The new learning that resulted from following my GAME Plan would be in the area of better understanding the different uses of the many tools I have been introduced to through Walden University. I also took the time to better understand topics discussed in our course textbook like promoting creative thinking, problem based activities, digital story boards, and social networking activities. The textbook really helped give an explanation as to why these types of activities combined with technology are beneficial to today's learner.
The most immediate adjustment I will make to my instructional practice would be to start teaching my students about the tools we will be using in class this year. I am also hoping to work with the computer teacher to help get our students proficient at using some of these basic tools. I would like to be able to introduce activities that require my students to use these tools without me spending large amounts of time reteaching the actual tools. I also plan on taking baby steps. I will probably create mini activities for practice before I actually require students to complete a large assignment.
This year is going to be my trial year. I plan on making a number of adjustments to my past activities to incorporate more technology. My monitoring and evaluating steps of my plan will be to monitor my practices and mark down positives and negatives throughout the year. I will make the necessary adjustments to improve each activity. I also intend on evaluating my new activities at the end of the school year to better understand what worked and what did not work this year. I am really excited to begin my journey.
Once my goals were established, I began looking into the content I was teaching this year. I started looking for past activities that I could easily incorporate into my lessons. Our course textbook help give ideas for possible lessons or resources that could be used to support my goals. My blog posts have helped give me feedback from my peers about possible tools I could use to accomplish my goals. I am currently ready to use and model tools like bubbl.us, most Google Applications, voicethreads, screencasts, animoto, panoramio, and many others. Our course text helped give actual search engines for student research. The Library of Congress site is one that I will use on a regular basis.
The new learning that resulted from following my GAME Plan would be in the area of better understanding the different uses of the many tools I have been introduced to through Walden University. I also took the time to better understand topics discussed in our course textbook like promoting creative thinking, problem based activities, digital story boards, and social networking activities. The textbook really helped give an explanation as to why these types of activities combined with technology are beneficial to today's learner.
The most immediate adjustment I will make to my instructional practice would be to start teaching my students about the tools we will be using in class this year. I am also hoping to work with the computer teacher to help get our students proficient at using some of these basic tools. I would like to be able to introduce activities that require my students to use these tools without me spending large amounts of time reteaching the actual tools. I also plan on taking baby steps. I will probably create mini activities for practice before I actually require students to complete a large assignment.
This year is going to be my trial year. I plan on making a number of adjustments to my past activities to incorporate more technology. My monitoring and evaluating steps of my plan will be to monitor my practices and mark down positives and negatives throughout the year. I will make the necessary adjustments to improve each activity. I also intend on evaluating my new activities at the end of the school year to better understand what worked and what did not work this year. I am really excited to begin my journey.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Students and Standards
This week's discussion is how to use the GAME plan to help students develop a plan to meet the standards of the NET-S and NET-T. I would probably require my students to complete activities that are similar to the ones we have been completing over the last 6 weeks. I would have each student review the standards at the beginning of each trimester. I would have them pick one standard they would like to improve upon throughout the trimester. I would then have them create two goals for there GAME Plan. These goals would suggest ways the students would become proficient at these standards. I would then have them come up with an action plan to meet these goals. They would be required to create a plan to monitor their goals. At the end of the trimester, we would reevaluate their goals and decide if they had been met. If they had, we could set new goals. If they had not, we could figure out reasons for why they were not completed. We could then come up with a new plan to help become proficient at the goals. Each week during the trimester, we could evaluate our progress just like we have been doing in this class. I could have my students complete the work on a Google Document so that I could easily monitor their weekly progress and offer suggestions. These are just a few ideas on how I could help my students become proficient with the NET-S and the NET-T guidelines.
Friday, August 6, 2010
GAME Plan Update 8/6/10
I have learned that introducing social networking and collaboration tools can be a good way to get students involved in their learning. My current goal is to use new Internet tools at least 9 times throughout the course of the year. I plan on using a wiki and a blog this year to improve my classroom activities. I would like to use a blog page with my students to open up a discussion using all of the students I teach rather than the usual in class discussion between 30 students. I really want to engage some of my non-talkers in this type of interaction. I am always curious about everyone's ideas. I think wikis are pretty cool also. My unit plan engages students to use wikis to develop a plan to solve a PBL. I look forward to presenting these activities in class.
Until I get some students to teach, I do not plan on changing my goals. I plan on continuing my task of improving my knowledge of upcoming technology tools to be used in class. The best way I learn how to improve my use of technology is to actually try them out in a lesson. I jot down what I like and dislike about the tools. I look for possible problems in my current teaching situation. I then edit my plans to improve them for the next lesson. I really look forward to trying out my new skills in a couple of weeks.
Until I get some students to teach, I do not plan on changing my goals. I plan on continuing my task of improving my knowledge of upcoming technology tools to be used in class. The best way I learn how to improve my use of technology is to actually try them out in a lesson. I jot down what I like and dislike about the tools. I look for possible problems in my current teaching situation. I then edit my plans to improve them for the next lesson. I really look forward to trying out my new skills in a couple of weeks.
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