Goodness this has been a long and difficult week! Before I begin, please let me apologize for the lateness of this posting. I live in Hawaii, but have had to make an emergency trip to Connecticut to help my grandmother who fell down a few weeks ago. Though I wrote this initial post several days ago, I have been unable to post it (or go) online because my Connecticut relations do not have internet access at this time! 2012 and no internet access? Who does that? Apparently, my relations…. Anyway, I apologize for the lateness, and will find another means of getting internet access than this small library as soon as humanly possible!
Due to lack of internet access for several days this week, I have hit quite a snag in the process of gaining information critical to PLCs and of course integrating technology into my own classroom. Yet, I look at this week as one in which I have learned a great deal. Why you ask? I have spent many hours (especially in tiny seats on packed planes) thinking about my own teaching and reflecting on what I could do to improve my teaching, and specificially areas in which I could more readily address technology standards for my students.
Initially, my reflections were rather despondent, with me thinking that I was doing as much as I could with what I have. I then took my reflections in a different direction and began thinking about ways in which using technology could help me and make my job a little bit easier. My first thought was simply finding resources online and using these, yet I want my students to do more than simply use resources I provide, I want them to create. This was when I realized that allowing my students the choice in how they wished to convey their learning would make my job much easier. By providing my students with the technology tools and know-how they need, I can give them much more reign with which to create. This would mean that I no longer have to create their projects for them, and allow the students to fill in the blanks, which will save me a great deal of time! From here I began mapping out ideas on what kinds of projects I would like my students to create as the school year progresses. This requires that I teach my students how to use the technology efficiently, but I believe that my students will be motivated by the fact that they want to use the technology, so they will learn the skills quickly.
Though I have hit a communication snag this week, I believe that my action plan remains a good one. I will continue to contact colleagues and use PD360 as a resource for learning. In addition to these things, I will be contacting an old professor of mine who is working on creating a better technology class for undergraduate students. I am hoping that she will be able to provide me with contacts for people who are in the field of exploring technology resources for classrooms, and I can begin to dialogue with them.
New questions have arisen for me through these reflections. What exactly are the skills I absolutely need to teach my students in order for them to independently use KeyNote, Word, and Kidspiration? How can I teach these skills to all of my students, including those with spatial difficulties? I am finding that the questions are limitless, and am excited for the possibilities ahead!
I'm glad you had time to re-evaluate your plan. I was late this week, too. Rough week. Our band teacher died in his sleep (heart attack, they think) and then a former student died the next day. To top it all off, it has been our rivalry week and so my students have been running around the school reporting on it. Rough.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I wanted to answer your questions about Keynote, Word and Kidspiration. Are you looking at open-ended responses (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009)? If so, one of the things that you need to teach is what language is appropriate. According to our text, students might be tempted to use colloquialisms like LOL, etc (146). If you begin teaching them correct English skills, then they will do better in all their classes.
Kidspiration might be more of a project-based assessment (147). This would mean you need to teach organization skills. It's like a concept map, correct (149)? If you teach how to organize your thoughts to the kiddos, then they will learn how to do this in real life.
Sounds like you are on the right track. Good luck!
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.