Final Reflection

Yet another course draws to a close in my road to obtaining my Masters degree. Throughout the last several weeks, there have been many ups and downs, successes and failures. My GAME plan proved to be a good one. I am now a part of several PLCs, and am in the process of creating one for my school to use to integrate technology, specifically online collaboration with students. I am excited for this new adventure in learning!
I found PD360 to be highly effective in helping me learn about PLCs as well as any subject I wished to research. This site gave me many valuable ideas as to things I can do better in my classroom, and how I can become a better teacher. I found that working with my colleagues on various projects and issues has deepened my sense of connection to the school system, as well as the content I teach. I will continue working on my GAME plan, even as I end this course.
Though it is not on this blog, I did begin implementing a content area unit plan with my students. This unit plan incorporates problem based learning, online collaboration, and s=digital storytelling. I am excited to work through this unit plan in the coming weeks, because I have already seen the excitement bloom in my first grade students. They have begun researching and creating a project about ocean animals, which I know will lead to high levels of understanding about ocean animals, and their importance in the marine food chain. Using the GAME plan process to create lessons for my students has been a highly rewarding experience for me, and will continue to be for my students. As I progress through the unit plan, I see how the planning has really helped to make this a smooth, cohesive unit, which I can tweek for the coming school years. I do think that I chose a topic which was really too large for my initial GAME plan project, but the large amount of work has been worth the benefits I am seeing in motivation and high quality products I am seeing my students create. 
As I continue on in my learning to become a more effective teacher, I will think back on this course, and will continue to apply what I learned about the GAME plan into my teaching. I am excited to move on to the next chapter in my studies!

References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use.

I've Got GAME

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!

Implementing my GAME Plan

          Over the last week, I have been doing a great deal of research about Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), focusing on those geared toward integrating technology throughout the educational experiences of students. I have found pd360 to be a very helpful tool in this search. There are several PLCs available for integrating technology. There are also many videos and articles regarding this topic. I quickly became overwhelmed by the available resources! 

          As my research continued, I turned to colleagues for help in determining PLCs in which to participate, as well as for ideas for technology integration. I found several colleagues who were highly motivated, like myself, to integrate technology into the daily educational experiences of students. I have found these colleagues to be very helpful in finding resources, as well as discussing these resources from various perspectives. The Tech Coordinator at my school has been particularly helpful in helping me to become more aware of the technology resources available to me at my school. After speaking with her, I became overwhelmed with the possibilities, and decided to focus my attention on helping my students to more efficiently navigate websites so that I can build on this skill so that they can conduct research and create products later in the school year. One resource I found was Edmodo, which allows me to post links to websites, which I want my students to view and navigate through. I plan to use this resource to expose my students to educational websites so that they become used to navigating through websites with a specific purpose in mind. 

          I do want to do more research about specific strategies for integrating technology in the first grade classroom. There is a great deal of research for students and teachers working at higher reading and maturity levels, but first graders must be first introduced to the technology, and taught how to use it in appropriate and efficient ways. I will use this as a filter for my searches in pd360 in the future. I also will work on creating an Edmodo group for my colleagues and myself to share resources and ideas. By linking all of my colleagues, I will create a PLC which has the focus we want, as well as meet the standard regarding providing leadership in PLCs regarding technology. 

GAME Plan

          As I embark down another road through my Masters course, I find that while I am aware of the NETS-T standards, there are several indicators in which I would like to strengthen my teaching abilities. The first area in which I would like to become more adept is Standard 5: “Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008). I especially want to work on participating in professional learning communities which are dedicated to integrating technology into classrooms with the focus on improving the learning of students. My first step toward this goal is to locate PLCs which are dedicated to this focus. I will begin by signing into pd360, which is a professional development program provided by my school. I believe that this resource will help me to find PLCs which fit what I specifically want to focus upon.

          The second area which I want to focus on is Standard 2: “Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments”(International Society for Technology in Education, 2008). I do spend a great deal of time working to integrate technology into every subject area, but I want this to become a much more seamless experience for my students, in which most of their learning is rooted in the use of various levels and kinds of technology. Again, I think that reviewing the offerings of pd360 will be helpful, though I think that participating in the a PLC, like the one described above, will help me to become a much better teacher, and especially a teacher of 21st Century Skills.  

          I am excited to begin this new journey toward improving my teaching, especially in regards to integrating technology more readily into my classroom. My goal, since beginning this Masters degree has been to improve my teaching, now I finally feel that I am gaining the tools to really make a positive impact on my teaching, and subsequently the learning of my students!

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Final Reflection

As a result of my learning in this course, I have developed an even more eclectic theory of learning than previously. I believe that behaviorism can be very helpful in managing behaviors in the classroom, especially in respect to positive behavior supports. But, I believe that behaviorism is not a strong enough theory to explain learning in general. Students must be actively engaged in their learning, and make their own meaning from the world around them, including their peers. Students do not learn in isolation, they need language, adults, and their peers to help them taking events in their lives, reflect upon and make meaning from them. Social interaction is key, along with being actively engaged in learning, for students to be able to make the most connections to their prior knowledge, and therefore make the most meaning for themselves. It is the job of teachers to provide opportunities for students to be actively engaged in their leaning, including making products to showcase their learning. Teachers need to focus their attention of what the students can do, not on what the teacher can do to present information. Students are not simply sponges to absorb information, they must take information and apply it to their own lives so that it makes sense to them, and is generalizable to other aspects of their lives and knowledge. Learning is useless if it is not applied in some way to the real lives of students.
As a result of this course, I am more committed to using social media to expand the communication and learning of my students. I am committed to using Edmodo to help my students share their learning with others, and modify their work based upon feedback they receive from others. These skills are very important, and will help my students to be highly engaged, active members of the classroom, and community. While my teaching practices will stay largely the same, my experience with technology in this course has helped me to think of new ways to incorporate technology in projects for my students which will better help them learn real-world skills along with the assigned curriculum. Edmodo will be a very helpful tool for my students because it will allow them to learn how to post work, and give and receive feedback. Another tool I plan on implementing in my classroom is Voice Thread. This tool, like Edmodo, will help my students make their work available for others to view and comment upon, but it is able to reach a wider range of groups. Edmodo is limited to only those within the group to which the student is assigned, but through Voice Thread, the students can share their work with family and friends outside the immediate school community. This broadens the group from which the students can interact and learn, thus broadening the knowledge base available to the students.
My long term goals are to incorporate the use of Voice Thread and Edmodo into my classroom throughout the school year, and across the curriculum. I will begin by teaching my students basic computer skills such as logging into the computer, and how to access and navigate around a webpage. From there I will teach my students how to use Edmodo to access new projects and information to complete individual and group projects to share with others within the group. The students can then learn how to give constructive feedback to others, and receive feedback in order to edit and revise their work. These skills will help them all year long to create projects to share with others.
By the end of the school year, my goal is for my students to be able to access and use both Edmodo and Voice Thread on a regular basis to create products to showcase their learning. These skills will help my students to be actively engaged in their learning, and share their learning with others, which is an important 21st century skill.

Resources

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved

from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Social Learning Theory and Technology

Vygotsky taught us that learning occurs through social interaction (Orey, 2001). I agree with this idea. From the time babies are born, they begin to learn language from the people around them. They listen and make connections between objects or people and their names, then slowly learn more abstract concepts which are represented by words. As children grow older, they learn by using language, asking and answering questions of those around them, and slowly gain an understanding of their world. Children do learn directly from the environment. For example, a child will learn that when a burner is red, it is hot, but it is through reflection upon what happened, which is dependent upon the use of language, that this same child will learn how to make their finger not burn, and why they should not touch the red burner, beyond the idea that it hurts. All abstract, or deep thought, is dependent upon language, and the reflection of things that happen. Language is dependent upon social interaction. By interacting with people in the immediate environment, we all learn concepts we might not be able to without the social interaction (Orey, 2001).

That being the case, technology provides us with valuable social and communication tools which expand our learning capabilities exponentially. Through social media such as Edmodo, or Voice Thread, students and adults are able to post ideas, thoughts, or questions, and receive comments and suggestions from people outside the physical environment of the classroom, or even the state in which the child is living. By being able to communicate with people around the world, children can now learn how the destruction of rain forests effect the lives of people who live in these remote locations, as well as the businesses who profit, or learn from zoologists around the world regarding how this issue effects plant and animal life around the world. The possibilities for learning are limitless today, due to technology which allows people around the world to communicate and socialize on an almost-immediate time frame.

For classroom use, social media allows students to communicate about projects, not only with people outside their classroom environment, but they are better able to coordinate projects with their peers as well. Students can make changes and post suggestions at any time, which allows them the flexibility to work on projects when they are interested, and motivated to do so.

I am even more dedicated than I was prior to reading the resources this week regarding social learning, to better incorporate social learning into my classroom. My students are capable to posting work, and receiving comments, and then possibly revising work based upon feedback they receive. I think a good goal for me to have in my classroom would be that my students be able to post a piece of work and revise it based upon feedback their receive to make their work better. Technology has given me the tools to meet this goal, I just have to figure out how I will use them to best reach my students and help them succeed.

Resources

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved

from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

VoiceThread

Here is a link to the very first Voice Thread I made! I realized that the teachers in my school have a difficult time initially incorporating technology into their classrooms. I think that the answer to this problem is starting small, and enjoying the process.

The Link: http://voicethread.com/share/3153012/