As a substitute teacher, it is mildly difficult to see a lot of the progress that I can make succeeding in the implementation of a GAME Plan. In essence, what I am able to do is envision myself in a classroom of my own and take steps that I believe will be necessary to prepare myself to be successful in fulfilling my goals in the future. That being said, the main area of progress I can work on now, without having my own classroom, is becoming able to utilize a variety of new technological tools that can be integrated in the classroom. Through this program and through substituting in other teachers classrooms, I have been able to use and view quite a few new technological tools in action and gain some practice using them. For example, I have actually been on a long-term substitute assignment as a computer teacher for grades k-2 and have been able to use a variety of websites and tools that I had not used previously.
In addition to using new tools, I am also working at a grade-level that I do not have a whole lot of experience with, as I am certified to teach 7-12 social studies. Therefore, not only are the technological tools themselves new, but the content is new as well so I am able to see how different tools can be used at different levels, which is a great way to develop a new perspective on the effectiveness of certain tools. One of these tools is the website Earobics. This is a website that can be used with students who are new to reading or students who should be at the level to be able to read and are struggling. Students are able to log on to the program and complete a daily set of 'games' that monitor their ability to complete a variety of tasks associated with reading.It keeps track of their progress and becomes either harder or easier the next time they come in depending on their success that given day. This tool is a great way to differentiate instructional practices and give students something to look forward to doing, while at the same time helping them develop the necessary skills in order to read.
My other goal of modeling appropriate use of information, however, is one that I have not been able to actually practice in the classroom because I am not utilizing sources of information that I am able to reference. I would have to say that this is something that can only progress when I have my own classroom and am actually creating lessons and materials to use that need to be referenced. That being said, however, I am able to practice citing references on assignments for this program so although I am not fulfilling this goal in the classroom, I am gaining additional experience with the practice which should help me down the road.
I am pretty happy with the plan I have setout for myself and am looking forward to reaching a point where I have achieved these goals. However, I feel that I can never stop trying to achieve my goal of integrating various forms of technology into my classroom because every year a new tool will come out that will have beneficial applications in the classroom. That, in particular, will be a goal throughout every year of my career and I believe that it is my responsibility to remain fluent with the new technologies that come into play.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
My GAME Plan
In general, I have always felt pretty comfortable using technology as I have grown up using technology my entire life. That being said, however, there is always room for improvement and I aspire to constantly get better at using technologies I am already familiar with and technologies that are new to me as well. When I use technology in the classroom, there are two specific NETS-T Standards that I want to focus on getting better at.
One of these is standard number 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. Like many people, when I find something I like, I have a tendency to stick with that something and use it a majority of the time. I think that over time, I must begin to incorporate multiple technological tools into my teaching to show my students the variety of tools available to them and also in order to model how to use these tools. In addition to modeling the use of specific technologies, I also want to model how to be use information that is found on the internet.
This falls under NETS-S #4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. In order to get my students to understand the importance of legal and ethical information use, I must model this in my own classroom and at ALL times. For a lot of teachers (myself included) it is easy to neglect these practices from time to time, especially if something is done in a hurry or time is not a provided luxury. However, it is essential to the development of our students behaviors to model this practice all of the time in our classroom so we 'practice what we preach' so to speak. How can we expect our students to understand and appreciate the importance of referencing sources if we provide information and various media files without the use of any citations what-so-ever. Not only is it unethical and irresponsible, it is creating an atmosphere where these types of things are not appreciated and are therefore likely to be neglected.
In both cases, strengthening my confidence in these two standards comes down to one thing, experience. I feel that if I gain enough practice in both of these standards, I will eventually increase my confidence in providing these two standards to my students. Therefore, I need to ensure that I am constantly staying up-to-date not only with new technologies but also with changes in citation etiquette, as it changes quite often. Essentially, what it comes down to me for me is establishing the effort to increase my proficiency in both of these standards by being a self-motivated learner. By increasing proficiency in these two standards, I will increase my confidence as well which will benefit my classroom greatly in these two areas.
Evaluating my progress on standard #4 is somewhat straight-forward, as I can simply evaluate all of the information that I use in my classroom and ensure that I am always citing these resources properly. I can go back at the end of a unit, or lesson, or even the year to determine whether or not I have accomplished my goal and have lived up to the appropriate standard.
Evaluating standard #3 may be a little more difficult because it is somewhat arbitrary to determine whether or not I have modeled enough different types of technology tools in my classroom. However, I think I will document each time I use a certain type of technology and then keep track of the number of times I use it in order to, at the end of the year, determine if I accomplished my goal of modeling digital-age work and learning in my classroom.
One of these is standard number 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. Like many people, when I find something I like, I have a tendency to stick with that something and use it a majority of the time. I think that over time, I must begin to incorporate multiple technological tools into my teaching to show my students the variety of tools available to them and also in order to model how to use these tools. In addition to modeling the use of specific technologies, I also want to model how to be use information that is found on the internet.
This falls under NETS-S #4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. In order to get my students to understand the importance of legal and ethical information use, I must model this in my own classroom and at ALL times. For a lot of teachers (myself included) it is easy to neglect these practices from time to time, especially if something is done in a hurry or time is not a provided luxury. However, it is essential to the development of our students behaviors to model this practice all of the time in our classroom so we 'practice what we preach' so to speak. How can we expect our students to understand and appreciate the importance of referencing sources if we provide information and various media files without the use of any citations what-so-ever. Not only is it unethical and irresponsible, it is creating an atmosphere where these types of things are not appreciated and are therefore likely to be neglected.
In both cases, strengthening my confidence in these two standards comes down to one thing, experience. I feel that if I gain enough practice in both of these standards, I will eventually increase my confidence in providing these two standards to my students. Therefore, I need to ensure that I am constantly staying up-to-date not only with new technologies but also with changes in citation etiquette, as it changes quite often. Essentially, what it comes down to me for me is establishing the effort to increase my proficiency in both of these standards by being a self-motivated learner. By increasing proficiency in these two standards, I will increase my confidence as well which will benefit my classroom greatly in these two areas.
Evaluating my progress on standard #4 is somewhat straight-forward, as I can simply evaluate all of the information that I use in my classroom and ensure that I am always citing these resources properly. I can go back at the end of a unit, or lesson, or even the year to determine whether or not I have accomplished my goal and have lived up to the appropriate standard.
Evaluating standard #3 may be a little more difficult because it is somewhat arbitrary to determine whether or not I have modeled enough different types of technology tools in my classroom. However, I think I will document each time I use a certain type of technology and then keep track of the number of times I use it in order to, at the end of the year, determine if I accomplished my goal of modeling digital-age work and learning in my classroom.
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