Carrying Out My Game Plan
Recently I developed a GAME plan to help me improve as a
teacher in meeting two indicators set forth by ISTE regarding technology. I
chose to focus on teaching and modeling for my students how to ethically use
technology while respecting the work of others. I want my students to give
credit to the sources of their information. The second goal I created was to
become a leader in my school for technology integration in the classroom. I
want to model how technology can be used effectively in the classroom while
helping other staff members to become more effective users of it. In order to
carry out my plan, I have certain considerations to take.
One thing I must consider to follow my GAME plan is that there
are certain resources I will need to make it possible. First, I must have the
obvious, which is access to technology and the Internet. I have four student
computers and one teacher computer in my classroom and access to the computer
lab on Fridays. I also have access to 25 iPads, an Apple TV, and a SMART board.
I will need access to download appropriate software and application, as well as
access to the Internet.
To achieve my educational goals, I will need more
information. First, I need to know exactly which technologies I am permitted to
use in my school. I need to find out what sites may be restricted and if there
is a process I must go through to make them accessible to the students and
myself. I need to know which teachers are interested in learning about
different technologies and their level of confidence and ability regarding
them. Finally, I need access to educational articles or journals talking about
ways in which technology can be used in the classroom to further my own
abilities and understanding.
I have taken several steps toward achieving my goals
already. For a current project I am working on with my students, I have
developed a list of resources that the students may use. I am familiarizing
myself with the content on these different websites so that I can best help my
students to use the work of others without plagiarizing. This will also help me
when teaching my students how to make a reference page. I have introduced the
concept of plagiarism with my students and begun modeling and practicing proper
ways of paraphrasing. One step I have taken toward my second goal, was
accepting the job of being the “go to guy” when any of the teachers need
assistance or suggestions on their SMART boards and iPads. While I do not feel
overly qualified to do this, I will become better prepared through continual
practice and further educational experiences.
References:
National Education
Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds that to start your GAME plan you have done a lot of self-directed learning and others are depending on you to then teach them how to use what you learn. The minute someone finds out what I am pursuing for my Master’s degree their reaction is “oh awesome you can be my go-to girl for technology help.” I am glad that others can look to what I am doing and learning and also get something out of it to help their professional development but it can be exhausting!
You make a good point about knowing what technologies are permitted at school. What my district allows me to do as a teacher is different than student allowances. For example for their inquiry projects many students had to send me the link to their Prezi they made at home because they cannot access Youtube videos at school but I can. Many of them wanted to show clips of music or dance to show what they learned. How did you find out what sites are allowable? Did you find that there is a process that allows sites to be “unblocked” for students?
One suggestion I have when you start thinking about citing is to look at what type of citations the Language Arts teachers at your school require. When doing inquiries I found out that the Language Arts teachers used MLA to cite sources. For this reason (and because of my Walden experiences) I chose to require APA citations on purpose. My personal thought was that students need exposure to multiple types of citing because I used MLA, APA and Chicago in college (and I had to learn MLA and Chicago by myself). On the flip side of the coin it also may be beneficial to reinforce what they are doing in other classes. This is just something for you to think about and decide for yourself as you work toward your goals. Have a great weekend!
Jenny
Jennifer,
DeleteThank you for responding! You are absolutely right, it can be exhausting when everyone is coming to you for advice. But I do feel it is rewarding to be able to help so many get excited about technology.
You asked me about how I found out which sites were available. At my school, if you get permission form the administration and the technology department they can temporally allow access to certain sites. This only becomes a problem when other students in other classes are using those same sites for non-school related things, while they are unblocked. This is a really messy subject at my school right now and I really hope that something gets resolved fast.
AS far as citations, I feel as you do that it is good for students to get familiar with multiple types of formats. However, I have been impressing upon my student to use MLA since that is what the English Department is teaching in their classes. I too had to learn APA and Chicago style on my own, but if it was not for my teachers in high school teaching me MLA I would not have been so successful at learning them on my own. I feel that strengthening one style will lead to the students being able to adapt on their own to a new style in the future.