Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

I learned how technology can be integrated into assessment this week.  Dr. Ross (2009) stated that the "steps in determining effective assessment include: 1. Identifying learning objectives, 2. Determining teaching methods, and 3. Choosing supporting technology"(Assessing Student Learning with Technology - dvd).  Using technology to assess students not only expedites the grading process, but it allows teachers to assess students in an organized way that truly evaluates their content learning.  Students can even become more involved in assessing themselves, monitoring, and evaluating their progress towards learning goals.

Are you finding the information and resources you need?
One of my goals is designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments.  I feel that I am finding the information and resources I need to achieve this goal.  Through online research, I am finding neat lesson plans and online resources, such as Artsonia.com and some cool content videos, to develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments.
Another goal is engaging in professional growth and leadership.  I feel that through this class and my other classes at Walden and through the professional development opportunities I am taking part in throughout this school year in my district, I am engaging in professional growth and leadership.

Do you need to modify your action plan?
No, I feel that I am working on achieving my goals and moving forward.

What have you learned so far?
I have learned the importance of using technology to support content area learning and to use technology, not just for its own sake, but to really enhance content.  I have also learned the importance of setting goals, taking actions towards achieving those goals, monitoring, and evaluating progress.  I believe that it is important to provide students opportunities for more self-directed project-based activities, where they are given choices, and are working hard to meet the objectives of the project.

What new questions have arisen?
How can I give my students more opportunities to use the computer lab, when many of the computers in the lab are not working? I want to provide my students, as a class, with more opportunities to research online and use internet resources on their own in the lab.

Carrying Out Your GAME Plan

As a reflection of my learning, I am becoming aware of how important technology is in differentiating and individualizing instruction for students.  Technology meets the needs of the different learning styles, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.  All children learn in different ways and should be provided with many choices and options in their content learning.  Providing these different choices and options to complete an assignment is not always easy for a teacher, but it makes learning more active and makes students more successful and motivated in their learning.  Dr. Ross stated that giving students more choices in projects "shows off their strengths" and that "primary instruction meets most students' needs, but some need more options" (Meeting Students' Needs with Technology, Part 1). 

Description of the resources and info. I need to carry out my action plan:  I need to continue to investigate and spend time online researching interactive technology resources that I can bring into my classroom.  I need to connect with my district technology director and those colleagues who can help me learn to use the technology resources that are available to me.  I also need to practice using these new technologies, such as podcasts, VoiceThread, interactive Webquests and online field trips, video conferencing, so that I am familar with all of their features and so I feel comfortable using them and teaching them with students. 

What steps have I been able to take so far:  I have practiced and spent time using the online technology resource of Artsonia.com to display my students' artwork online for parents and students' families to view and purchase items with their child's artwork on it.  I have successfully learned how to use the digital camera to transfer visual images of student artwork to the computer and display these images on Artsonia, which is a large children's art gallery.  I have also tried to integrate more collaborative projects in my classroom that offer the students more choices in the completion of the project.  Students may chose powerpoint or VoiceThread, or even a podcast, when creating an art history project.  I'm trying to incorporate the different learning styles into every lesson that I teach, with visuals and graphics, auditory experiences, and more tactile learning.  As far as professional development goes, I'm always on board when our district offers technology-related inservices, where I can learn more and more about technology resources.  I even want to try to attend the National Art Education Conference this summer.

Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

Integrating technology into content area lessons requires a GAME plan.  GAME plan stands for goals, actions, monitor, and evaluate.  It helps you determine how you learn best and initiates self-directed active learning.  Integrating technology into content isn't just about using a specific technology resource, it's learning how and when to use a specific resource to engage and motivate students, where the content and technology tools are working together to make the learning more successful. Dr. P. Ertmer stated that to integrate technology effectively requires "knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and supportive culture" (Enhancing Content, Part 1-dvd).

Two indicators that I do not feel as confident or proficient as I would like to be include designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments and engaging in professional growth and leadership.  What actions I would take to achieve these goals:  I will try to research and design more lessons that offer my students self-directed learning opportunities, where they can have choices and monitor their own progress and learning.  I will try to research more active learning opportunities in my content area (Visual Art) online and try to connect with other art teachers globally to get ideas for enriching my lessons with technology resources.  V. Davis shared that teachers need to "network globally, connect, and share ideas and technology integration allows students to learn in a variety of ways - auditory, visually, and kinesthetic" (Enhancing Content, Part 2).  I will also try to look to my fellow colleagues more to see what technology resources they are successfully integrating into their curriculum.

I will monitor my progress by monthly reflection on my successes or failures with technology resources in the classroom.  I will recognize what is working well with students and allowing them to become self-directed learners and also recognize what improvements or changes need to occur.  I will evaluate my learning by students' opinions and reactions to the lessons.  I will also evaluate my learning by seeing that my goals were accomplished.  I will extend my learning by professional development opportunities and networking globally with other teachers online.

Wk. 8 Reflective Essay

Describe the most striking revelation you had about the teaching of new literacy skills to your students as a result of this course.

The most striking revelation that I had would be that students need these new literacy skills to be successful, in school, the workplace, and in everyday life. Students need to think critically about a subject, develop good questioning skills, then be able to search for the answers on the Internet. They need to evaluate and be critical of the information that they discover on the web and be able to synthesize that information and communicate that information to others in a meaningful way. As Dr. Warlick stated, "We are preparing students for an unpredictable future, where students need to become self-learners, who resourcefully use resources and use situations and experiences to accomplish goals" (Skills for the Future-dvd).

Describe how the knowledge and experience gained in this course will influence your teaching practices going forward.

I will do more inquiry-based projects with my students in the future. I will focus more on questioning skills, thinking critically about a subject, and searching for the answers. I will teach my students the importance of evaluating what they read on the web, how to navigate a site, and how to determine which information is valid and credible. I want my students to become good self-learners, who can learn about a subject they enjoy, and communicate what they learn in a meaningful way to others. S. Armstrong states, "It is important to tie in projects to real world work and apply what they learn to areas of life, having an authentic experience" (Inquiry-Based Projects-dvd).

I would like to give my students more choices for the final product and how they present what they learn to the class. For the final product, students could use blogs, podcasts, VoiceThread, powerpoint, digital storytelling, and posters. I would like to give my students more opportunities to use voice, music, images, and text together to communicate content. Also, I like the idea of connecting with other classrooms and schools in different areas to make learning fun and more meaningful. Also, bringing art museums and exhibits into the classroom through podcasts and other interactive online experiences would make learning fun.

Identify at least one professional development goal you would like to pursue that builds upon your learning in this course and develops your own information literacy or technology skills. Describe the steps you will take to accomplish this goal.

I often check the Tri-County Educational Service Center, which services our school district, for professional development opportunities connecting to art and technology. I am going to continue to check for more professional development opportunities and take advantage of as many courses that they offer as I can fit into my schedule. They often have short courses on Powerpoint, Virtual Field Trips, Digital Storytelling, among others. I would like to find a class that focuses on VoiceThread and Digital Photography use in the classroom.

Final Reflection: It is very important to embed technology into your everyday teaching to students. D. Warlick discusses technology in the classroom as successful when there are "connections and conversations, a type of connected connectivism, where students are connecting and communicating with the teacher and other students about the content" (It's Not About the Technology-dvd). Technology makes learning fun and exciting! Before this class I was unaware of the new literacy skills of questioning, searching, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating. I practice these skills in my classroom on occasion, but was unaware of just how important they are to teach. I will definitely try my best to incorporate these skills more into my teaching. Students will need these skills for their future.

Reflection - Week 8

I have learned a lot from this course. I have learned about different learning theories and how each can be used with technology and various teaching strategies to improve student learning. Successful student learning involves the integration of technology in the classroom, mainly for student use, that makes content learning fun, interactive, engaging, and motivational. 21st century learners need to be engaged and emmersed in an environment where they can interact with their peers and become more self-responsible for their own learning. They need to be learning about, practicing with, learning with, and interacting with various forms of technology for learning. They need to be taught the basics and the tools involved with various forms of technology and be able to confidently use technology in the learning process.

As far as my personal theory of learning is concerned, I still believe in the Constructivist theory of learning, where activities build upon my students' past experiences and knowledge and construct his or her personal knowledge. I always refer back to previous experiences with a topic or material. I question students about a topic or material, past experiences, and knowledge whenever we begin a new project. Then, I build upon their knowledge of the subject. But, I've come to realize over the course of this class that it is also important to incorporate the Social Constructionist and Constructionist theory into my lessons. Cooperative learning has many student benefits, such as encouragement, discussing and validating answers, bouncing ideas off each other, student empowerment, individual accountability, increased motivation, and aiding each other during the project. Group work gives the students a "sense of ownership" when the product is constructed and "each group member's mark is on the final outcome" (B. Kim, Social Constructivism). In the Constructionist theory, Dr. Orey states that "each individual actively constructs his/her own meaning" and "people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others" (Constructionist & Constructivist Learning Theories dvd). It is all about hands-on learning activities and projects, where students often collaborate and work together, assemble data, and assemble visual artifacts.

Immediate adjustments: I would like to integrate more groupwork (social learning) activities into my lessons, use VoiceThread and Virtual Field Trips, and give more opportunities to my students to be actively engaged in their own learning, research, and development of an artifact that utilizes technology and creative thinking skills. Using these strategies/tools will motivate student learning and engagement and make learning fun and exciting for students!

Two long-term goal changes: One of my long-term goals is to look at each lesson that I teach in terms of how to integrate technology, social learning, and more student interaction. For each lesson that I teach, I will reflect on my objectives and goals, reflect on what I've learned in this course, as far as technology, teaching strategies, and theories, and use this knowledge to enhance my lessons. Another of my long-term goals is to remember to connect student learning to past experiences/skills, use many visuals and recognize the importance of Gardner's multiple intelligences, and practice new skills. As Dr. Wolfe (2009) says, “Practice makes permanent” and “The brain seeks meaningful patterns and is sculpted through experience” (Brain Research & Learning).

In conclusion, I will use the resources that are available online and the technology resources that are provided for me within my classroom and the computer lab to engage and motivate my students in their learning of various concepts. I will provide many opportunities for cooperative learning (groupwork) and using new technology resources, such as VoiceThread, Virtual Field Trips, digital camera/digital enhancement software, and online resources for learning. I recognize the importance of incorporating each of the learning theories into my classroom and the benefits of these theories for me (the teacher) and my students. Students learn best when they are interested, engaged, and interacting with the content. “Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand” (Confucius, circa 450 BC, Experiential Learning).

Link to Voicethread

https://voicethread.com/#u429562.b572908.i3060446