REFLECTION

The main objective of my GAME plan throughout this course was to incorporate more technology on the school/community level as well as with my individual students.  I found that including technology into my own classroom was much more simple than involving the entire school and community.  I was able to have my students create individual projects with the incorporation of technology and plan to use a PBL later in the school year.   Currently I am heading a committee whose main focus is to connect our students, teachers, parents and community.  Our goal is to find a website that is user-friendly and highly interactive for use by the school and its community.  By incorporating these site into our school system, we are hoping that students gain real world experience and community members can interact with the youth in the area.

Through my research for my GAME plan, I was able to locate much information about the subject of technology inclusion within the classroom and school districts. I was fortunate to   interact with other teachers that were extremely forthcoming with their resources.  Many offered school websites and their individual pages to use as demos for my presentation to administration.  I also found many activities to use in my own classroom with the use of technology.  From these findings I have already began to incorporate much more technology use in my classroom this school year.

This course has been extremely enlightening in the area of technology.  I was introduced to many approaches to use when introducing technology use.  One activity that I felt was very beneficial was assessing the authenticity of a website.  Often students feel if it is on the internet it must be true.  Showing students how to check a sites authenticity is a very useful resource for them to possess.  I also teach my students how to limit their searches in order to find reliable resources.  Many of the topics covered in this course were major issues for me in the classroom and I found these approaches to be very helpful.  I believe this course has allowed me to incorporate technology more successfully into my English class and has given me a firmer grasp on teaching my students the proper strategies when working with the internet.

GAME Plan for Teacher & Students

With the ever changing world of technology, teachers and students need to continually challenge themselves and each other with proper uses of these tools.  Students of this generation are expected to know everything about technology.  Well I have come to realize this is completely untrue.  For those who do know about the world of technology, they are still dependent upon the instructor to reinforce accurateness.  For this reason I feel my GAME plan with students should focus on Standard 4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making (International Society for Technology in Education, 2011). 

This school year, my colleagues and I have witnessed our most dependent fifth graders we have ever encountered.  They are in constant need of reassurance for if they are completing something correctly or if something sounds correct.  We have already begun structuring our classes and grade level differently for next year, and this additional plan will do nothing else but support our struggles.

I am the teacher who works the most with the fifth graders in completing projects and incorporating technology into the classroom.  I believe standard 4 focuses on students working together with others to solve real world problems while occasionally thinking outside the box.  With students that are capable of completing these tasks, I am preparing them for the real world at the age of ten.  Imagine what they will advance to by the time they enter high school.  Students need to be responsible, accountable, and think on their own in order for them to succeed in school and out.  By aiming my goals and my student’s goals to master these areas, I have no doubt there will be a feeling of success at the end of next school year.

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2011). NETS for students 2007. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx

GAME Plan Week 6

This week I had an opportunity to discuss computer issues with other teachers.  Many voiced concern about their personal computer in the classroom and the struggle to get computer time with students throughout the school year.  I also spoke with a special education teacher who has seven computers in her classroom.  She explained how they were mostly used for studyisland.com, which is our schools online standards-based assessment.  When I exited the meeting I was mostly angry.  These computers are stationed in a classroom where they are not frequently used.  In my classroom I have a classroom computer that is not even compatible with the student’s computer lab computers.  Therefore, last week I had to meet students in the computer lab before school and during my lunch so they complete their projects.  This is what led me in the direction of applying for a grant.

Therefore, I have started to delve into the world of computer grants for my school.  I have started to research some areas in which I can apply for grants.  While I am not quite at the stage where I am writing my application, I have found some resources to assist with wording and format for such an application.  I was not fully aware of the impact wording had on receiving such grants.  For example simply stating you need computers because you want students to type essays or to do research, will definitely not get you the grant.  However, if you want students to generate questions in which to ask experts in another state, your chances are much greater.  I am slowly gaining more knowledge in the area of grants and hope to continue.

As for students: They have been presenting their technology projects throughout the last week.  I was impressed with how creative some of the groups were and how little creativity some of my other students possess.  The final products varied from skits with background pictures on the screen to VoiceThread creations to PowerPoint presentations with illustrations and music.  I am pleased to say that by giving students freedom in their creations, it allowed them to think a little on their own as opposed to constantly asking the instructor what should be done.