Evaluation of GAME

My goal for my GAME plan is to improve student learning by using technology and to discuss technology with colleagues. For student learning I used a jeopardy game on my Smart board to reinforce vocabulary words they are studying for a literature they will be reading soon. They worked in teams and were able to use their list of vocabulary words they wrote. Having the students use their list held them accountable for finishing their list before the jeopardy game. The game definitely was a motivator for my students. They enjoyed the challenge among the other teams. The jeopardy game was easy to set up and it was not a PowerPoint. The site I used was http://jeopardylabs.com I do feel the jeopardy game did enhance my students learning of their vocabulary content. It forced them to use their vocabulary in a fun situation. I also used a couple PowerPoint's already made on the internet for Anne Frank. I feel those PowerPoint’s enhanced my students learning. My students were able to see what Anne Frank looked like and they were able to see where she went into hiding. It gave them background information before they start to read The Diary of Anne Frank. I continue to take action in locating technology to use to enhance my student learning.

For my second goal, discussing technology with colleagues, I continue to do as well. In our school district, we have an Apple representative. I emailed our representative about prices of a classroom set of iPods and the other nessacary equipment to go with the iPods. He emailed me back and I was blown away by the price. For an Apple iPod Learning Lab, which is, a PowerSync Cart and 20 iPod touch 8GB, is $5,999. The price does not include an Apple laptop. It also is an educator discount price. The grant I was looking at would not cover the iPod Learning Lab. I was discouraged for a day and now I am back looking at grants again.

I did have success on talking with a colleague about hand held devices she uses for her students. She uses Senteo for assessments. It allows the educator to quickly evaluate if the students are learning the content and it instantly gives a grade. She told me all I need is the software to download on my computer and then I can use her hand held devices. I emailed my school district technology department to download the software on my computer. It is only a matter of time now.

Overall, I am making progress despite a few bumps along the way.

Take Care,
Lynette Vega

GAME Plan Progress

I attended my first technology committee meeting this past Monday. The meeting was to revise the district technology standards in order to turn it into the state by July 1, 2010. We broke up into three groups, according to the goals. The group I am in is the Instructional Integration.It happens to be my goal for my GAME plan, integrating technology to improve student learning and to discuss technology with colleagues. We only began revising the plan, therefore there are going to be many more meetings. The committee members are mainly teachers. One of the teachers got a grant for iPods. I talked with her about the iPods vs. iPhones. She told me that she does not think the district would okay the I phones, since it is a phone and the iPods are cheaper than the iphones. The iPods do not have a video camera; therefore, I would need to get Flip cameras also. She also mentioned to get an Apple lab top to synchronize the iPods. On a PC, I can only synchronize one iPod at a time; on an Apple, I can synchronize all 30 at the same time. Now, I need to start my grant writing. I also, find out when writing a grant it is a good idea to include standards from the state. It was exciting to be in a room with educators with the same interest, which is wanting technology in the classroom.

Today will be the first time I have used a technology game for studying vocabulary words. It is a jeopardy game. It will be interesting to see if it will help with student learning. I have briefly discussed with my GT teacher technology lessons she has used in her classroom. I need to get concrete ideas from her in order to try it in my classroom, so I can compare my results with her.

I am developing a supportive learning committee at my school, in my district and on the internet. I joined edutopia http://www.edutopia.org/ It is a web site for educators from all over the world to discuss their area of interest. I have only begun to investigate the site.

Overall, I feel I am making progress. There are areas I mentioned I need to implement and areas I am currently evaluating. It is an exciting journey, a learning curve for me to improve my teaching strategies’.

Take Care,
Lynette

GAME Plan Begun!

I have begun my GAME plan. I emailed my school district technology committee to ask if I can be on the committee. They were excited and signed me up. Our first meeting is March 22. It should be interesting since I am only beginning to understand technology terms. I am hoping being on the committee will help build my confidence in order for me to teach a mini-lesson to my colleagues using technology. I talked with my GT teacher; she also is on the technology committee. There are about 15 members from the school district. The GT teacher informed me she was trying to find a grant to get iPhones for the students. She gave me reasons why she wants the iPhones. For instance, the students can use the internet on the iPhones without having extra charge for internet use at the school. They are cheaper than a laptop and more convenient to use outdoors. She gave me an idea to find a grant to get iPhones for my students. It would be an awesome, cheap way for the students to use the internet on a daily basis and that is what I want for my students, access to the internet daily. I am looking at grants right now. I also found an interactive PowerPoint that will be of assistance for my students to study Holocaust vocabulary words. I am putting that together this week. I still need to discuss with my GT teacher some of the tech software she has used with her students that she feels benefited her students.

I feel I have made gains and still making gains on my GAME plan. I will be and am adventuring into areas of the unknown, which is exciting and liberating. Lucius Ammaeus Seneca, “The mind that is anxious about the future is miserable.”

Take Care,
Lynette Vega

Developing A Personal GAME Plan

An area I need to strengthen my confidence is discussing technology terms with colleagues as well as teaching colleagues technology skills. I also need to strengthen my confidence to reach out to those colleagues that use technology in the classroom and discuss their creative applications to improve students’ learning. The following is the standard and the two achievement indicators I will incorporate into my GAME plan to build my confidence in technology.

NETS-T 5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:
a. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning
b. exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

My GAME plan is as follows:
Strengthen my confidence in Technology
Set Goals- Learn about the aspects of technology to improve student learning and discuss technology with colleagues.

Take Action- discuss with our GT teacher about what she has observed using technology to improve student learning. E-mail our district head tech to ask if I can be on the technology committee.

Monitor- Make a list of advantages and disadvantages for the programs the GT teacher uses. Am I finding the information I need as well as my students understanding the information and mastering the skills in the content? Can I have an intelligent conversation with those on the tech committee? Can I understand what they tech committee is discussing?

Evaluate and Extend- Using the same software as the GT teacher, compare results. Did my lesson work? If not, do I need to modify my instructional strategies? What will I do differently in the future? Can I give instructions at my school to my colleagues about a software program?

Both indicators is an area I need to strengthen. I am in need of any suggestions or ideas to achieve my GAME plan.

Take Care,
Lynette Vega

Reflection on Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom

I was surprised to read how similar new literacy skills are similar to literacy skills. For instance, in the article 21st Century Fluency Skills has listed reading and writing skills along with personal skills (Jukes, 2007). The article also has media and technology skills. After reading the skills for 21st Century Skills it is evident that the new literacy skills and literacy skills overlap one another. I stress to my students when they are on the computer navigating web sites they are reading. They are shocked when they hear me tell them they are reading. Parents and teachers alike do not view computer time as reading time. Instead it is viewed as wasting time. I had a student ask me to write him a note for his mother about reading on the computer, because she did not believe him!

The knowledge and experience I have gained from this course are truly amazing. It has influenced me on how I will instruct my students in researching on the Internet. Before I took the course with Walden, I knew the basics of researching the internet, that is one or two search engines and typing in key words. Since I have completed the course, I feel confident in teaching my students how to search the internet. The QUEST model for Internet Inquiry is a wonderful model for teaching students how to research questions, understand resources, evaluate, synthesize, and transform information (Eagleton, & Dobler, 2007). I have begun to instruct my students on what is a good source and what is a bad source using Web sites and search engines. My students are finding this new information delightful. I have their full undivided attention when it comes to technology, they want to learn everything they can about technology, it is their life.

A professional goal I have after completing this course is to present the idea of every student being a digital citizen in the school district (Ribble, 2008). My first step is to discuss it with my head technologist in the school district. She encourages 21st century skills in the classroom, so I think this would be something she would be interested in. Next, it would need to be discussed with our school superintendent, then the school board. I would need to communicate clearly about digital citizenship. In order for me to communicate those ideas I would need to research evidence about the effectiveness of a digital citizen, then verbally and visually present those ideas. I also would want to involve parents with my ideas to present to the superintendent and the school board, since parents have a lot of control over school policies.

Overall my experience with this course was a full-filling, worthwhile learning experience.


Take Care,
Lynette


Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
Jukes, I. (2007). 21st Century Fluencies Quotient Insta-Audit. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/tfcfia.pdf

Ribble, M. (2008, December). Passport to digital citizenship. (Danish). Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(4), 14–17.

Reflection

As I reflect on what I have learned in the last eight weeks about integrating technology in the classroom it is thrilling. On a professional level, it brought about awareness of what a 21st century teacher is. One of the characteristic is being a risk taker by implementing technology in the classroom, going beyond the norm. When school begins this fall this is the characteristic I will be adopting. I will start with a lesson about online safety and invite parents, administrators and colleges to my classroom to participate with the students. Hoping this will facilitate an open communication among everyone involved.

My students know more about technology than I do. This course has given me a running start with my students. My focus is on my students, that is, how technology can be of assistance to them now and in the future. I will be the facilitator of technology in my classroom. We both will learn together.

Students need to be involved in their education. After all, this is their education. Students will be represented at staff meetings. There will be a change in my role as a teacher and there will be a change in the role of my students as learners. Technology will not drive classroom instruction; rather instruction will drive how technology is used in the classroom.

To increase student achievement I need to start with prior knowledge. Then tie it to new information, which will lead to meaningful learning for students. I will use common sense as I model for my students how to ask questions beyond the curriculum and how to locate the answer.

One goal I have for technology is learning all aspects about using the Smart Board in the classroom. I started this goal about two weeks ago by attending a class on Smart Board. This fall I will use what I learned. After I feel comfortable, I will take the advance class using the Smart Board. Another goal I have is using portable devices in the classroom. This goal will be a challenge, since teachers at my school site are told to confiscate portable devices if they see them. I will have to approach this delicately. I will write a memo to all teachers, administrators, and parents about portable devices being a learning tool. The letter will have signatures from central office, those who are supporting portable devices in the classroom. It makes me think about what Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.”

The biggest change on the checklist from week 1 is being a teacher leader at my school. Up until I took this course I did not promote, participate, or seek other professionals for developing technology in the classroom. Since this course, I have decided to promote, participate and seek other professionals using technology in the classroom. In doing so, I hope to raise student achievement in academics. I wonder if I will see a rise in attendance in those students who seem to miss a lot of school. This coming school year will definitely be a learning curve for everyone involved.

First Pod Cast

http://lynettevega.podbean.com/mf/web/ycqak6/Podcastassignment.mp3

I interviewed four students between the ages of 5-13, asking them questions about their uses in technology. The reason I did a wide span of ages was to see who uses technology more, the younger or older student?

I clicked on the Audacity icon on my lap top and one of the students remarked by saying, “Your using Audacity?” I told her, “Yes, have you used Audacity before?” My thoughts were yea, she could show me how to cut and edit the sound bytes. She said, “Yes, only once when we had to make a commercial for a business we made at school.” I then asked her, “Do you know how to use Audacity?” “No, I forgot how to use it.” There went my hopes of having someone show me how to edit a podcast. Then the interviewing began.

The results were the younger the student, the less familiar they are with technology. Their favorite technology is using the television and playing games on the computer. The older students used several technical devices, than the younger student. They use their cell phone the most, but not for talking, for texting. They also use the computer to chat with their friends. The younger students said when they get older they too will have access to chat with friends.

The consensus is all students use more technology outside of school, than they do at school. The older the student, the more fluent they are using technical devices.