6713 Final Reflection

The past 8 weeks, whether it is because this course kept me active in learning and implementing new things or because the 2016-2017 school is in full swing, have flown by. Throughout this course I have learned about and created a GAME plan to guide my self-directed learning activities. A GAME plan is simply four easy steps of setting goals, taking action, monitoring progress, and evaluating and extending the learning of students (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).

In creating a GAME plan I have gained a stronger appreciation for prior planning of each lesson. While planning for a new lesson can be time consuming, the result of proper planning are much more positive. I have found that I am able to push my students higher when using the GAME plan steps as I am fully thinking through all aspects of the activities prior to starting the lesson or unit. I have also found that although my students are young and learning many skills for the first time I can and should release some of the control over to my students, especially when incorporating technology.

            It is important for my students to take control over their learning. This will not only motivate them but also engage them in their education. As a result of this course I will begin to take a step back and allow my students to begin working with the technology in the classroom in a more hands on way. I have always incorporated technology into my classroom but have most often I have had the control. While my fear of just how time consuming it will be to put the technology in the hands of my students I have reaffirmed just how important technology is to their future and success.

Reference

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

So far I have learned that my students as a whole, know more about technology then I had original thought they would at the beginning of the school year. Due to this I have found plenty of resources and application that can take the teaching out of my hands and put it in the hands of my students. 

The only modification I will make in my action plan is to adjust the amount of responsibility I give my students. As stated before I now know that they are capable of more and thus will hold them to a higher level. By taking a step back I am giving my students the ownership over their learning. This will set them up to be stronger students in the years to come. 

I still have questions about several apps that I have found or have been told about by colleagues. I will continue to explore the many new apps and determine the ones that will best meet the needs of my needs and be easily used by them. This will continue to take time but the benefits will be well worth it not only for me but my students as well. 

Valerie

  

  

  

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

In order to carry out my game plan of becoming proficient in the technology systems and incorporating more student lead instruction I must utilize my colleagues as much as they will allow me to. By conferring with my colleague I can most certainly expand my list of technology tools to use in the classroom as well as learn from them just how they use the tool with their students in their classroom. I can also pick my colleagues brains about how they are able to relinquish the control of teaching and learning to their students. Their experiences can save me a lot of time and trials when incorporating technology.

My colleagues are a place to start however they are not my only resources. I can turn to other teachers, researchers and even parents for information, guidance and support. Reaching out side of my school will broaden my findings on new technologies to use with my students and suggestions on ways in which I can relinquish the learning to my students to lead.

Thus far in my plan I have begun allowing my students to begin explaining directions to the class as well as leading some of the teaching during our phonics and reading time. I can already tell that my students are very eager for they turn to be the teacher and lead the class. This has helped with attention and behavior in the classroom as well. Students know that they will only get a turn if they are paying attention to others and myself. 

Personal GAME Plan

Upon reviewing the ISTE Standards for Teachers I feel as though I could stand to build my confidence and proficiency with many of the indicators. There are two that I feel the least confident in and I will focus on those two first.

The first indicator falls under the standard of designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments (International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), 2016). Indicator B is to develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress (ISTE, 2016). I think this is such a hard thing for me to grasp as my students are so young and really don’t know how to take the lead in there learning. However, I know that my students can and will rise to meet any and all expectation that I set forth. So in terms of my GAME plan for this indicator I must set the goal of having more student lead instruction. The action I must take to achieve this goal is to take a step back and relinquish the control to my students. I must also teach and model the ways in which students can pursue their own individual curiosities. Through observation I can monitor the success of my students as well as evaluate their need for support and guidance in their learning process.

The second indicator that I feel I must focus on is indicator a- demonstrating fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations, which is under the standard of modeling digital age work and learning (ISTE, 2016). My goal for this standard is to become proficient in the technology systems that I want to teach my students in order for them to understand them. To achieve this I must set aside time each week to learn the new technologies that I want to teach my students. Only once I feel comfortable with the new technology should I plan to begin using it with my students. Throughout my learning of the new technologies I will be sure to reach out to colleagues for support if they have used it before or I will show off what I have learned to them if they have not used it before. If I can successfully teach a colleague about the technology then perhaps I am ready to pass it on to my students.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2016). Standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers

Final Reflection 6711

Final Reflection

            At the beginning of this course I discussed my personal theory of learning and how it connected to the constructivist and social constructivist learning theories. With this course coming to an end I now understand the importance of all four theories and how they all have and will continue play a role in my classroom. Being more aware of the learning theories as well as learning many new educational technologies from this course, I can enhance my teaching and my students learning experience.  

            Throughout this course I have been able to implement some of the new technology tools into my classroom. Although my students are young in age they have been able to easily use many of the new technology tools. Allowing and teaching my students to use technology will help to keep them actively engaged in the lessons (Laureate Education, n.d.b).  An immediate adjustment I have made in my classroom as a result of this course is giving my students more control of the technology. Already I have seen a change in behavior and engagement as students are waiting their turn to control the computer or Starboard in order to teach the class. Teaching others can have a huge impact on students understanding of the content (Laureate Education, n.d.c). 

Voice Threads and concept maps are two technology tools that I will continue to use in my classroom, both for instruction and as hands on learning tools. Voice Treads are a powerful learning tool not only for instruction but classroom collaboration (Laureate Education, n.d.d). Concept maps are another great tool to use in the classroom. They can help the learner to visualize and connect ideas much like the network model of memory (Laureate Education, n.d.a).  These tools will not only support my students but also enhance their learning.

            The first long-term goal that I would like to make regarding technology integration in my classroom is to give each student at least 3 opportunities a week to interact with technology. Whether these interactions are on the Star Board, a laptop or an ipad, students will be in control of the technology. Each week while planning I will be sure to include these opportunities across curriculum so that students can have many opportunities to engage with different technology tools. The second long-term goal regarding technology integration is to incorporate the use of concept mapping within the reading and writing instruction each week. Concept mapping will support my students in recalling information learned throughout the unit and make need connections (Laureate Education, n.d.a). 

            Overall I am have learned a great deal about the learning theories from this course. I have also learned many new technology tools that will support my students learning in the classroom. I look forward to the continued implementation of these new tools in my classroom and to see the success my students gain from them.

Reference

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.a). Cognitive learning theories[Video file]. Baltimore, MD:

Author

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.b). Technology: Instructional tool vs. learning tool [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.c). Social learning theories [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.d). Spotlight on technology: VoiceThread [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice - Week 5

The follow link is to the VoiceThread that I created this week https://voicethread.com/#thread/7512297/40447768. The topic I chose to discuss is collaboration and communication among faculty. This has become a major problem as my school has grown from K-4 school to now a K-8 school over the past 5 years. It also does not help that we have had turn over in administration each year and more than half of the staff is new this year. Thanks for viewing and I look forward to your feedback!

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

An extremely useful instructional strategy for the classroom is that of cooperative learning. Cooperative learning focuses on the meaningful interactions between students working in groups to enhance their learning (Pitler, Hubbell & Kuhn, 2012). Student motivation is increased with cooperative learning, as students tend to buy in more to the lesson, not only for themselves but for their peers as well (Pitler, et al., 2012)

                 Cooperative learning is an instructional strategy that falls perfectly in line with the social learning theory. The social learning theory places an emphasis on the significance of culture and context in understanding and constructing knowledge (Orey, 2001). Dr. Orey (Laureate Education, n.d.) states that by working together and teaching others, students can develop a deeper understanding of the content they are learning.

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Social learning theories [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.