REFLECTION

As this course winds to a close, there are two major concepts that I have learned.  The first is how to develop and follow a GAME plan.  The second is how I can successfully integrate problem-based (PBL) and technology into my content area.  The following is a summary of my experiences.

GAME PLAN REFLECTION

As a refresher, my GAME plan involved strengthening my technology confidence and proficiency by improving on the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) NETS-T standard and two of its indicators.  By facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity, I hoped to use collaborative tools to promote student reflection and model knowledge construction (ISTE, 2008).  From this idea, my thought was to incorporate students in this homework review by having them collaborate and create a homework answer key on a wiki; then students will lead the homework review discussion.

By carrying out my GAME plan I have learned that while I have model the use of technology in my classroom every day, the practice does not infer that students know how to use it in the same fashion OR have the same access.  I have also learned that not all of my students have access to technology at home.  Some do not have internet, while others do not even own a computer.  This truth affects my instructional practice by putting the burden on me to find time for all of my students to participate in the same manner.  If this project is a requirement of my course, I cannot punish my students if they do not have the tools at home to complete my assignment.  Compounding this problem is the fact that not all of the students come in early or can stay late.  They are bussed and are held to a strict time schedule. 

These experiences have taught me that I need to find a way for students to gain access to the technology during school if I require my students to use this technology in my course.  I think that being a good educator means not only teaching those students who have the resources to be successful, but it also means that a teacher must find the resources for those who are not as fortunate; regardless of SES, disability, or other.  For these reasons, I have weighed the options for next year and have considered one important modification.  I will probably stick to unit reviews since weekly, let alone daily, reviews are difficult to iron out logistically.  Once my students start to develop a rhythm the first semester, I believe it will be easier for them to find the time and gain the access to technology to increase the pacing to weekly and perhaps even daily during the second semester.

INTEGRATING PBL AND TECHNOLOGY REFLECTION

Although mapping out a GAME plan was insightful, out of the two major concepts I believe I resonated best with integrating PBL and technology into my content area.  I feel that I have already engaged students in authentic learning projects, but after developing our latest unit plan I feel compelled to refine my lessons to inspire my students learning and creativity using PBL, collaboration tools and digital storytelling.  The tricky part is trying to cleverly use these technologies in a mathematics classroom.

In our week seven discussion, my colleagues and I were asked to describe ways to incorporate digital storytelling into our content area.  By every description Dr. Abrams gave, digital storytelling utilized the skills and ideas represented in PBL and online collaboration (Laureate, 2010).  Thus, our unit plan was melding of these concepts found beneath the umbrella of digital storytelling.

My unit plan crescendo involved a final presentation of student recommendations to the school board utilizing digital storytelling.  The lesson plan involved:

1)    Students summarizing a local problem

2)    Students demonstrating the mathematical formulas and computations they have used to apply towards a real world problem

3)    Student suggests at resolving the problem for the community

This is only one example of how I can integrate technology using PBL, online collaboration, and digital storytelling.  The challenge for me is to develop many more units that follow the same template for my future classes.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Spotlight on technology: digital storytelling, part one [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6489425&Survey=1&47=8488339&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Monitoring My GAME Plan

            In an effort to monitor my game plan, there are several questions that must be addressed and answered.  Amongst these questions are concerns about locating the appropriate information and resources, modifications that need to be made to my GAME plan, what I have learned thus far, and any new questions that to be addressed.  The following is a summary of my review of these considerations.

FINDING INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

            So far information and resources have not been too much an issue.  I have researched, or rather reviewed each wiki-type site that Walden has suggested using and have landed on using Wikispaces.  Like my colleagues at Walden, I am most familiar with utilizing this software since we have used it in another project.  I know others exist, however, feel most comfortable using what I know.  Additionally, my current class will be using a wiki next week for a project.  This experience will be a good “refresher” for myself and enable me the opportunity to explore more of the options Wikispaces provides for an educator.

MODIFICATIONS NEEDED

            There are two new considerations that I must attend to in an effort to launch my GAME plan.  The first is that I must effectively train students on how to use the wiki.  For this, I will need to set aside time during class to demonstrate its use.  To accomplish this goal, I need to make certain that I have the mobile laptop cart available so that the students will be able to complete an exercise.  Otherwise, I will reserve the computer lab for precisely the same reason.  I am incorporating this training in my classroom based on the responses that I received from an anonymous informative survey.  My students, as it appears, are not as technologically savvy as I first thought.

            The second consideration that I must look after is scheduling time for the students who do not have access to technology.  From the anonymous informative survey mentioned above, I have learned that not all my students have access at home.  This fact puts the burden on me to find time for all of my students to participate in the same manner.  If this project is a requirement of my course, I cannot punish my students if they do not have the tools at home to complete my assignment.  Compounding this problem is the fact that not all of the students come in early or can stay late.  They are bussed and are held to a strict time schedule.  I have to find a way for students to gain access to the technology during school.  Most likely, a schedule needs to be developed.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED THUS FAR

            I have learned that while I may have technology in my classroom that students see me use every day, it does not necessarily mean that they know how to use it in the same fashion OR have the same access.  I think that being a good educator means not only teaching those students who have the resources to be successful, but it also means that a teacher must find the resources for those who are not as fortunate; regardless of SES, disability, or other.

NEW QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED

            Lastly, I am concerned about one very major factor in pursuing this venture; time.  Currently, my pacing is running relatively thin in my 11^th grade advanced algebra classes but overabundant in my 10^th grade geometry classes.  For most, this is an easy solution.  Those people would opt to infuse this project into the geometry class.  My concern comes in where maturity and responsibility is concerned.  My 10^th graders are nowhere near as responsible as my 11^th graders, nor as motivated.  Additionally, both sets of students seem to have a similar level of expertise when it comes to technology.  I suppose if this is the case, then it would not hurt to try it this year on my 10^th graders as a litmus test.  With proper planning next year, time should not be an issue.

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

                In an effort to carry out my game plan, there are several considerations that must be reviewed.  Amongst these considerations are the resources needed to carry out my plan, additional information needed, and steps that I have been able to take thus far.  The following is a summary of my review of these considerations.

RESOURCES NEEDED

                Since my game plan involves students developing a wiki, there are several concerns of mine.  The first is that all of my students have access to technology to perform the task.  Without access, I cannot expect for the assignment to be completed.  Currently, I have access to a mobile cart with laptops.  If needed, I could check out the cart and have the kids work on the assignment at school.  The second is that students are proficient with the software.  I may need to set aside some class time to effectively train the students on how to use the program we use.  The last consideration that comes to mind is the students of mine with disabilities that may need a revised role because of their disability or assistive technology to help them complete the assignment.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION NEEDED

                Currently, I believe I will need to know who has access to technology outside of school and who does not.  I may need to group those who do not together so that we can check-out the mobile laptop cart at one time.  I would like to avoid this since it seems to single kids out and I would like to keep the groups as homogeneous as possible.  I also will need review my inclusion students’ IEP’s so that I understand what the limitations will be for them.

STEPS TAKEN

                Since I already have my inclusion students’ IEP’s in my possession, I have been able to review them for limitations.  I have a couple of students with ADD/ADHD who may have difficulty staying on task.  Another student has a severe eyesight impairment that is very evident in class.  Yet another has severe social/emotional concerns.  As a result of my findings, I have set up meetings to consult with my special education colleagues about the best approach for these students.

Developing My Own GAME Plan

     Self-directed lifelong learning is defined as “…any increase in knowledge, skill, accomplishment, or personal development that an individual selects and brings about by his or her efforts…” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p.2).   In my opinion, a person who is self-directed depends on a high level of creativity that helps to perpetuate their desire to learn.  For a teacher, the challenge is to actively engage the learner with instruction that has meaning or authenticity.  One way to ensure teachers “turn on the lights” and actively engage students is to immerse students in a technological environment they have already been living within outside of school (Prensky, 2008). 

     To help accomplish this goal, Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer (2009) further define self-directed lifelong learning as a GAME plan where one sets Goals, takes Action to meet such goals, and then Monitors and Evaluates the progress.  This blog entry is a summary of my GAME plan to satisfy at least two indicators in the National Education Standards for Teacher (NETS-T), on the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) website, in an effort to strengthen my confidence in using technology in the classroom.

GOALS

     Since my content area of mathematics stereotypically uses a lecture-style instruction format, I would like to find digital tools that support learning in other venues.  While I feel that I have already engaged students in authentic learning projects, I now would like to focus on refining daily classroom tasks to inspire my students more frequently. 

     In an effort to inspire learning and creativity, I believe that students can benefit from collaboration to clarify their understanding.  More importantly, I believe students can gain tremendously from having a teacher who models the behavior I would like my students to emulate.  For that reason, after examining the ISTE NETS-T (2008) I have identified one standard with two of four respective indicators that seem to align with my goals.  I will try to strengthen my technology confidence and proficiency by improving the following:   

1.    Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

c)    Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.

d)    Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.

ACTION

     To refine my day-to-day routine, it would probably help to describe what already exists.  Each day in my classroom, I start out checking homework for completion and then review the answers from an answer key on the interactive whiteboard.  Kids are expected to grade their own work and ask to see problems they had difficulty completing.  Normally, this does pretty well for most of the students; most of the time it is a sufficient process but follows the typical instructor/student lecture format.  My hopes are to incorporate students in this homework review by having them collaborate and create a homework answer key on a wiki.  After they develop the answer key, students will lead the homework review discussion.

     My thoughts are that students will be divided into small groups whose responsibility will be to complete the assignment on the wiki.  After the students have finished, I will have them present the solutions to the class using the interactive whiteboard through accessing the wiki.  At first, this attempt will be weekly.  After students gain familiarity with this process, we will increase the frequency of the activity to twice a week.  Ultimately, I would like this to happen on daily basis.

MONITOR

     Since students will be divided up into small groups, I will need to make sure that one student does not assume a dominant role such that other students cannot learn from the process (Cennamo et al, 2009).  This may mean that I need to participate on the wiki to provide guidance.  Other times, I may need to analyze the activity on the wiki and determine who responsible for a majority of the presentation.  By monitoring the activity, I will be able to help equitably distribute the work load and develop the dominant student into one of leadership and instruction.

     Additionally, I may need to revise this plan depending upon my students’ access to the technology and proficiency with the software.  This could require a few days in class to be used to train students how to effectively use the wiki program.  At any rate, I will need to closely monitor technology access and proficiency so that my classroom goals can be reached.

EVALUATE

     By using the computer as a conferencing tool and communicating their results to the class, students will be participating in a holistic activity that utilizes cross-content skills and includes them in a challenging activity (Cennamo et al., 2009).  These efforts not only help to create a self-directed lifelong learner, but they offer an window for both teachers and students alike to extend their learning and apply what they have learned to new scenarios.  In this case, students will be using technology and collaboration to produce a finished product.

     This product can be assessed for effectiveness by analyzing student time spent on the wiki as well as the student’s individual role in presenting the answer key to the class.  I will be creating a rubric to formally assess their performance outlining time spent on the wiki, time spent during the presentation, accuracy of the product, etc.  Informally, I imagine the level of new scenarios, probing questions, and self-directed learning should be on the rise.  How to evaluate this information is going to be tricky.  For this task, I think that journaling the occurrences of these events both before and after implementing the GAME plan will assist in monitoring the growth of students.   Additionally, holding focus group interviews can be of great assistance when measuring qualitative performance as well.

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

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40–45.

Final Reflection (6711)

            As this course nears the end, I have taken some time to reflect on how to effectively and appropriately integrate technology into my classroom.  In week one, we discussed our personal theory of learning based on both learning and instruction theories. After further investigation during this course, it became evident that the two are more intertwined than I had originally discussed.  Learning theory omits external environment and examines the way a student thinks while instructional theory study’s what you can do to change or adapt the environment to assist or facilitate student learning (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).  For example, a learning theory such as behaviorism utilizes conditioned response where the brain seeks to make connections and meaningful patterns (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011a).  Instructional theories, like constructivism, place the learner in the environment to learn via the process of discovery.  In my opinion, it is this process of discovery where learners make connections and establish meaningful patterns such as those required in learning theories.  It is this reason why my instructional practice will include an increased proportion of constructivist/constructivist activities.

            My instructional practice and tactics will focus on how create an experience that better enables my students to make the connection their brains seek.  One technological tool that will greatly enhance this ability is concept mapping software.  To better explain the benefits of this technology tool, I defer to a portion of my third week blog.  It states:

Concept mapping organizes an incredible amount of knowledge to assist in creating connection between working memory and long-term memory (Novak & Cañas, 2008).  Learners who participate in concept mapping are creating a document to follow ideas.  Each idea or concept links to another concept that takes on characteristics similar to that of a flow chart.  Those learners who strive to construct quality concept maps have demonstrated that they are actively engaged in the creative process (Novak & Cañas, 2008).  This creativity enables students to utilize their “experiences and learning strengths in the process of constructing knowledge” (Orey, 2001).  By participating in the construction of their own knowledge through the experience of concept mapping, students again make connections in working memory that are easily retrievable in reinforced long-term memory.

            Additionally, I would like to incorporate the use of a wiki for unit and semester exam reviews.  While not a particular technology we studied in this class, it best suits my desires to infuse constructivist/constructionist into my instruction.  By developing a wiki, students will not only be able to learn from one another about challenging content, but I would also be able to use it as a check for understanding and perhaps a formative assessment.  Depending on the dialogue in the wiki, I could simply adjust their classroom instruction to address learning gaps in content.  The end product is a useful unit exam reviews developed by the students themselves.

            To strategically implement these tools as my long-term classroom goals, each semester students will be divided up into two cooperative learning groups who are assigned as task-masters for each unit.  These teams will be responsible for creating the entire class’ unit review; one in charge of the concept map and one in charge of the wiki.  Each group will be given a mandatory list of topics to cover within each unit where both will be posted and utilized on the wiki.  As one could imagine, the task-masters will need to collaborate effectively to ensure equitable coverage of unit content.

Ensuring equitable participation in this activity calls for employing safeguards that address equity in time, ensuring collaboration and how to effectively evaluate student learning.  In an effort to accommodate those students who do not have access to technology at home, I would set up a schedule in the beginning of the semester for different teams to sign up for their unit review.  The idea is one unit is assigned to one team of task-masters.  Hopefully with enough notice, students would be able to plan accordingly and use the schools resources.  If not, I may have to assign class time. 

Being a math teacher, my instructional tools have typically used pencil and paper to solve problems,  As one can imagine, incorporating technology as part of math content has become increasingly difficult for me.  My content area has never fully appreciated the utility of technologies such as VoiceThread and virtual field trips, but lends itself more to graphing calculators, spreadsheet analysis and interactive whiteboards.  My challenge is how to motivate students to use technology while learning a content area that is historically pencil and paper based.  The most important information gained out of this course for me was directing my classroom to become more student-centered where students build their knowledge to make connections.  Hopefully I can incorporate technology effectively enough to support such tenets.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program one: Understanding the brain [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011b). Program three: Instructional theory vs. learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Novak, J. D., & Cañas, A. J. (2008).   The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008.  Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/
TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

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

 

Homework Completion VoiceThread

http://voicethread.com/share/2302139/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

             Social learning theories place emphasis on context and culture as students engage in constructing knowledge and understanding with those around them (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011a).  Of particular interest in education are two social learning theories that we studied in class this week.  One is constructivism that states “learning is the act of constructing knowledge, making meaning, and making sense of the world” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).  The second is connectivism where learning is the process of forming networks in which knowledge resides within the patterns of adjoined concepts (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).  This week, I will describe how these two social learning theories correlate with current instructional strategies that involve today’s technology.

                Collaboration and cooperative learning are amongst the instructional strategies used to support the tenets of social learning by submersing the learner in a context where those who participate create meaning through their interactions with other members of their group (Orey, 2001).  Both operate from a constructivist vantage where learners construct knowledge based on their understanding about what occurs in social situations (Orey, 2001).  While seemingly difficult at first, technology can greatly assist in facilitation of such an instructional strategy.  For example, multimedia projects are a natural environment for this type of project (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).  Kids work collaboratively to create a documentary or narrative as a finished product. In the process, members of the project add their strengths to assist and guide fellow members while supplementing their own content deficiencies.  Those who participate gain not only the knowledge they discover, but the knowledge other members of the group discover as well.        

                Collaboration and cooperative learning strategies also support the ideology of connectivism by utilizing the vast internet network where an overabundance of information is available to all who choose to learn (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).  Communication software such as blogs and wiki’s can assist in collaborative efforts where students use the technology to “bounce” ideas off of one another to reach a common goal (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).  Learners rely on this positive interdependence not only to use the network of information to find a solution to a problem, but they use the blog or wiki as a tool to convey what they have learned to other group members.  We use this technology as part of our everyday culture.  Consider the impact Facebook or Twitter has had on our society. Think of those times when you had a problem or issue and asked for help through one of those venues.  There was immediate response from your “friends” about how to remediate your situation.  Think about how businesses use Skype to video conference with clients and colleagues.  This response to the utility of communication software definitely indicates that our society supports both collaborative and cooperative learning.  Academia should be no different.  Additionally, this technology can be used to foster a partnership with other learning communities outside of our classroom.  Resources such as educational websites will only further make connections to new perspectives, information, and vantage points.

                All things considered, I believe that social learning theories such as constructivism and connectivism are supported by instructional strategies such as collaborative and cooperative learning.  Important to the success of these instructional strategies are the technological tools to help facilitate the most effective implementation.  Sure, I agree that using these technologies and strategies may take a little additional work preparing and planning the lesson.  In fact, it may even seem like you are a first year teacher again, but that may not be such a bad thing.  Beginning a new adventure by challenging ourselves and tired and worn out strategies that have lost their effectiveness and social momentum only helps us become better teachers, and ultimately creates better students in the interim.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program eight: Social learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011b). Program nine: Connectivism as a learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

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

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K.  (2007).  Using technology with classroom instruction that works.  Alexandria, VA:  ASCD.