Over the past few weeks, I have been working towards the goals I developed for my GAME plan. The GAME plan is a guide for teachers to follow for self-directed learning (Cennamo, Ross, Ertmer, 2009). The final step of the GAME plan is the evaluation process (Cennamo, Ross, Ertmer, 2009). Like all learning, self-directed learning should be also be evaluated. As I mentioned last week, technology is constantly evolving. However, after today I realized that the more technology evolves, the more I evolve. After work, an old colleague of mine came to my school and introduced me to some of the resources he learned while attending a technology conference in Rochester, NY. The resources blew my mind and made me realize that my GAME plan is going to be a life-long process. I witnessed a wind turbine rotate when I blew into the microphone of my computer. It was incredible and it was just a small preview of the technology General Electric (GE) is developing for the future. My PD session today, showed me that there are an infinite amount of possibilities when it comes integrating instructional technology in the classroom.
My goal is to learn and implement a new piece of technology every month. I believe that I have done a good job so far locating innovative resources to apply to my instructional practice, but I feel as if I am learning something new every week. Too many resources can sometimes be overwhelming. I do find myself jumping around and spending small bits of time trying to learn too many technology resources at once. I think it is because I get so excited about learning how each of them might enhance my students’ learning experience. As a result of this, I have decided to tackle one resource at a time by organizing a section of my online bookmarking site to house them in the order I found them. I will stick to my original plan and pick one each month and dedicate my time solely to learning and developing an activity that incorporates the new technology. I am also going to keep an online journal where I can keep notes and observations about the resource, almost like a database. Adjusting the organizational aspect of my plan will definitely help keep me on track and keep my goals alive.
I believe that my goals are going to always be what I strive to achieve and I am willing to work as long and as hard as it takes to be successful.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Jaclyn,
ReplyDeleteLearning new technology can be overwhelming, especially, when you are learning several new tools at once. Developing your skills with one tool at a time is a good approach to take. After you become confident with that tool you can begin to develop confidence with another. What tool will you use for your online journal? I am interested in using an online journal program with my students so I would love to hear what you are using for this. I recently read an artilcle about free online collaboration tools by Hargis and Wilcox (2008, October). This article discussed many of the uses of iGoogle. I have not used iGoogle before but I would be surprised if there was not a gadget that you could use on it that allowed you to journal. I am going to spend some time looking into how I could use this with my students. I need to see if the security on my school’s network will allow the students to customize a homepage with iGoogle. This free tool could really allow someone to maximize the time they spend online. I am excited to see how I can use it with my students.
Jenny
Hargis, J., & Wilcox, S. M. (2008, October). Ubiquitous, free, and efficient online collaboration tools for teaching and learning. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 9(4), 9–17
It is difficult to tackle learning a few new things at once along with all the other things you have to do. It was a good decision to tackle them one at a time. I used to be overwhelmed with the HS math curriculum but then I learned that it is better to learn more about a few things than a little bit about many things. I think that once you are done with the courses here at Walden, you will have some extra time to spend on your goals. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteJenny,
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what tool I am going to use for online journaling. I was thinking of possibly setting up a blog that showcases my journal entries. I like the idea of a blog because I can receive feedback from people and hopefully gain resources.
I was also looking into iGoogle recently and think it is a cool concept. I cannot believe the amount of services Google provides for FREE. I already have a subscription to Delicious, an online bookmarking site, and I do not know if using iGoogle would be necessary. However, I am going to look into more closely and see if I do have use for it.
Thank you for the post.
Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what tool I am going to use for online journaling. I was thinking of possibly setting up a blog that showcases my journal entries. I like the idea of a blog because I can receive feedback from people and hopefully gain resources.
I was also looking into iGoogle recently and think it is a cool concept. I cannot believe the amount of services Google provides for FREE. I already have a subscription to Delicious, an online bookmarking site, and I do not know if using iGoogle would be necessary. However, I am going to look into more closely and see if I do have use for it.
Thank you for the post.
Vicky,
ReplyDeleteI am sure when I am done with my studies at Walden I will have time to do a lot of things. It is difficult trying to focus on my goals when there are other assignments that need to be completed. Plus, time is very valuable and spending it "playing" around with new resources sometimes feels like a waste of time. And I think this is because I have not had enough time to fully learn a program to the point where I feel comfortable incorporating it into my classroom.
Thank you for the hope!
Jaclyn. I, too, find myself trying to use/explore too many options and end up only knowing a little about a lot of things. The idea to take one technology and understand it thoroughly is a good one. I am concerned I will not select the "best one", but there are too many available to research them all, so I just need to jump in and pick one to learn well. Cathy
ReplyDeleteCathy,
ReplyDeleteI am going to make it my goal to know a lot about a few new technology resources, rather than the other way around. I believe that if I stick to my GAME plan and keep this goal in mind, I will do fine. Thanks for the post.
Jaclyn,
ReplyDeleteI think it is wise to slow down the frequency in which you introduce new technologies. I recall from an old pedagogy class that it is important not to overwhelm students with to much new information at one time. They need to process smaller amounts of information so that they make good mental connections before moving on. I loved your Pod Cast! That's a nice piece of technology, I appreciated hearing your students thoughts and opinions on technology.
I agree with the others that learning one technology at a time is a wise course of action. I have also found that juggling Walden requirements, family, and lesson plans does not leave as much time for exploring or learning new technologies as I might like. Your time table of one a month seems reasonable. I find that using Delicious.com has helped me organize my findings. I have finally brought a few teachers at my school onboard with the idea of social bookmarking. Slowly we are learning and collaborating better than before.
ReplyDeleteHello Jaclyn,
ReplyDeleteI am going through the same issue with becoming familiar with differnt types of technologies. It can be very overwhelming when you haven't mastered the few technologies that you already are familiar with. I don't know about your school, but technology is very limited at my school. It doesnt allow for a variety of technolgy to be used in the classroom. This makes my job more difficult as an educator. The hardest part about the entire process is locating different resources that are available in my school and on the internet. Good luck with your process.
Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteThe podcast was a lot of fun to create. I wish I had the time to create more podcasts for my students. I am starting a lesson on the Harlem Renaissance and was thinking of introducing the lesson by using a podcast. Instead of me standing in the front of the room explaining to students what we are going to be learning about, I want to create something similar to a movie preview.
I am definitely going to slow down when it comes to learning and introducing new technologies. However, I am finding it to be very hard. Every time I turn around, something new is coming my way. Plus, just as I mentioned above about the movie preview, I want to create new ways to make the content interesting. Thank you for the post.
Susan,
ReplyDeleteI use Delicious.com and I love it. A colleague of mine sent me a link to another teacher's Delicious account, which has an incredible amount of 21st century learning resources: http://delicious.com/dembe01. I have briefly looked it over, with my new goal in mind (only focus on a little at a time).
I wish Walden would have provided a little more time in this course to explore new resources. I find my GAME plan to be nothing more than a plan at this point. Although I have fulfilled the Action requirement, I feel that I have not had enough time to learn enough about anything to fully implement it into my classroom. This would have been a great course for over the summer, even though I am a 12 month employee and would still be teaching. At least in the summer, a majority of the teacher have off, making it easier to focus on learning new technologies - ones that can be used in September.
Thanks for the post!
Olu,
ReplyDeleteMy school is open when it comes to teachers using the Internet - there are no filters. However, the students are not allowed to access the Internet, making a majority of the instruction teacher-centered. Along with having no Internet access, the students are not allowed to use scissors, markers, crayons (only colored pencils) and we do not have a library. All of the information students receive comes directly from me or out of a book. So, I am definitely trying to be creative. I mentioned in my response to Bonnie above, that I would like to make a movie preview using podcasting software to introduce the Harlem Renaissance. I think it is better than standing in front of the room... what do you think?