Course Reflection.
I feel that the GAME plan format is
a very user-friendly format for teachers to use as they work to improve
themselves, their instruction, their district and their students. The GAME plan that I learned the most from
in this course was the plan focused around iste.nets standard 1 Indicator
D. Indicator D calls for teachers to
model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with
students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments. This is why I decided to create a
professional learning community in my district with the hopes that down the
road it could be county wide. I began
by gauging the interest of teachers in my district. One of the most shocking discoveries I made was how little the
technology coordinator in our district new about them and how strict the
policies in our district were about social networking. I knew that we couldn’t use Facebook, but
all the other social sites were blocked by Board policy. I had the support of co-workers and even
some friends who are educators outside of the district to try and get this PLC
going.
I now feel
that this lack of liberty especially with closed forum sites like NING that are
not accessible by the public that I need to make a push to change our schools
policy (Laureate, 2009). I can really
transform my classroom from a traditional classroom to one that embraces the
benefits of online collaboration. I
know it will help me, but this courses use of blogs, wikis, social networking
and digital story telling have made it very clear that there is a place for
these programs in our classroom.
I would not
revise my plan at all. I am currently
working to create a PLC in my district and if I can open that door, maybe in
time the benefits can be made clear to administration and can lead to our
students being able to utilize these tools.
I think this is a great way to ease a major policy change into
action. If this action did not work, I
could use the GAME plan format with my students as they created their own push
to utilize technology. As a class we
can come up with a plan to reach the board members and administration to permit
these types of technology sites. Course
resources stress how these mediums allow for students to build verbal communication, collaboration,
writing, and technical skills as well (Laureate, 2009). What better evidence that PLC’s are
important than for the kids to demonstrate how similar technology can help
them.
Due to the fact that right now board
policy is prohibiting me from using such technology in my instructional
practice, I am currently slatted to give a presentation at February’s Board
meeting in which I hope to have internet rules relaxed, not done away
with. I understand the trouble that the
Internet can create, but many of these can be made private. I plan to show them that these communities
can help teachers and students collaborate for their benefit. I plan to point out that these networks let
us expand beyond the text (Laureate, 2009). Initially this is about getting a
PLC for my colleagues and myself, but I hope to take it a step further and open
up the online world of learning for our children beyond simple Internet
research.
There is no doubt in my mind that I
can use problem-based learning, social networking and digital storytelling in
my curriculum. That is a statement that
I would have never made prior to this course.
The benefits are endless. I
would love to use digital storytelling for the creation of chapter
reviews. I think that by having students
create the reviews to help their classmates a motivation to do well
arises. I also feel that the kids could
really have fun whether they developed a song to remember the causes of the
French Revolution or if the developed a graphic organizer to piece together
their unit on Imperialism. It also
gives students who are uncomfortable with verbal communication the opportunity
to express themselves (Laureate, 2009).
I would also love to give those students who need a little more time the
opportunity to have it. In the
traditional classroom, that is not always a possibility, but with these
technologies it can happen. The online environment also allows for extended
collaboration and communication (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009 ).
As teachers our job is to prepare our students for the jobs of
tomorrow. We live in the digital age
and we must take initiative in preparing them to be successful. When technology can connect them with
individuals around the world for collaboration or information gathering purposes
as teachers we can prepare them through the use of technologies such as Twitter
and blogs. If we in the education world
can embrace these technologies and use them correctly we can go a long way in
preparing today’s youth for the demands of tomorrow.
References:
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.
Laureate Education,,
Inc. (2009). Spotlight on technology: Digital storytelling. Part 1 Integrating
technology across the content areas. [Webcast]. Baltimore, MD
Laureate Education,
Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Spotlight on technology:Social networking
and online collaboration, part 1.[Webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Autho
