Carrying out my GAME Plan

Course: Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas

Instructor: Virgil Kirk

What resources will I need to carry out my GAME plan (video, reading, experts, or colleagues, etc)?

First goal: I will need to contact my Edtech expert and discuss different technology concepts/software I can teach to my staff. During our discussion we will also compile a survey that I will give my staff to determine what their interests are.

Second goal: I will need to determine which forms of technology my students are already proficient in. I will do this be giving them a survey. The survey will cover a variety of technology concepts so I have a clear picture of my student’s skills.

What additional information do I need?

First Goal: After my teachers have finished the survey I will tabulate the information and develop a schedule with the topics for each meeting. I have decided that the “Tech Café” will be open once a month and the topics of discussion will be posted so the teachers can decided which ones would best suit their needs. My plan is to have the meetings in the morning for about 30 minutes. I will take about 10 minutes to introduce the topic and then the teachers can have 20 minutes to explore.

Second Goal: After my students complete the survey I will review their answers to decide what technology they know and what I need to teach or review.

What steps have I been able to take so far?

First Goal: I have proposed my idea to my principal and he felt it was an excellent use of my technology expertise. In addition to the “Tech Café” I’m going to communicate to my colleagues via a digital newsletter. I’m in the process of developing the format. I have also talked to the Sunshine committee at my school and they will provide juice and doughnuts for the “Tech Café” to entice teachers to attend.

Second Goal: I’m reviewing different lessons that I teach and deciding which lesson would fit this goal. I want to give my students the opportunity to “think outside of the box” when they are creating their final project. Here are a few of my lesson ideas:

• Math – My students are learning about arrays – have them create a project that would visually assist a student that is learning how to solve multiplication problems using arrays.

• Science – pick an ordinary household item then redesign the object and what it is used for.

• Writing – Learning to use the 6-trait Voice - Create a story using voice and image.

I would love some feed back on my lesson plan ideas.

Dawn Bell

My GAME Plan

Course: Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas

Instructor: Virgil Kirk

Advocating effective use of technology at my school has been a personal goal of mine for the past five years. It is also the reason I’m in this Masters Program. After reviewing the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) for teachers I realized that I already promoted some of the standards within my classroom and school. There are two standards that I would like to focus on for my GAME plan.

I agree with Peggy Ertmer that a supportive team is needed in order to integrate technology effectively (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). There are still members of my staff that believe technology should not be a part of the school day. A teacher made a comment that if she cuts anything out of her day it is her computer lab time. This type of mindset only fuels my passion to continue modeling the benefits of technology in the classroom.

My first standard is:

5b exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skill of others.

Goal: I want my colleagues to learn a variety of ways they can incorporate technology into their lessons. I also want them to understand the impact technology will have on their students’ learning environment. Along with this I would like to have a committee would help map out the technology direction for our school.

Action: Provide a bimonthly “Tech Café” infusion gathering. During this time different software, lessons or projects will be demonstrated. A guest, a colleague or myself would do the demonstrations. I also envision this as a time to share ideas about the direction our school should take with technology.

Monitor: At each “Tech Café” gathering we will have a sharing time to reflect on technology that was integrated.

Evaluate: At the end of two months I will take a survey of the staff to see if the “Tech Café” was useful or if we need to include different types of technology.

As teachers become more confident in their technology skills I believe they will begin to include it more in their lessons.

My second standard is:

2c: customize and personalize learning activates to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resource.

Goal: My students will identify their learning style and will use a digital tool that will creatively complete a learning activity.

Action: Have my students take a test that will identify their learning style. Brainstorm and identify different digital tools that will address each of the learning styles. Provide a learning opportunity that allows my students to determine which digital tool they will use for their final project.

Monitor: Provide the students with a rubric to monitor their progress. During the process review my students’ progress and redirect it if needed. At the end of the project have the students reflect on their experience.

Evaluate: I will evaluate the final project and my rubric will include my learning objectives. If the students were able to grasp the objectives then my goal would have been met. I would reevaluate the process and expand on my expectations if they did not.

I look forward to your comments and any suggestions you may have regarding my GAME plan.

Dawn Bell

References

Laureate Education Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program three. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas (Motion picture) Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology Baltimore: Author.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.

Search by Creative Commons. Retrieved on November 10, 2009 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sashafatcat/ / CC BY 2.0

My Reflection

Course: EDUC-6712I-1 Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom

Instructor: Susan Krauss

The most striking revelation I had while taking this course was that I needed to continue to change how I prepare my students for their future. Information is changing so rapidly that I need to help my students learn how to obtain valid information while sifting through mounds of different resources. I need to continue modeling for my students “how to learn” and break the habit of teaching at them. Another revelation I had during this course was that “it’s not about the technology” (Laurate Education, Inc. 2009). I also heard this statement during a training seminar attended. My analysis of this statement is that if your lesson is bad the technology is not going to make it meaningful. As an educator I need to be aware of how the lesson is delivered and the connection students make with the information.

The knowledge and experience I have gained over the last eight weeks will give me the foundation to teach my students the literacy skills they will need to be successful in their future. Students need to be inspired and engaged in their learning. I want them to “Think outside of the box” (Laurate Education, Inc. 2009). By infusing the different skills into my lessons I will give my students the strategies needed to be creative problem solvers.

One professional goal I have is to continue learning about different information literacy and technology skills. There are many steps I will take to continue this journey. I will attend a variety of inservices and trainings related to technology. I also will keep up to date on any changes by reading different educational blog sites. Along with learning this information I will provide mini trainings for my colleagues to keep them “Tech Savvy.”

Another goal I have is to model different ways to connect with people. I want to open up the classroom doors and become connected with others. I will do this by having my students share information on a class blog or create a wiki page with another classroom. I also would like my students to participate in a Skype conference with another classroom outside of my school. The project would be a follow up on our social studies unit “Trekking Across Alaska.” Each class would give the students clues about their state to determine what state they are from. This would create a connection to the curriculum as well as communicating information through a different multimedia format.

I believe educators needs to step out of the confines of the classroom and embrace the digital world we live in. As educators we may need to educate the administration to reevaluate how information is being taught to our students. If our classrooms do not become forward thinking our students will not be prepared for their future and be behind in this digital age of information.

References

Millard, David. (2009). The hoos-foos muse. Retrived October 24, 2009 from

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pqvfYJ1yp4/Sds23ZJlV7I/AAAAAAAAAkg/HEis4qf2eX8/s400/webbookshelf.jpg

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program three. Essential Questions in Inquiry Projects [Motion picture]. Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program thirteen. It’s Not About The Technology [Motion picture]. Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.

Evaluating Research

Week 7: Evaluating Research Methods

EDUC – 6653I-2 Introduction to Educational Research

Instructor: Kathryn Arnold

The world of education is constantly changing. Along with those changes educational research has evolved to include a variety of different methods. Some researchers will manipulate the data in order to have a desired result. It is the role of the teacher to be knowledgeable of the key points of each form of research. Teachers need to look at research in a critical manner and determine if the data is valid. Prior to this course I did not know the difference between qualitative and quantitative research design. I now feel confident that I can determine the type of method needed with certain forms of research. I will evaluate the scenarios below and decipher what method I would use to conduct the study.

Scenario 1: Ten students are available for in-depth interviews. Participants will be selected based on their involvement with the peer mediation program. They will be observed over three weeks. Analysis will attempt to determine issues concerning peer mediation.

• Scenario 1 represents a qualitative research plan. A key factor to qualitative research is the type of data that is collect and typically it is interactive and uses a “face-to face” technique subjects (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008). In this study the researcher will conduct an in-depth interview with each of the students.

Scenario 2: Two classrooms of students are selected. There are 30 students in each class; each group will have similar demographics—age, sex, race, socio-economic background, etc. Classes will be randomly divided into two groups of 15 students. Of these two groups, one randomly selected group will get training on peer mediation and the other group will not. Thus in each classroom there will be one group that is trained in peer mediation and one that is not. Analysis will occur on which groups have the fewest office referrals.

• Scenario 2 represents a quantitative research plan. Within quantitative research there are 2 different subclassifications experimental and nonexperimental designs. This study would fall under the experimental design. The researcher will compare two different groups to determine the cause and effect of a predetermined set of question(s). Within an experimental design the researcher has control over the subjects (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008).

Scenario 3: A school counselor is interested in knowing how student attitudes affect the value of peer mediation to decrease the number of office referrals that are being filed for inappropriate interactions.

• Scenario 3 represents an action research plan. In this scenario the school counselor is trying to determine a behavior that is pertinent to the local setting, which is different than a traditional research. Most likely the researcher would use a descriptive data analysis to determine the findings. The end results from this study would have a changing effect in the action of students (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008).

Scenario 4: Peer mediation has become widely used in many schools. The feelings of those involved in the process are little known—either from those doing the mediation or those receiving it. The ZASK-R Acceptance Preference Survey will be given as pre- and post-tests to 40 students participating in mediation. Follow-up interviews will be conducted on a bi-monthly basis.

• Scenario 4 represents a mixed-method research design. This type of research combines both quantitative and qualitative method of gathering data. In this scenario the researcher is using a survey as a pre and post test to the study. Surveys are used to determine attitude, belief or opinions in a quantitative design subjects (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008). The bi-monthly interviews would produce data that is in the form of words instead of numbers subjects (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008).

Good research allows educators to better their teaching practices, which in turn provides an enriched learning environment for children. It is important to educate students on how to evaluate research. By being able to comprehend different studies students, will have a deeper awareness of the world around them.

Resources

McMillian, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2006). Research in Education: Evidence-based inquiry (6th Ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc.