ISTE NETS-T5.c. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership by evaluating and reflecting on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.
The resources that I will need to carry out my action plan include having access to internet, staying current with new technologies, getting my hands on them, playing with them, and learning how to effectively implement them in the curriculum to meet students’ needs. Consider requesting a grant for needed resources and materials.
Additional information includes articles, research, or videos on how these new technologies and their application are being implemented in the classroom. I can also invite colleagues to participate in collaborative efforts with multiple classes. During our grade level meetings, I can introduce and encourage other teacher’s participation.
At this point, I have been introduced to a variety of new technologies including blogs, wikis, voicethread, concept mapping using kidspiration, and most recently, screencasting in my current studies. I plan to continue taking courses to stay current. I will be a life-long learner and stay focused on new ways to implement engaging and motivational learning experiences for my students.
ISTE NETS-T.3.c. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning by communicating relevant information and ideas effectively to students and parents using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
The resources needed include internet and access. In order to develop a website I need to consider what I want to display on the website and how I would like to present the information. I have determined that my classroom website is designed to provide resources and information to both my students and their parents.
Additional information that would be helpful includes what information the parent’s feel they would like to see on the website. Prior to setting up the website, I needed to confirm that I had permission to create my class website from my principal. Once that was done, I also had to learn the processes in making the website. So I played with the application until I figured it out, looked at other examples, and designed my own.
Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer note that “sharing what you have discovered with your colleagues is a critical step in improving your instructional effectiveness” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 115.). Currently, I have created my classroom website and also made others for my grade level. I have included general information such as our grade level supplies. I post monthly newsletters and also send out hard copies. I also use a translation program (babblefish) to translate the newsletter into Spanish for my ELL students. My plan is to post both copies. I also have developed a file cabinet for at home math assignments recommended by our classroom text. I have also set up three on-line reading groups that correlate to our guided reading groups. Students and parents can access these books and read them online. They also have the ability to be translated into Spanish for my ELL students. My plan is to include resources for our science experiments that require at home assignments such as weather exploration. I will continue to look for more resources to include in the webpage.
Resources:
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.
Hello Delores,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned a few important points regarding your action plan that I would like to comment on. The first was having access to the internet, and getting your hands on new technologies. They are very important aspects of developing a successful game plan. It is unfortunate but all schools are not created equal, some are much more fortunate then others in the respect to the availability of resources. Resources such as a classroom stocked with computers that actually have access to the web are still not common in every school. It can be very difficult to plan lessons which involve technology when it is not readily available to use in class. I notice you mentioned requesting a grant for resources and was wondering if this situation applies to you. Hopefully you do have a computer room in your school where your classes can meet if not then you may want to look into scheduling time at a local library.
The second is learning how to effectively implement technology into lessons. I agree with you that a teacher must be comfortable with the technology prior to using it in class. Just keep in mind that it is empowering to a student if they can offer something of use to a teacher in class, so it’s ok to admit to the class that teachers (just like students) are constantly learning new things and you are always open to suggestions in respect to new technologies.
Delores,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you have the right focus for now. Investigating what is available and right for you and your students is a very important step. Sometimes we just grab at "new" technologies without taking the time to discover their negative qualities. It took me close to a year to finally find and decide on a blog for my classroom. I had to take many issues into consideration like safety, access, evaluation, and cost.
Portaportal.com is a nice site to check out if you are looking to communicate with parents or if you have students miss a lot of school. I find that I can upload many documents like worksheets, newsletters, or Smart board pdf documents. My students can then download what they need and keep up with the rest of the class.
Good luck with your project.
Dolores,
ReplyDeleteThe one resource you mentioned about having Internet access is very important to carry out your action plan. With schools still blocking out many websites it is hard to gain access without researching the necessary web 2.0 tools and providing your administrators with a "sales pitch." If you are current with new technologies, the way they work and how to implement them in the curriculum, it will make your "sales pitch" even stronger. With funding so tight now a days, the more colleagues you can get to contribute by researching lessons using technology and the effectiveness of implementing them to improve student learning the better. I suggest that you try to also use your principal as resource to attain professional development hours for teachers on web 2.0 tools with the technology coordinator, knowledgeable teachers, or another outside resource. You could also reach out to colleagues about locating and writing grants to fund some of the web 2.0 tools. Your idea to get funds for these tools through grants is a great one and there may be other peers willing to help out with the time consuming process of researching and writing grants.
Next, I would like to comment on your self-directed learning to implement a classroom website. You became so confident in your abilities to create classroom websites, that you then created them for your colleagues. Encourage these educators to continue to add features to their own websites through self-directed learning so that they can feel empowering and become confident in adding skills to their technology tool kits. Starting a blog could be another source of information where teachers can share websites, researched information, and other technology tools to add to classroom websites.