As I revise my game plan I feel it is necessary to review and repost my goals. My two goals are: 1.Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments,and 2.Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.
In regards to goal number one, I am not too pleased with my progress. Yes, my students are benefiting from digital learning experiences, and yes I am providing those experiences for them. However, I have not been able to create time for expanding my own knowledge to design NEW lessons. Instead, it seems that the time I would normally be able to sit down and "play" prior to developing a new lesson, I am being pulled to share everything I am doing with my colleagues. Don't get me wrong I know it is important to share with your team mates and that our students are all of our students. I am just getting frustrated that at this point it feels like the professional development time we are given is only benefiting the teachers who have no background experience with digital learning tools because all the rest of us are stuck teaching it. I get that we need to share our knowledge. I struggle with the idea that my time is not being respected though, as it seems that if we are stuck teaching everyone else, we are not getting the time needed to continue to expand our own knowledge. It is with this time that I would like to be able to sit down and DESIGN new lessons that I can then provide to my students. That being said, I am working on improving the amount of time that I can dedicate to improving my ability to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments. I spoke with my administration about requiring independent time to play with technology, rather than always having to have collaboration and sharing time. I believe this will be very beneficial to myself and to my colleagues. It will help me...as I struggle being able to tell a colleague no when they ask for help, and it will help my colleagues as they will be forced to actually learn how to use the tools rather then depend on someone else to do it for them.
As for goal number 2, well as you can see from above, I have been doing a lot of modeling! I am ready for the learning now... On a serious note, my students are coming to school with ideas from what they practiced at home and sharing with me what they chose to create or use on our class website at home. So I know the modeling is happening not only from me, but from my students as well. I am pleased with the progress of this goal.
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Barlow,
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that your students are using your class Website at home. I am finding that many of my students do not have access to the Internet at home. Do your students only use your class site to explore at home, or are they discovering new sites on their own? Have they provided you with any sites that you have found helpful and worth adding to your class site for the other students to explore?
It is tough when students do not have technology resources at home. I work in one of the richest counties, but one of the poorest schools. I have several students that can not use the links on my Web site. I try to let them use the computers in my room first thing in the morning. You can only do so much. It would be a perfect world if we had lap tops i our rooms for every student.
ReplyDeleteWe have lab once a week and two lap top carts. I try to grab them when ever possible, but it is tough.
@ Mintzer
ReplyDeleteAt this point, most of my students (second graders) are still getting their feet wet when it comes to using/playing on websites. So, I am hearing more about what games I have provided that they like and which ones they don't. However, you have given me an idea to ASK my students if they have any websites that they have found beneficial at home that they would like to teach the class about. Knowing my students, I would need to make sure that I have my expectations very clear or else I could end up with many students telling me all about Poptropica and Club Penguin!
@ Gradrunner
I connect with what you are saying, and continue to hope that eventually laptops in our classroom will no longer be a treat, but an expectation.