My Progress...

Our technology committee met this week and I left there quite discouraged. Of our 75 laptops we have had in the previous years, 26 of them are broken. I know that I should be thankful for the laptops that we do have, however, at a time when I am anxious and enthusiastic to implement new lessons into my classroom with my students, it is discouraging to learn that our mode of instruction is diminishing. As a second grade teacher I am kind of at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to prioritizing what grade level would benefit the most from the computers and when we are now sharing 49 computers between 636 students, my time available for computer check out is looking slim. In relation to how this is impacting my progress with the goals I have set, I will say that my first instinct was to revamp them as I felt like why bother if we don't have the tools. But then my pouting session ended and I decided to be proactive. I have applied for several grants in hopes of adding more computers back into our school.

Our tech committee has already started discussing what lessons we want to share with the other teachers first to get more technology integrated into the classrooms across the grade levels. My students began blogging today about the books they are reading and I am anxious for more to begin sharing their writing on the blog as the week progresses. Parents are actively checking the class website and responding to my emails. I am hoping to get parents to begin commenting on the class blog as well. I think this will be a powerful tool for students, as it guarantees them an audience.

Carrying out my GAME plan...

Well, I have started out doing well...this past week our grade level used digital tools to present our In 1787 poem to the school on school news and I sent the link to the parents as well in honor of Constitution Day. For those interested, here is the link: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=197353&title=Constitution_day_2010&ref=Mrsbarlow

In order to continue working towards meeting my goals, I will need to continue to utilize the "experts" around me (i.e. my husband and colleagues). The biggest factor I will need is time. Time to play and familiarize myself with the tools available. Being a school that is a Power library is also working towards my advantage, as our teacher librarian understands the importance and value of the ISTE standards. Our technology committee has yet to meet this school year, but I am anxious to begin bouncing ideas off of them as well.

My Personal GAME Plan...

As soon as I dare to think I am doing well at integrating technology effectively, I am reminded to quickly look at the ISTE educational technology standards for teachers (which I have located right inside the cover of my plan book, so don't worry my head never gets too big). While I know that I am actively growing in my ability to effectively use technology, I also know that creating a game plan to successfully reach my goals is crucial. The two goals I am setting for myself to improve upon are: 1.Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments,and 2.Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.

Action Plan...

Well, the first step is committing to the goals and believing that their is value in reaching them. So I guess I am already on the right track. Realistically though, I know that this is not enough. Shoot, if it were, I would have already lost that extra twenty pounds:) On a serious note though, to achieve my goals I plan to hold myself accountable for providing at least one (hopefully two) new lessons that provide relevant learning experiences while incorporating digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity a month. I plan to then email the finished lessons or post them on my website so that parents are able to see the digital-age work and learning occurring in the classroom. Engaging in more professional growth opportunities to collaborate will be beneficial as well. I like the convenience of knowing that I can collaborate online and at flexible times. This should be helpful towards my success.

Progress Monitoring...

I will be able to monitor my progress because I have already told my student's parents to expect this from me. We all know that parents are quick to tell us if we have not done something;) Plus, I am pretty sure my guilt factor would kick in pretty quick.

Evaluation and Extension...

The lessons I plan to provide will not allow me to find comfort with a sense of control. As many of the lessons will be open ended and "risky." Which means I will truly be looking at the learning occurring and the outcomes learned. I am excited for the new venture and possibilities. As for extending my goals, I do not think I am ready for that...I am a bit overwhelmed just thinking about what I have just committed myself to!

Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom Reflection

The BIG revelation I had while taking this course was the realization that I was completely unaware of the new literacies. This scares me considering I have always considered myself tech savvy. Then I think about the teachers at my school who come to me as a resource for technology. I am certain that they are unsure of the new literacies. How are we going to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our students, if we are not preparing them with the skills of the 21^st century? Then there is the whole issue of teachers being aware, but still choosing to do nothing about it. For teachers that are unfamiliar with technology, but are willing to jump on board and begin integrating technology, research suggests that a teacher new to technology may take up to five years to become comfortable enough to effectively use the technology in the classroom setting (Dexter, Anderson, & Becker, 1999; Hadley & Sheingold, 1993; McKenzie, 1999a). Are our students doomed? Are we always going to be playing catch up?

As a second grade teacher who already feels overwhelmed at times when trying to fit all of the subjects into the day, I do not feel comfortable jumping right into teaching all five of the new literacies to my students. Do I understand that all five are important and that my students deserve to learn and use all of these skills? Of course, I do. However, I also know that in order to be successful and for me to have the courage to implement the new literacies, I need to make it manageable and doable for myself. The first new literacy I am going to implement in my classroom is to have my students create questions and/or problems to solve. This literacy is essential as it will further develop the student’s interest in a topic and teach them how to generate detailed answerable questions.

I do not feel comfortable returning to school and not sharing the information I have learned. A professional goal that I have set for myself is to share what I have learned and stress the importance to my teammates and colleagues to incorporate the new literacies into our lessons. As a member of the technology committee at my school, I plan to organize mini committees to teach the new literacies during professional development time.

Please click on this voice thread and share your suggestions...

voicethread.com/share/1198381/

Constructivism in Practice

My understanding from this weeks resources...Teachers that understand not every child always needs to conduct an individual experiment, however, every child will benefit from manipulating the data to see how the outcome could change with varying data, are effectively using their instructional minutes. We are fortunate to be teaching in a time that has tools that will provide more opportunity for out students to ask "what if," create a hypothesis and get instant feedback to show the outcomes of "what if." Students are not weary to question because they are not turned away by the amount of work the results could take to find. I compare this same willingness to question, to the first time my math teacher handed me a graphing calculator. I was much more enthusiastic to problem solve and try different variables when I knew the tool would do the "work" for me. Testing out the varying variables and examining the results provides a more beneficial and increased level of understanding.

While not every student needs to have the same first hand experience with a concept, Dr. Orey stresses the importance of having every student building an artifact to build upon an understanding they already have. This is referred to as constructivism verses constructionism. Constructionism is used when lessons are interacting with the student to provide assimilations and accomodations to construct something. In order to understand new concepts, accommodations and new schema must be made available to students. Learning is individualized and focusing on what is going on in each students learning process. This correlates with the ideas presented in the text because students are able to quickly try out different variables and get instant feedback. They are able to take what they already know and build upon it or create knew schema as needed.

Cognitivism in Practice

"Students who lack sufficient background knowledge or are unable to activate this knowledge may struggle to access, participate, and progress throughout the general curriculum, where reading to learn is a prerequisite for success" (N. Strangman & T. Hall)

Knowing how important it is for students to have background knowledge and the disadvantage students are at without it, it is vital that teachers provide virtual field trips for their students. Our curriculum is designed to teach students about the world. And while it would be great to be able to travel the world with our students and provide them with real life experiences and memories for them to build off of, it is not a scenario that is offered to the majority of our students . Fortunately, we can bring many of the wonders of our world to our classroom. One teacher in our building has the students create fake passports for the Social Studies unit on Canada and Mexico. She stamps the students "passport" after each field trip. Many of her lessons include a "guest speaker." However, the guest speaker is thousands of miles away. Through the use of Skype, she has students talk with a native from the country they are studying. The students are no longer simply reading about this far away land, they are experiencing it through another persons eyes. Suddenly their lesson and objective for learning has relevance and personal meaning. The students can connect with the concept and are concerned...which aligns with the theory of cognitivism.

While virtual field trips are of great benefit to students, they are only one of many tools available. They can be strengthened when combined with a concept map. Concept maps allow students to visually show the knowledge they are learning and the path that has gotten them there. The concept map displays the connection or thought process that leads the thinker to the outcome reached. It is a tool showing relationships and recall. Having just started playing around with this tool, I am amazed at easily one concept naturally leads to another. I would love to see how insightful concept maps could be when used in a high school history class!




http://www.cast.org/system/galleries/download/ncac/ncac_BK.pdf