An effective teacher must stay current and apply appropriate standards in all student-learning experiences. Technology is quickly becoming a must use tool in all classrooms and guidelines and standards have been created to help teachers use technology effectively. The ISTE website is full of information and performance indicators to help teachers successfully use technology in the classroom. I have read the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers and find that I feel confident with many of the standards. I regularly use digital tools and resources and engage students in exploring learning through technology. There are also standards where I feel I could improve. I will use these standards to help create a GAME plan that I can apply to my everyday teaching.
The first standard I would like to strengthen is Standard 2 Indicator C, which states: Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. Students come to the classroom with different experiences, varied levels of access to technologies, and other diversities so using digital tools to customize learning activities is a tremendous asset. (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009) I regularly use technology -learning activities, but these activities are general and used to teach the whole class group. The classroom is filled with diverse learners and customized learning activities could be very useful and beneficial to my students.
The other standard I would like to improve upon is Standard 3 Indicator C, which states: Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008). There are many ways that technology can be used to improve learning outside of the classroom and increase communication with parents and others.
Goal: I would like to set a goal to improve activities and make learning personalized to meet the needs of the diverse learners. I would like to have authentic activities that coordinate with the curriculum to help enrich or reteach students as needed. I plan to improve communication with parents by using technology tools such as email, class websites, and a blog to get parents, students, and peers more involved with what is happening at school.
Action: To obtain these goals, I will need to plan activities on a monthly basis that can be used to personalize learning for my students’ diverse learning styles. I will have to create and maintain a website, blog, and email list to ensure that communication between school and home is occurring. Activities can be created that are presented and accessed through the blog or website.
Monitor: I will work with colleagues to obtain suggestions and ideas that I can incorporate in the curriculum. I hope to apply what I have learned at recent professional development trainings using various technology resources. Parents will be asked to contribute ideas and suggestions related to the classroom to increase outside involvement. Areas of concern will be addressed as needed. Formal and informal assessments will be used to check for learning. Observations will occur on a regular basis.
Evaluate and Extend: I will monitor progress through student assessment, interviews, and observations. I will use data assessments from the individual and whole class to see if there is improvement. Through blog posts and emails, I can evaluate the feelings of the parents towards the technology used to interact between home and school. Students will be encouraged to share their experiences towards the use of technology as a form of communication.
Using the GAME plan strategies will help improve my ability as a teacher implementing technology in my class. As I am able to improve as a student, my students benefit as well.
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.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National educational standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs?NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
I feel that I am strong in the area of parent communication. My district has provided each teacher with a pre-made class website. We can modify the links and images. I use this to post announcements, the schedule, HW, a calendar, rules/expectations, and much more. Parents know to look at the site first for their answer and they usually find it there! I also have created a Parent distribution list in my e-mail account. I can send a mass e-mail out to all parents with any important information. It is a great communication tool and easy to set-up initially. I always hated when students lost flyers and misplaced important papers. I find these two digital tools have proven very useful and the information is never lost. I can also save e-mails to and from parents for future reference. Hopefully I provided you with suggestions you can try to make your goal happen.
ReplyDeleteChrista
Thanks for the suggestions. I always intend to have a blog or website and update it regularly, but I just don't seem to find the time or I forget. I need to write lesson plans that include updating my website to help myself stay current. The school sends all fliers to parents through email, so I never really have to deal with that issue. It has been nice not having to pass out the information. Thanks for the ideas.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteCustomizing and personalizing learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies and abilities using digital tools and resources is also a goal of mine. My students are so diverse that I always face the challenge of trying to address their varied needs and desires all at the same time. As teacher Zac Chase indicated in the DVD “Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology” (Laureate Education Inc., 2010), technology facilitates the delivery of instruction in multiple modes and this caters to various learning styles. My plan is to select a tool that can be used for the whole class but also differentiate activities so that during the body of a lesson I can have students search the internet, look at a video or do any other activity that would complement the process of learning. Selecting a tool each month is a good idea because this will allow you to monitor and evaluate so that you can make adjustments for future lessons.
Alicia
Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Program #3: Enriching content area learning experiences with technology [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author
Thank goodness for technology to help us with differentiation.
DeleteIn your blog, you mention that to accomplish your goal, you will plan activities for your students monthly to help the diverse group of learners that make up your classroom. I feel one great resource among many that you already have is the course textbook “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works” by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007. Of course you don’t have to take my word for it because you already know that there are various examples and links provided in that book that are categorized for easy access for your lessons. It is a great quick reference for any time that your colleagues may not have the idea that you’re looking for. Good luck on your journey to meeting your goals.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me about this resource. I will definitely refer to it as a support for my goal.
DeleteI totally agree communication is more accessible between teacher and parents because of the internet. Creating a website provides more accountablilty for the parents to be involved. I wish you luck on your goals.
ReplyDeleteJennifer
I know I can create the site easily, it is the constant need to manage it that I think will be the biggest challenge. I know it will help and be valuable if I stay on top of things.
ReplyDelete