Improving GAME plan

After last weeks GAME plan update, I realized that I should have held off on a few of my key points I made. First of all, I updated my plan to include the use of podcasts and other ways to help students learn material outside of school. This, at the time, I did not realize was part of this week’s post (If you have any questions, please see last week’s post). However, one of the things that I am struggling with that idea is trying to find a good way to make vodcasts so that my students can see what I do on my computer screen and hear me narrate each step. I am currently trying to look into it, but have not found anything worth trying.

In regards to constructing a calendar and blog, I have started to update the calendar for the month of November, trying to backtrack and see what I have already covered. I plan to have this completed over the four-day weekend. The blog has been created, and I have made the first post, but I still need to inform all of the parents of the site, so that they know to check it periodically throughout the semester.

When it comes down to it, I feel as if I’m progressing well through my GAME plan, but still need to find an effective way to create the podcasts and video podcasts that would be a good place to put them online for students to access, and also what would be a great tool to use. My new inquiries focus on finding resources to help me with the podcasts, so that I can create them within the next week or two.

Happy T-Day!

Working towards my GAME plan

Last week, when discussing my GAME plan, I set up several goals for myself, focusing on integrating technology into my instruction in order to communicate more effectively with my students and their families. To improve on my communication skills, I set goals that focused on setting up a blog and a calendar on my school webpage. I have made progress in these areas, and have set up the blog this week using the school’s webpage software from SchoolCenter. I have set up my calendar for my class, however, I have not updated it yet this week, but plan to tomorrow.

Since reading this week’s course text, I have added a new goal to my GAME plan. One of the things that I always see is that students struggle with certain areas of science, or forget what happens in class when they are doing their homework. As a result, I have decided to add the following goal to my plan: create podcasts to further aid my instruction. One of the things that my students could benefit from is mini-lessons through podcasts that may help them. For example, right now we are studying genetics, and learning how to determine possible genotypes and phenotypes using Punnett Squares. Often students do not understand what to do with them. Using a podcast to reteach the lesson using various examples, students would be able to get extra help outside of the classroom. My only concern with this is finding the right resources to create a video podcast to demonstrate to the students how to do various Punnett squares and provide some one-on-one instruction that can move at a pace they prefer. As I begin to work towards completing this new goal, I will first start to search for new software to use to create podcasts. Being somewhat new to making podcasts, I will take any suggestion.

Improving Teaching Skills Using the NETS-T Standards

As the world is quickly plunged into the digital age, it is vital that teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. Using the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) set forth by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), a outline is provided for teachers to incorporate technology into their classrooms. “Rapid advances in technology are putting new demands on educators and students…The refreshed ISTE NETS will provide a framework for educators to use as they transition schools from Industrial Age to Digital Age places of learning,” (ISTE 2009a). It is important for teachers to not only be knowledgeable about the technology around them, but also have the ability and resources to integrate it into their instruction.

Areas to Improve

In my classroom, I try to incorporate technology as much as I can throughout the year, however, I know there are areas that I need to improve on. As I studied the NETS-T, I realized that I should work on several areas to improve my teaching. The first area I would like to improve on is how I communicate with parents and students outside of class. Standard 3 of the NETS-T standards asks that, “Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society,” (ISTE 2009b). The two aspects of this standard that I would like to improve on deal with collaborating with the classroom community (parents, students and peers) to support student success, and also communicating important information to them using a variety of digital tools.

Another way I would like to improve on is having students take more of a self-inquisitive approach to learning. Standard 2 focuses on designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments. Section b of this standards states that teachers should “develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress,” (ISTE 2009b). This is an area that I would like to improve on because provide a great deal of opportunities for students to be inquisitive through hands-on learning, however, I struggle to incorporate technology into the projects as much as would like.

Making a GAME plan

In order to improve in these areas, I have created a GAME plan, which is designed to improve in the above-mentioned areas. The first goal that I have set for myself is to begin to communicate effectively with my students and their parents. In order to do this, I will use a variety of applications to communicate more effectively and efficiently with the classroom community. The first thing that I will do is create a calendar on my website for students to check and see what we have covered if they have missed class, or forgot what our homework assignments have been. This is also a good tool for parents to use in order to see what has been covered and to use to help their students complete their homework and stay updated on the class’s progress. In addition to this, I will have a blog posted on my page to provide parents and students with key information about upcoming events, activities and important information they may need when they are completing various projects and tasks.

My goal for this objective is to have the calendar and blog started within the next week, and also be able to update the calendar on a daily basis, and the blog on a weekly basis for the remainder of the year.

My goal for improving on my second area of concern is to have my students create blogs that can be used as an educational tool in various ways. The primary use of the blog would be to have students create their own personal blog to give them a chance to discuss the classroom activities, question their own views and beliefs on various scientific concepts and ideas. They would also be able to use this blog as a place to reflect on their own understanding of the subject and help others who may have questions about what we are learning in the class. My main goal for completing this objective is to have the blogs set up and have proper guidelines and objectives set up for the students within the next month of school. The reason I would like to achieve this goal is to allow students to be more reflective and collaborative within their own learning process.

In order to assess my progress in these areas, I will not only meet the deadlines set forth above, but I will also continue to find new ways to communicate with students, their parents and my peers, but also make periodic reflections in my own blog focusing on how to improve on my methodology and communication skills.

References

ISTE | NETS for Teachers. (n.d.)a. International Society for Technology in Education | Home. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/NETS_for_Teachers.htm.

ISTE | NETS for Teachers 2008. (n.d.)b. International Society for Technology in Education | Home. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm.