Looking back over the last seven weeks at how unsuccessful I have been at accomplishing my original GAME plan, I would have to consider that I have failed miserably. But have I? Really? No. Insight into my own orange personality has shown me how difficult it is going to be for my ADHD students to set goals and reach them. That is why I have adjusted the GAME plan to meet the needs of my students by starting small with a predetermined goal of turning assignments in. Big successes such as NETS-S must be preceded by little ones.
I could not stay focused on my GAME plan. Maybe I did not choose well… I did choose my weakest areas to improve, but meeting the needs of my Special Education students through the use of assistive technologies came first. Was I wrong to set aside my personal goals to meet the needs of my students? No. The last student I put onto a voice recognition program told his Special Education teacher that Writing is now his favorite subject. Why? I can only surmise that my 6-Traits philosophy placed his spelling issues into an appropriate context. He has learned that he has good Ideas and strong Organization traits. He has become more willing to work on his spelling issues.
Was abandoning my personal GAME plan the right choice? Yes. I will work on strengthening my use of a wider variety of softwares and tools as the need arises. I am still the digital native to my poverty-stricken students. When that changes, I will continue to adapt.
Resources:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Culham, R. (2003) 6 + 1 traits of writing: The complete guide grades 3 and up. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
True Colors International. (2009). http://www.true-colors.com/.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards?NETS_T_Standards_Final
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
GAME for Increasing Student Use of Technology in the Classroom
Dr. Peggy Etrmer states that for teachers to integrate technology effectively we must have knowledge of basic technology skills, be confident when using technology, have solid beliefs that learning goes beyond knowing the facts, and be surrounded by people supporting us as we try new technologies in the classroom (Laureate, 2009). I kept that in mind as I looked at the NETS to discover my weaknesses. I continue to keep that in mind as I evaluate how to best help my students improve their technology skills.
Where to start? I know people are tired of hearing me say that my students don’t have any background in technology and that I am the digital native in the classroom. In this day and age, that is difficult for people to believe when they look at how long I have already been in the classroom and the junior high students that I teach. How can this be true? It is true because of the poverty level of the county in which I teach. It is true because the remedial nature of my classes tends to put my students at a severe disadvantage on the poverty scale. All I can do is expose them to as much technology as I can throughout the semester they are with me. At least that is what I used to think. Exposure isn’t enough. The exposure to technology must become more purposeful, more deliberate, more planned. Here it comes! The GAME plan for my students (Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P., 2010)! The next decision must be am I going to set their goals, knowing this may not be the best choice or am I going to let the students set their own goals through discussion of NETS-S (http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf )? Probably both. I will set student goals based on what I intend to make sure they master but I will also let students develop their own GAME plans, knowing in advance they will choose goals based on what will be “fun.” The hidden benefit here is that more standards will be covered!
Goals
My students are not goal setters; setting goals will be difficult for them. I am not sure that I should jump in right away with the technology. Maybe the first goal should be to complete the assignments and turn them in. Once they have been successful doing that, I can move them to the technology goals. I see my first goal for my students being strand two: Communication and Collaboration. Then I would choose strand five: Digital Citizenship because it is so closely related to writing and documenting resources. They will get this strand in so many different ways that it should be an easy goal for them to achieve. What I predict my students will set as their goals is strand one: creativity and Innovation.
Action
How am I going to do this? Start small and take baby steps. I will start with setting an easily attainable goal for them and have them track their progress toward it. By gradually increasing their involvement, I hope to have them setting their own goals within a month. That will leave time during the rest of the semester for us to work together on the technology goals.
Monitor
By starting small, monitoring will be easy. It will be a simple yes/no; did I get all my work turned in? Then I will add a reflection piece by asking students to indicate how they felt about accomplishing the goal. As we set new goals, this checklist will expand. By the time we reach the technology goals, students will be familiar with the GAME process and actively participating in planning their next goal.
Evaluate and Extend
This part of GAME will be the hardest part, for me and my students. We will do a lot of discussing what we want next. I will use this time to remind them of their successes as we look forward to tackling a larger goal.
Resources:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program three. Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology, Part 1 [Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
Where to start? I know people are tired of hearing me say that my students don’t have any background in technology and that I am the digital native in the classroom. In this day and age, that is difficult for people to believe when they look at how long I have already been in the classroom and the junior high students that I teach. How can this be true? It is true because of the poverty level of the county in which I teach. It is true because the remedial nature of my classes tends to put my students at a severe disadvantage on the poverty scale. All I can do is expose them to as much technology as I can throughout the semester they are with me. At least that is what I used to think. Exposure isn’t enough. The exposure to technology must become more purposeful, more deliberate, more planned. Here it comes! The GAME plan for my students (Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P., 2010)! The next decision must be am I going to set their goals, knowing this may not be the best choice or am I going to let the students set their own goals through discussion of NETS-S (http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf )? Probably both. I will set student goals based on what I intend to make sure they master but I will also let students develop their own GAME plans, knowing in advance they will choose goals based on what will be “fun.” The hidden benefit here is that more standards will be covered!
Goals
My students are not goal setters; setting goals will be difficult for them. I am not sure that I should jump in right away with the technology. Maybe the first goal should be to complete the assignments and turn them in. Once they have been successful doing that, I can move them to the technology goals. I see my first goal for my students being strand two: Communication and Collaboration. Then I would choose strand five: Digital Citizenship because it is so closely related to writing and documenting resources. They will get this strand in so many different ways that it should be an easy goal for them to achieve. What I predict my students will set as their goals is strand one: creativity and Innovation.
Action
How am I going to do this? Start small and take baby steps. I will start with setting an easily attainable goal for them and have them track their progress toward it. By gradually increasing their involvement, I hope to have them setting their own goals within a month. That will leave time during the rest of the semester for us to work together on the technology goals.
Monitor
By starting small, monitoring will be easy. It will be a simple yes/no; did I get all my work turned in? Then I will add a reflection piece by asking students to indicate how they felt about accomplishing the goal. As we set new goals, this checklist will expand. By the time we reach the technology goals, students will be familiar with the GAME process and actively participating in planning their next goal.
Evaluate and Extend
This part of GAME will be the hardest part, for me and my students. We will do a lot of discussing what we want next. I will use this time to remind them of their successes as we look forward to tackling a larger goal.
Resources:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program three. Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology, Part 1 [Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Assistive Technology and Problem-solving
Assistive technology, specifically, voice recognition programs have become the goal I set my heart on. There has been no progress toward my goal this week. My doctor has me confined to my home; he said that I am not to go to work until Monday. I cannot even explore how the program works on my own computer because I have no voice! So now what? I will explore problem-based learning and how social collaboration fits into it.
The next lesson in my unit will tie into wikis. I want to create a wiki for my students to use. Since they have never been exposed to this type of learning, I will create pages based on different types of energy. From there, the students will create the content to put on those pages. That’s all I have for this week…
The next lesson in my unit will tie into wikis. I want to create a wiki for my students to use. Since they have never been exposed to this type of learning, I will create pages based on different types of energy. From there, the students will create the content to put on those pages. That’s all I have for this week…
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
New Plan!
My original game plan for podcasts and Voicethread has definitely been scrapped for a new plan revolving around assistive technology. Specifically, voice recognition software. I have identified another student already enrolled in my class that would benefit from this technology. When I look at his writing and apply the AIMS (Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards) rubrics to score his work, he always does well in Ideas and Organization. Even Voice and Word Choice, when he chooses the right topic, is strong. His weakest traits are Sentence Fluency and Conventions. Especially Conventions! I have been reading student writing for sixteen years and I still have trouble deciphering his writing. Telling his story orally would enhance Sentence Fluency and definitely Conventions. I have spoken to his aide about this technology and she is supportive. Now, we just have to get it into his IEP. Our Special Education Department may not take to this, since spelling sight words correctly is one of his goals. I prefer that his creativity not be stifled by his spelling issues. After all, as he grows as a writer, his AIMS scores will improve enough that his Conventions shouldn’t hold him back. His voice recognition will begin as soon as the current project is finished. His aide will help me. We will use the software built into MS Operating systems since it will be available on every computer. Then, we will be able to determine if students have to train one computer or if, once trained, the program is applicable to whatever computer they log into since our system is networked…
Progress for next semester’s student remains slow. Rather than try the voice recognition program that is already on our computers, the Special Education department is looking at commercial software. I don’t understand why, but they do work with the student more than I do. Maybe there are issues with the text being too difficult on MS Operating systems… Maybe the commercial software allows reading levels to be set to student levels… The software they are looking at can be found on this website: http://www.wordq.com/. I can see advantages to wordq for many of my students, but if the Special Education department purchases it, I won’t be able to use it for every student. Right now, I am waiting to see what Special Education does for this student in particular. I am going to speak to the district administrator of Special Education tomorrow morning on our drive to work and offer my viewpoint about these technologies and why the district should begin exploring assistive technology as a way to support student learning. We’re moving forward again, just not at the pace I would like to see it done. Isn’t that typical for most teachers? We can’t get what we want fast enough!
Progress for next semester’s student remains slow. Rather than try the voice recognition program that is already on our computers, the Special Education department is looking at commercial software. I don’t understand why, but they do work with the student more than I do. Maybe there are issues with the text being too difficult on MS Operating systems… Maybe the commercial software allows reading levels to be set to student levels… The software they are looking at can be found on this website: http://www.wordq.com/. I can see advantages to wordq for many of my students, but if the Special Education department purchases it, I won’t be able to use it for every student. Right now, I am waiting to see what Special Education does for this student in particular. I am going to speak to the district administrator of Special Education tomorrow morning on our drive to work and offer my viewpoint about these technologies and why the district should begin exploring assistive technology as a way to support student learning. We’re moving forward again, just not at the pace I would like to see it done. Isn’t that typical for most teachers? We can’t get what we want fast enough!
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