My goals are: 1) to facilitate and inspire and 2) to design and develop digital-age learning experiences. Therefore, I will need to continually refer to my GAME plan and reflect on my progression. In order to achieve my goals, I will need resources and input from my colleagues. This is an interesting adventure because through this GAME plan, I will expand my own horizons as I improve my teaching and classroom environment. The resources that I need to implement my plan include two different areas.
To address Goal 1, I will need to develop my own enthusiasm. In order to do this, I believe I need to attend conferences and workshops in which I am inspired; by increasing my own enthusiasm, I will be able to pass that on to my students. I requested authorization to attend the Texas Computer Education Association Convention in February, the Texas Association for Alternative Education Conference also in February, and the ISTE Conference in June. These conventions offer insight into new methods and technologies that never fail to be exciting, interesting, and fun. Through these workshops, I will have access to programs designed to create UDLs so that my students can be successful (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a). The success will focus on areas that will support my students academically, culturally, and emotionally (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). The excitement and enthusiasm derived from these conferences will most certainly be transferrable to my students so that I can facilitate and inspire them.
Goal 2 can also be addressed by attending conferences. However, in order to continue designing and developing digital age learning experiences, I also need to read, research and examine not only what is already in place but also develop a list of needs specific to my current students. Since my laptops are now three years old, there are some that may require new parts or refurbishing; standard procedure is to complete a work order when such work is needed. There are also lists of websites for my students that need to be updated, projects that should be tweaked to keep them current and vibrant, and ensure that new programs are ordered and approved. In addition, I want to incorporate more digital story-telling opportunities and movie making projects. I would also like to find additional web graphics programs; any and everything visual would be extremely helpful for my students. If anyone has any recommendations about programs that incorporate graphics or other visual activities, please let me know.
Collaboration is a vital link that I have learned to value; my colleagues help me daily, and I plan to continue that connection (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). Through networking, I have discovered so much that has helped me in my work and therefore is beneficial to my students. I hope to expand my collaborative efforts to include more of my Walden colleagues as well as other PLCs to keep my ideas fresh and meaningful.
To keep track of my To Do List and my progress, I will utilize Checklist, ToDo, and Calendar on my iPad (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b). My iPad is my central and most important organizational tool. I look at it every day; therefore, using my iPad is the most logical approach. In order to reflect on my progress, I will also keep a private on line journal to contemplate what I’ve done and to generate new questions and new goals. Reflection and evaluation of the effectiveness of my own instruction is a “critical component of the GAME plan” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 86).
I would love to hear from anyone who has suggestions or who could offer new ideas. The Walden discussions are always inspiring, and I’m so impressed and amazed at what everyone knows – please share anything you think might be valuable for me and my students.
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.
Laureate Education, Inc., (Executive Producer). (2010a). [Webcast]. Meeting Student Needs With Technology, Part 1. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc., (Executive Producer). (2010b). [Webcast]. Meeting Student Needs With Technology, Part 2. Baltimore: Author.
Kayla to Maggie,
ReplyDeleteI love attending workshops and conferences. I feel that I learn so many new strategies just by talking to other teachers from other districts and even other states. Usually after workshops and conferences it gives be a little boost because I get excited to try all the new strategies in my classroom. I also make sure I exchange emails with everyone I speak with at the workshop/conference. This allows be to create a network of teachers with whom I can share ideas with well after the workshop/conference is over. I find that this network of teachers is an invaluable resource. Kumar and Romance (1996) stated that in order for teachers to improve in their teaching practice, they must be able to successfully network with other teachers. Although this article is older, I believe that this statement is truer now than ever. With all the new technology and educational research out there today, it is impossible for teachers to keep track of all this information alone. Teachers must network and communicate with teachers from all over in order to keep up with these changing times.
I believe that if a teacher is enthusiastic about teaching that it absolutely transfers to students. The findings of a study by Frenzel, Goetz, Ludtke, Pekrun, and Sutton (2009) showed that the enthusiasm of a teacher positively affected the enjoyment of the student. When the teacher is enjoying what they are teaching, then the enthusiasm of the teacher increases and therefore the enjoyment of the student during the lesson also increases (Frenzel et. al.,2009). I always think about when I was in school. Think about your favorite teachers and the classes that you learned the most in. It was always the teachers that loved what they were doing and made the most boring topics interesting for students. To be honest, there are some topics that I dread teaching, but instead of dreading teaching these topics, I consult with my colleagues and create activities that make this topic exciting.
During my first year teaching, a veteran teacher told me to tape inspirational messages to my computer screen (I know these sounds silly) and whenever you are having a bad day or feeling uninspired look at that message. I took her advice, but instead, I taped up inspirational notes from students, or silly pictures students would draw me. At the end of my student teaching assignment, a student of mine wrote me a letter telling me how much of an inspiration I was to her. To this day I still have that letter and read through time to time when I hit a rough patch in teaching. Another one of my students drew me a really funny picture of sasquatch saying “Biology Rocks!”. I hung it up by my desk, so any time I was having a bad day I would look at this picture and laugh. Sometimes it only takes something simple to light that fire.
Kayla Shandra
Kumar, D., & Romance, N. (1996). Considerations for networking for better practice in science education. Available from: ERIC, Ipswich, MA. Accessed January 19, 2012.
Frenzel, A. C., Goetz, T., Ludtke, O., Pekrun, R., & Sutton, R. E. (2009). Emotional transmission in the classroom: exploring the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 101(3), 705-716.
Maggie to Kayla
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing! I tape up quotes and inspiration sayings but I also have a "gallery" of pictures and notes that my students have given me. I absolutely agree with you that the enthusiasm of the teacher affects the students in a tremendous way(Frenzel et. al., 2009). I've been teaching awhile now, and I've seen teachers lose their spark and their classes immediately reflect that. Yes, students know when a teacher is passionate about what she is doing. I am so glad you brought that up. Some people should not be in teaching, but for those of us who have discovered our calling, workshops help to keep us fresh, up to date, and inspired. I agree with Kumar and Romance about improving our teaching - I borrow ideas from everyone, and it makes me a better person and teacher (Kumar & Romance, 1996). I hope that I can inspire students and share with other teachers as well.
References
Kumar, D., & Romance, N. (1996). Considerations for networking for better practice in science and education. Available from ERIC, Ipswich, MA. Accessed January 19, 2012.
Frenzel, A.C., Goetz, T., Ludtke, O., Pekrun, R., & Sutton, R.E. (2009). Emotional transmission in the classroom: exploring the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 101(3), 705-716.
Maggie,
ReplyDeleteI think you are on the right path to find inspiration and enthusiasm. Anyone who thinks they will not learn something by attending a workshop or teaching convention needs to be more open-minded. I agree that sometimes the material covered at some conferences may be review; however, everyone needs to be reminded of basic material once in a while. Plus, great teachers pay attention to small details and find a new approach to an old topic. In this week’s video resources, Dr. John Ross discusses the fact that teachers need to utilize information available to them and take advantage of nearby training and conferences in order to become more knowledgeable (Laureate Education, Inc, 2010b).
Dr. Ross also suggests that teachers be self-directed in their learning and conduct on-line research in order to become more knowledgeable on any topic under consideration (Laureate Education, Inc, 2010b).
Your GAME plan seems like a solid one. Good luck and have fun!
My students have used iMovie quite a bit when creating movie clips for book trailers or visual book reports. Some other programs students have enjoyed using in class are: Keynote, Pages, Prezi, Animoto, and Podcasts.
Trev
References:
Laureate Education, Inc., (Executive Producer). (2010b). [Webcast]. Meeting Student Needs With Technology, Part 2. Baltimore: Author.
Trev, I agree! Plus the networking and the new things are well worth the time. Thanks for the ideas for movies. A question, do you ever make your students dizzy when using Prezi? Sometimes I do, and I wonder if I go too fast or use too much material. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
DeleteYep - in fact i have learned that I need to limit they amount of information I produce. Sometimes too much is too much!
DeleteMaggie,
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to ISTE; I go every year and it is always great, if a little overwhelming. I also wondered if you were familiar with the unconference concept? These are free or very inexpensive conferences with all sessions proposed and led by the attendees of the conference, at the beginning of the day. This way, everyone has a chance to present anything they want to present and you get to attend a lot of different sessions. I find the networking opportunities to be unparalleled! And, because they cut out all of the expensive aspects of conferences, there is usually no charge to attend. If you are interested, the edcamps have a wiki that lists all upcoming opportunities and also have information about how to host your own unconference: http://edcamp.wikispaces.com/
I think I will be able to attend this year - and YES! I attended an unconference last November. It was excellent, and I got a lot out of it. I thought no one would be interested in what I presented, but there were lots of questions, and we had a great discussion. So, I was thrilled with the whole experience. You're right, the networking were unparalleled!! There was no charge, so that was great too. Hope to see you at an unconference!
DeleteThanks, Maggie