Emily Laturell

As I reflect on this course and my entire masters experience, what I realize is that technology and education can not be separated. Before starting this masters program, I thought that I could teach students without technology and that they would get the same education as they would with technology. I have since learned that technology is integral in education and teaching students this day in age. As I was working on this final project, I started thinking about how technology made it a more meaningful and authentic task for the students than if I assigned them a pencil and paper test.

As an educator with knowledge about technology, it is my responsibility to share information with my colleagues and with my students. I am excited that I have this knowledge that enables me to make learning more meaningful and fun for my students. My hope is that I will be able to take everything that I have learned and encourage other teachers that I work with to try and use emerging technologies in their classrooms. If I can show them the benefits of technology in teaching and in learning, then they will be more likely to use technology on a daily basis.

I believe that when we teachers take hold of technology and are enthusiastic about using it in the classroom then the administration will see that and want to provide us with new things to try. Until we take full advantage technologies that are out there, I don’t blame the administration for being uneasy about spending a ton of money on anything new. One of the things that I hope to achieve with my knowledge is to get a grant to help with the purchase of technologies like interactive boards and their accessories, laptops, and scanners. These things will benefit our students and help them to achieve in the classroom while providing them with learning experiences that they will not forget.

I think that using the social networking site to share resources is a great way to get a lot of information on UDL and DI without having to spend hours on the internet looking it up yourself. I will use many of the sites that my classmates shared with me including some of the survey sites. These will help me to learn more about my students, which will help me to better differentiate based on their learning needs.

I will also use some of the DI resources to help me to plan and implement those strategies in my classroom. There were several sites that helped you to plan a differentiated lesson as well as sites that included lessons that incorporated technology to help differentiate.

The first adjustment that I will make in my classroom will be to try and use technology during all aspects of my teaching. I need to make sure that I am differentiating my presentation of material to my students so that I can reach all the different learners in my class. Using my Activeboard, I will be able to present information in multiple ways. I would also like to adjust the types of activities that I am using with my students. I need to give my students more options when it comes time for them to share what they have learned. There are many students that would love to create a Power Point while others may want to complete a research paper. I need to try and differentiate all aspects of the learning process in my classroom.

Interest Surveys:

1. This survey would be appropriate for elementary students through high school students. The questions are all open-ended and are varied ranging in topics from school interests to personal interests outside of school.

http://www.union.k12.sc.us/ems/Teachers-Forms–Student%20Interest%20Survey.htm

2. This site includes three different surveys ranging from one for younger children that is a checklist for parents, an elementary survey where the students circle the words in different categories that describe them, and an open-ended questions survey for older students. All three surveys have great questions that are varied. I especially like the elementary one where the students circle the words that describe them.

http://www.eht.k12.nj.us/~jonesj/Differentiated%20Instruction/Interest%20Surveys.htm

Multiple Intelligences Survey:

This survey would be appropriate for older elementary through high school students. The students place a check next to the statements that describe them. They then tally the results and there is a graph supplied at the end of the survey to chart the results.

http://surfaquarium.com/MI/inventory.htm

Learning Styles Survey:

1.This survey can be given online and the website gives the results. The students simply check the boxes next to the statements that are true for them. The statements are varied and would be appropriate for elementary aged students.

http://www.howtolearn.com/lsinventory_student.html

2. This survey is called the Vark learning survey and it has been modified for students ages 12-18. It is an online survey that offers immediate results. The students just check the boxes next to the statements that best describe how they might handle a particular situation in class or in their personal life. The questions are clear and easy to understand. I took the survey myself and it was very interesting.

http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=younger

Learning Profile Inventory:

This website is really great! It contains a survey which is appropriate for elementary through high school, a score sheet for the students to tally their scores, and also information on the results so that the students can read more about the type of learner they are. The survey can be taken on the computer but the students must tally the results themselves after reading and answering the questions. This is one that I will probably use with my students.

http://www.oswego.edu/plsi/index.html

After searching and reviewing many surveys, I decided to try and incorporate as many of the different types of questions as I could into one survey for my students. I would like to use some of the surveys I found with my students, especially the learning profile and multiple intelligences surveys. The survey that I created for my students can be found at the following link.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/72WJXTR

As I think back to the beginning of this course and reflect on the things that I have learned, there are many things that I will take with me into my classroom instruction. Using the GAME plan is one of the things that I believe will benefit my students and myself. The GAME plan is great because it helps you to break down the learning process step by step so that you can really achieve your learning goals. This will be helpful for my students because it will be like a guide to make them more self-directed learners. They will be able to achieve their learning goals more independently.

Technology is already a huge part of my classroom instruction but I think that there are many things that I would like to try with my students that I have not had the courage to try yet. Part of my GAME plan was to set of a blog with my students that they would be able to use to reflect on their learning. This has proven to be more time consuming than I originally anticipated. My students need a lot of guidance when using certain technologies and some of them get frustrated easily when they cannot figure something out on their own. This has been challenging but I believe that if I can give my students the gift of using technology to learn, they will forever have it to help them to achieve their goals. So I will be patient and persevere.

Using the GAME plan with my students will help to guide them through the learning process. Having my students to set goals for their learning will help them to become more self-directed learners and to be also be in charge of identifying what they want to learn.

Each of the four steps of the GAME plan have specific aspects to help make the learning process successful. Students first set goals which make them more independent learners and thinkers. Then they take action to meet those goals. Asking themselves what information do I need to meet my goals will help the students to choose a learning strategy.

As the students take action toward their goals it is important for them to then monitor and reflect on whether they are making progress and if they need to choose a different strategy. The final step is to evaluate whether their goals were met successfully and if anything needed to be modified.

These steps can be applyed to any learning situation or content area in the classroom. If I want my students to learn to blog or if they need to create a project using concept mapping tools, the GAME plan can be used. Teaching and modeling the steps for my students will be the most important part to the process.

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach (Laureate Education custom edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

I have learned a lot that I can apply in my instruction during this course. I have learned that it is important to have a GAME plan so that I can help my students to become self-directed learners. I have learned about many new technologies that will help me to reach all the different learners in my classroom as well as enhance the learning taking place. I have also learned that assessment doesn’t just mean testing.

The goals that I am still working on are setting up the blog for my students to use as a reflection tool in their learning. Once I get back into my classroom after my maternity leave, I plan on teaching the students about blogging and showing them how they can use this technology to share with others. I believe that they will enjoy the opportunity to use technology in a new way!

I am really hoping to try and use more problem-based learning in my classroom but I realize that it will take some time and patience to work out all the kinks. I am hoping that my team will also be interested in this type of learning and that we can collaborate on lessons together.

The progress that I have made toward my GOALS has been small but valuable. I have recieved positive feedback from many parents about an email newsletter and more information on the class webpage. This is encouraging since I have not had much contact with many of the parents that responded. I plan on going ahead with the email newsletter in January with the parents that did respond and just sending home a paper copy to the parents that did not. I also will continue to update the class webpage frequently so that parents can also use this resource.

The student use of a blog is at a standstill until I return to work from my maternity leave. I do have permission to use this type of resource with my students for them to reflect on thier learning and many of the other third grade teachers that I work with have expressed excitement about maybe joining in as well.

Monitoring my GAME plan may be the hardest step. I will have to set aside time to modify and make changes to the things that I am doing with my students and my parents. The first goal that I have is to establish a blog so that students can evaluate and share their learning with others. I think creating a blog with the students so that they can add their ideas about how it can be used will get them excited. One concern that I have is finding the time to teach the students how to use the blog and give them the opportunity to practice typing skills and other necessary computer skills that they will need to make this successful.

The second goal that I have is to use technology to help me to communicate with my parents. I have continued to use the class web page to make announcements and give information that parents may need. I still hope that many parents will be open to the idea of a weekly or monthly newsletter through their email. One concern that I have is that I will still be required to send the paper form of a newsletter to those parents that do not give me their email addresses. This will require more time on my part.

In order to carry out my GAME plan I will need certain resources. The first part of my GAME plan consists of having my students use technology to share ideas and reflect on their learning. The resources that I will need in order to make this happen is a blog site that is not blocked by the county, computer access, and parential permission for the students to use the internet. All of my students already have permission to use the internet because the parents must sign a release at the beginning of the school year. Our school has a computer lab and I have a designated time that my class goes to the lab each week. This will give the students access to the internet. The only resource that I still need to work out is the site that I will use. I must then set it up for the class and provide them with the web address and rules for acceptable use.

The second part of my GAME plan is to use technology to communicate more efficiently with my parents. Our school has a webpage and I have a class page on the school site. The class page has current class information and also gives my email address so that the parents can email me if they need to. The problem is that I do not have email addresses for my parents if I need to contact them. It would be really nice to be able to create monthly or weekly newsletters that I could email directly to the parents instead of sending home paper copies that just get lost. In order to do this, I need to get my parents email addresses. I will need to send home a request for this information with my students and hopefully I will get a good response from my parents.

After reading the NETS-T standards for teachers on the ISTE website, I realized that I am more comfortable with many of the standards than I was before I started this Masters program. All the information that I have learned so far has helped me to become more proficient using technology in my classroom and to teach my students. The NETS-T standards that I still do not feel as confident with are:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.

Model Digital-Age Work and Learning

Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

The first standard is specific to helping students to use technology to reflect on their learning and understanding of concepts. This would be part of my ideal classroom! Students using a blog to share ideas and post work samples that their classmates could then respond to. I think that if the students are able to talk through what they have learned about, it helps them to better see their strengths and weaknesses. I have my students use journals to express themselves but I believe that they would be more enthusiastic about sharing if they were able to use technology.

The second standard deals with communication between teachers and parents. I want to be able to share ideas with my parents as well as have them to be able to share with me. Parent-teacher communication has always been something that I struggle with. It is difficult to communicate with parents because everyone has different schedules and changing phone numbers. If there were some way that I could communicate with my parents using technology, it might make it easier to stay in contact.

I plan to achieve these goals by first learning more about the technology that I could use and becoming more proficient at using it. I also need to stay informed on all the newest technology available to me by reading and exploring the newest technologies.