Monitoring My Game Plan Progress

.  Last week, I took the first steps needed to carry out the goals I set for my GAME plan and shared what resources and additional information I would need to continue.  The focus of my GAME plan is on the ISTE Standard proficiency indicators 2.a., 2.b., and 3.b., which entail designing learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources into the classroom, enabling my students to become more self-directed learners in a technology rich environment, and to communicate with students and community effectively using a variety of digital media (ISTE, 2008).  Today, I am going to discuss the progress I am making toward getting the information and resources I need, what I have learned so far, and new questions that have manifested during the week.

This week proved to be rather frustrating in terms of time and energy.  I am teaching an overload at the high school and am teaching a graduate class in literacy on Saturdays in addition to this technology class, so I am stretched pretty thin.  I have managed to pull together the necessary resources in terms of curriculum maps and lesson plans.  However, after reading the chapter on assessing student learning, I realized that I can’t just stick technology into the curriculum willy-nilly; it should only be used when it facilitates learning (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 146).  My epiphany is that the process of updating the curriculum maps is going to work best while I am teaching the classes.  I have adjusted my timeline to accommodate this plan and am currently working on 4 content classes.  I have also decided that I want to take a closer look at the assessments that I use to monitor and evaluate student learning.  As I consider what digital tools will facilitate my lessons, it will be important to align the standards to the assessments first.  Once I do that I will be in a better place to consider if technology will facilitate student learning. 

I don’t use a lot of forced-choice assessment formats, however, I am interested in locating student responders since teachers should take advantage of appropriate technology when possible.  According to Cennamo et al (2009), student responders provide instantaneous reporting when doing this type of assessment for the whole class and can help a teacher quickly determine whether students require further instruction in content (p. 145).  Data can be quickly gathered and used to analyze individual responses as well as give an overall picture of the level of understanding for the whole class.  I am pretty sure the Science department has some, but I need to connect with them or the Media specialist to see if they are available to anyone in the school or limited to the Science department only.  I would also like to find out more about e-portfolios and determine what technology is required to create one.  Do I need special software or training so that I can teach my students how to use them?  Is this something that I would like to try to monitor and evaluate my own teaching practice?  E-portfolios are a great way to showcase student work and “involve learners in directing, documenting, and evaluating their own learning” and I think I would benefit from this tool as much as my students would (as cited by Lambert, DePaepe, Lambert, and Anderson, 2007, p. 78).

I have also been plugging away on my Delicious account as I organize bookmarks.  I am really frustrated with this tool because when I first registered for the account, they allowed you to create files, now everything goes by tags.  I wish there was a more efficient way to organize them.  When I created tags for the bookmarks in the very beginning, I was giving inconsistent names to them.  Now, I am trying to tag them with similar terms such as technology tools for the classroom and then I am adding additional tags to aid in sorting, for instance project-based learning or concept mapping tools.  The last few weeks, I have been giving a description of the bookmarks as well, and that really helps.  I have found it most frustrating because when I remember a website that had some great tool such as collaboration on creating a timeline, I can’t find it again.  Do any of my readers have any suggestions to help me sort this out?

I have not heard back from the Media specialist about the technology survey results, so I emailed him again.  I did figure out how to access student data using the Infinite Campus Grade Portal.  I can create reports of state test results and use that data to compare student performance in my classes; this will help me make better decisions about the effectiveness of the learning activities in my classroom (Cennamo et al, 2009, p. 115).  Those results can better inform what assessments and technology will best facilitate the learning of my students.

Lastly, I did not spend much time this week searching for teacher blogs and websites.  I want to design my own blog or website for my classes and their parents to be able to access.  Could the readers of my blog offer any suggestions?  If you know of a teacher blog, website, or wiki that is user friendly and has some good ideas, please reply to my post with the URLs.  I appreciate your help.  I am planning on working on this goal on Sunday of this week.

In summary, I have made some adjustments to my GAME plan.  I am taking action on my goals by using standards to set learning goals and assessment data from state tests and formative assessment data from my classroom to determine what technologies and instructional choices are best to facilitate student learning as I make adjustments to curriculum maps and lesson plans.  I am checking out whether I can have access to student response systems at my school and paying closer attention to the types of assessment I am using to monitor and evaluate student learning.  I need advice on how to more efficiently organize my Delicious account and connect with peers to see if they have recommendations for great teacher websites.  I am making progress on my goals, however, there are times when I feel frustrated and wonder if I am making any headway at all.  I realize that the real progress is that I am thinking differently as I rework curriculum maps and lesson plans to reflect standards, assessments, learning goals, technology and most of all, the needs of my students.

 

References:

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

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Lambert, C., DePaepe, J., Lambert, L., & Anderson, D. (2007). E-portfolios in action. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 43(2), 76–81. Retrieved from the ERIC database.