Reflection.

The GAME plan process was alright. As I stated in an earlier post, I like some of the ideas, especially the reflective process, I just do not feel this exact process is for me.

What I have learned is it is possible to integrate math assignments and projects with technology. The more I thought about a situation, and of course with the help and ideas of colleagues and Susan, the ideas seemed almost endless to incorporate. Now it is just a matter of doing it.

At this point there is not an immediate adjustment. What I am immediately doing is starting the process of getting paid time next year to collaborate with colleagues on designing some unit projects. I know together as a department, we can be very innovative. I already have a good project to bring to the table with my three part lesson plan developed for this class.

using the game plan process with students

Maybe I am just tired…and it could be that I somehow completely missed that there was a blog post last week so I am a bit frustrated. All of which is my own fault.

I do not see the game plan process, at least in the exact format that it has been modeled working for my classroom. I definitely like the reflective practices, and reaching out to classmates is definitely useful. Personally, the game plan process has been more of a “going through the motions” thing vs. an actual ah-ha moment. My gut feeling is that my students will have some of the same feelings.

I definitely want to incorporate the reflective practices and classmate help into my student’s everyday practices. I just do not see it being a formal process only used on projects.

Evaluating Your GAME Plan Progress

• How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?
What really made me meet my goals is the weekly discussion about them. So often I get what I consider good ideas, but then as life takes its toll, they get forgotten about or pushed aside.
• What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
I already incorporate a lot of technology, but I have learned there is still a whole other level that it can be used for. I am ready to start rising up to that higher level.
• What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?
I need to get quicker at planning these activities. I am still concerned about the use of class time, its relevance, and keeping up with the set curriculum.
• How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?
At this point I feel everything is in place and no adjustments are needed.

progress towards game plan

I am pretty confident that I have all the resources I need.

The only modification to my plan so far is how I am going to get my first set of parent cell numbers. Instead of passing out a flyer, I am going to start with emailing the parents that I can. (Our grade book program as an option that I can hit, and it will send out a mass email to everyone in my class, that we have emails for). I figure why use a middle man, when I can get it directly. That will be my base group, and then from there I will seek out the other student’s cells.

I was apart of a 21st century learning meeting this past week. I plugged how important collaboration was and even more importantly teachers are given the time to do so, with out arbitrary deadlines. This was well received, which is great, because being paid to collaborate with co-workers on group projects is the other part of my game plan. If anyone knows of any good geometry or algebra projects I would love to hear them. An idea is where it begins.

No new questions yet.

As far as progress goes, my meeting mentioned above was good. I have also talked with two of my co-workers who would like to collaborate group projects too. Besides thinking, talking, and typing about sending mass texts, I have not moved too much further to completing this goal. I think it is going to take one of those rare moments when we are all caught up at work and I think about the texts. In reality it would only take a few minutes to send out the initial emails.

carring out game plan

To carry out the parent/text portion, I really just need to write up a handout that explains what I am doing for the students to take home and email back to me. From there it is as simple as adding @verizon.com (each phone provider has a different address) to each phone number and making a group for algebra I, geometry, etc… The toughest part will be the follow up. That is getting the straggling numbers and making sure I even have the right numbers. So far all I have done is talk about this idea; I have not actually gotten my plan farther than this cyber world.

To carry out my collaboration/project a semester plan I first need to get a hold of one of our professional development people. Quite frankly I want to get paid for writing the project, and I want something developed that other teachers buy into so we are all doing something similar. If I write up a proposal, then the school should grant us at least one professional development day, if not two to meet up and design at least one project. I would like to do this in collaboration because I work with smart and creative people, sometimes they have great ideas that never occurred to me. I know together we will figure out a good project. As said earlier, so far all I have done is talk about this idea; I have not actually gotten my plan farther than this cyber world.

Standard V: Productivity and Professional Practice.
Goal 1: Use more technology to communicate with students and parents.
Actions: I would like to start texting parents and students a few days before a test or quiz. To do this I need to get parents or students to email their cell numbers along with their cell phone providers (this is needed to set up text from a pc). Then I can cut and paste them into a group, and simply send out an email from my computer with a quick heads up that will go to their cell phones.
Monitor Progress: Have I done it or not? Getting started is the first step. From there adding numbers will be a continuous process. I imagine that some students will get the information for me, but there will be quite a few that will do their best to not give up their parents cells.
Evaluation: I would like to have 100% parent communication via email or text by semester I. There are always families that do not have these technologies, and that is ok. I will still find a way to communicate. Based on this 100%, I will base my grade off what percent I am actually communicating with.

Standard III: Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum.
Goal 2: Facilitate more technology-enhanced experiences for my students.
Actions: Create one new project a year that uses technologies to research, execute, and present the information. This goal will continue for four years, until I have a project for each semester. To do this, I will use my in-service days where students have the day off, to collaborate with my co-workers on a project. I know I can sell the idea, and if a group of us agree on a project, together we can create some pretty neat projects. If all the teachers are on board, it will be much easier to implement.
Monitor Progress: Have I done it or not? Writing and executing the first project will be the biggest step. After I have one down, I think the others will be much easier. And after the first time, the first year, the second time will be way easier and smoother. All I will have to do is minor tweaks to the first project.
Evaluation: My goal is one new project a year, so I think anything short of that is failure. I want to have this project written before the first day of school. I know if it is not done by then, chances of getting completed will be cut in half each day after that, approaching zero fast.

week 5

Constructivist learning theory states that we build our own distinctive understandings of the world around us. Social learning theory goes further by saying we construct meaning primarily through our interactions with others and with our environment. There are a lot of technologies, many of which I have recently learned about since my time at Walden, that assist communication, collaboration, and cooperation.

Having students set up blogs and rss feeds is a great way to start. I would use the template already set up by this class (make a post by Wednesday, respond to at least two other posts) to start training my students to work this way.

After students became comfortable with this, a wikki site run by students could become an invaluable learning tool.

There are so many tools available through the World Wide Web, which include virtual field trips, voice threads, simulation software, pod casts, and You Tube to name a few.

Once students are sold on the idea, and have had some fun and success at using the technologies, almost anything can be turned into a social learning moment.

I think you can prove/disprove anything you want depending on your desired outcome.

On an earlier application for this class I inadvertently read the wrong chapter, and I posted on my blog how Generating and Testing Hypothesis was “obviously behaviorism.”

Now I am going to argue that it is constructionist/constructivist. The basic idea of this theory is that students need to explore an idea and come up with their own conclusions. In a way they teach them selves the material through discovery.

To me, this is the definition of generating and testing hypothesis. Students study the parts of the problem, look at various solutions, experiment with them, and finally make a decision or generalization about their outcome.

The more classes I take, the more I study and read, the more open minded I become. One of the things I like about our profession is the unknown. There are not any distinct right or wrong answers. We all do what works best for us. There are so many theories out there, and they can all be correct, but good educators find their own special blend that works for them.

I think we have to be careful about how we use all these ideas. Pretty much since September we have all learned at least one good idea a week. They cannot all be implemented. We have to pick and choose, tweak here and there, but for the most part our students need consistency. Some of the approaches we learn about take years to develop, prep for, and master.

In short, I believe a blended approach is best.

Cognitive learning and the use of cues, questions, and advanced organizers.

As a teacher, it is important that we are teaching students to be successful in life. I hope students not only retain these lessons that I teach in their long-term memory, but that they can easily retrieve them when needed.

As educators we really should do more than just hope. We should teach the material in such a manner that students have a better chance of recalling this info. Cognitive Learning Theory says images are powerful tools, but more importantly elaboration, or making as many connections as possible to the material enhances long term memory retrieval.

The instructional strategies cues, questions, and advanced organizers do just that. Spreadsheet software can be used as a tool for my math students to organize and easily calculate values in a way they do not get lost in the arithmetic and loose the big picture. This data can then be modeled visually making another connection. Organization and Brainstorming software can be used when I am pre-planning out lessons. I have considered having students maintain a wikki site that they entered their own notes. This software could definitely help them and other readers organize it better. To truly understand teach it. Multimedia tools are just an expansion of the above software.

They all offer more connections to the material than a traditional lesson with no technology would. This can only help our students.

behaviorism's role effort rubrics/speadsheets and generating/testing hypothesis

I have to say I was impressed with the effort rubric (P157 of Using technology with classroom instruction that works by Pilter, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski). Incase you do not know what I am talking about it is a rubric that students can use to grade themselves on how much effort they have been putting into the class. Then it is follow up with an example of an excel sheet that students can use to chart their effort correlated to their grades.

This was an idea that hit home with me. I teach a math class that is pretty much all resource students. At times their lack of desire and effort is non-comprehendible for a person like myself who is driven (that’s a nice way to say obsessive/compulsive).

Each year I set a new goal(s) for my self. Last year it was less choral response questions. This year it was to teach students to read their textbooks (less choral response-done, reading the text-on going, but improving). Next year I was going to continue the text reading and then stager my lesson and the assignments that go with them. If I am teaching lesson 8.5, the students will do homework that night over lesson 8.2. The idea is it gives students a few days to mentally catch up to the topic at hand, and it gives them exposure to the material over a longer period of time.

After this weeks reading, I am seriously considering using this rubric/spreadsheet approach with at least my two low-level math classes. I am even having my student aid type it up tomorrow (using the RubiStar link below). It is exciting to learn about new ideas that are doable.

As far as this week’s Walden application/assignment goes, I think it is pretty obvious how behaviorism fits in. The chart and rubric I was talking about gives the students feedback on the behaviors they are doing. Grades have always done this, but now it is broken down to the specific behavior of effort.

The second instructional strategy was generating and testing the hypothesis. Isn’t the conclusion of the hypothesis being true or false reinforcement (behaviorism) of their ideas? I think so.

This weeks reading was exceptionally interesting for me. I always enjoy hearing about ideas that are applicable and doable. I have a new idea for my toolbox.

I have added two helpful links at the top of my blog if you are also considering using a daily/weekly survey/spreadsheet approach next year:

Reference:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

week8 Reflection

•In what ways has this course helped you to develop your own technology skills?

This course forced me out of my comfort zone. There was not a whole lot of direct instruction. I was forced to look at the various technologies and figure them out. There were many trials and tribulations. From all this I learned that with a little patients, a few extra minutes, it is not that hard to figure out new technologies. I am much more confident in my abilities. Next time I want to figure out a technology, I am just going to dive in and try it.

•In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of technology integration with the aim of increasing student achievement?

My RSS feeds will allow me to easily stay current on readings about new technology practices in the classroom. This Walden course has given me a solid platform. I have already developed one lesson plan that can be implemented anytime. Further, many of our Walden assignments can easily be adapted for immediate use in the classroom. Technology tends to snow ball. The more you use it, the easier it becomes.

•Set two long-tem goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment into a place where technology is integrated seamlessly to meet instructional goals and increase student achievement. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?

First goal is to implement a classroom blog for my geometry class and algebra readiness class that includes helpful links, homework, and practice problems. I will create the blog this summer while I am administering summer school. I have lots of down time, and this would be a perfect moment to get it started.

Second goal is to use my lesson I designed for a student created wikki page. The wikki site will be an ongoing assignment where groups of students are in charge of updating the site per chapter. The details of this are laid out in application six. To make this happen, also during summer school I will get the site built and running. Further I will layout the entire curriculum and where new groups will exchange responsibility.

Week 4_Partnership for 21st Century Skills Review

My first reaction to the site was a bit of confusion. At a glance the ideas seemed obvious and I was not quite sure why I was taking time to explore it. I appreciate tools that I can take and use in my classroom right away. So after skimming their ideas, I went to the resources. I got flustered quickly. It was not easily navigable and seemed to lead on and on, where I finally either had to purchase something or down load a pdf. I decided to walk away and try the next day.

I looked at the site with the thought, “how does this affect me?” As a core subject teacher (high school mathematics), P21 believes I should teach, “… in the context of themes like global awareness and civic literacy.”

We just had a curriculum review and switched publishers for mathematics two years ago. We looked at programs similar to this. There were many things I liked, mainly the outcomes of Life and Career Skills, Learning and Innovation Skills, and Information, Media, and Technology Skills.

This is good in theory, but not practical all the time. The programs that I explored had a lot of exploratory learning. I am reluctant of too much investigative education because eventually the teacher has to make sure the students figured out the correct concept. Students catch on to this. It is also my opinion that students need practice. Yes, you can take a break from the P21 lesson and do some drill and practice, but I did not see a program that had this material easily available. We had an integrated system that taught many of these skills with in it. The reason we went backwards to a traditional system was the lack of practice problems, teacher resources, and placement issues with transfer students. I believe a P21 system would have the same issues.

I suppose this is an issue in itself. The only real way a P21 school would really work if standardized testing changed. The material tested would have to be scaled back. Right now we tend to teach a mile wide versus a mile deep to “cover all the material.”

I would like to see a collaboration of P21 ideas and the traditional system we are use to.

Use of this Blog in my classroom

Include your grade level, content area, and your rationale as to why a blog is a good tool for the instructional context.
I am a high school math teacher. I am open to the idea of a classroom blog simply because I believe in offering students every opportunity to succeed. If a blog is what they will respond to, I am on board.

Post an idea for how you might use a blog in your classroom.
I am new to this, and especially since there are not enough hours in the day as it is, I would start simple. I already plan out my lessons and homework a chapter at a time, so I could easily paste this up on my blog. Eventually I would start posting the days notes, also easily done with my smart board.

What purpose would the blog serve? The blog would help absent students, parents, pre-planned absence preparation, tutors, special services, counselors, and struggling students. Having the notes, assignments, and objects posted in one place will help allow everyone to get on the same page

Is it a place for students to interact about content? Is it a showcase for their work? In the beginning, students would not interact. I could see after some time, it morphing into more. I suppose the students could take it wherever they wanted.

How does using a blog enhance the lesson? This blog enhances the lesson by allowing students one more option to review, stay caught up, and prepare for lessons.

Is technology good for us?

Disclaimer: I am a technology junky at work and home.

Since I am taking an online course about technology, I have been reading a lot of posts about how important it is and how teachers need to embrace it.

I wonder how much technology has helped us as teachers. Email communication is convenient, but has it gone too far? On any given day I get 25-50 emails a day. My principal said she gets around 100 a day, and in speaking with my superintendent he said he has been training his secretary to go through them, and after that he only answers those in the morning, because nothing would get done.

In my district we are playing catch up on getting technologies into classrooms. In a math department of nine, two of us got smart boards installed just last year. Two more got installed this year, and there are still five teachers with out. It is great we are getting these, but our tech department cannot keep up. Last year my projector went out and it took six weeks to get replaced. This year, it took over a month to get a program installed on my computer (we are blocked from installing our own programs).

At times technology has created as many headaches as positives. I am excited to see what the future brings, but at the same time I am nervous of the complications that will come with it.