In
order to continue to grow professionally, integrating technology into my
lessons must occur. My goals are to
“facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity and to engage in
professional growth and leadership” (International Society for Technology
Education, 2008) so ongoing changes will have to lead me to my aim.
Being
in the computer lab with unlimited resources allows me to be creative in
planning lessons. My school is
restrictive about communications with outside schools but with a new campus
opening in September I am hopeful that we can work collaboratively with the
other campus. I believe it is through
collaboration that real inspirations come to life. When planning out a lesson, I never
underestimate the student’s ability to take an idea and run with it. By using a Prezi or a Voice Thread I would
like to do more collaborative projects with the students. My students can always offer an interesting
perspective or suggestion for a final product.
So I will continue to incorporate their suggestions for future
lessons. As far as my professional
growth, I have signed up for additional training on google tools in the
classroom, virtual environments and simulations as well as all of my coursework
at Walden.
I
can always rely on my colleagues to bounce ideas off of as well as the Director
of Technology. I often bring a portion
of an idea and she can help me get the objectives and the technology
piece into the lesson. Conversely, other
teachers come to me and have a topic but do not know how to incorporate technology
and we work together to reach that goal.
Resources:
International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE): NETS
for Teachers 2008 http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteIt is not only necessary, but vital that educators implement projects that require students to collaborate. By providing students opportunities to collaborate with each other, students are receiving the training they need to successfully apply the same collaboration skills needed in tomorrow’s workforce. Furthermore, equipping students to proficiently collaborate with others is a standard in promote 21st century learning. Although collaboration skills are necessary, Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, (2009), reminds educators that in order for students to effectively demonstrate the ability to collaborate, students will need time to cultivate these skills. To foster and promote collaboration skills, students must be given the opportunity. However, before educators develop opportunities to collaborate, there are key elements that must be addressed. It is fundamentally sound to foster a safe learning environment that engages students to think critically as well as address the student’s emotional and social needs (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009). According to Barell, (1998) educators must model effective collaboration practices, ask open-ended question, respond to students without demeaning them, encourage positive peer interaction, demonstrate listening skills and promote self evaluations (as cited in Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009). Above all it is important for educators to understand, that students will reciprocate what the teacher values and how much effort is put into creating a positive learning environment (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009).
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. D., & Ertmer, P. A. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Jaime Alvarado
Hi Jaime,
DeleteYou are so right about teacher attitude and values about collaborative works in the classroom! Sometimes I think that it is easy to loose sight of the goal when we are so bogged down in curriculum, standards, and all of the other responsibilities that we have in the classroom. However, the ultimate goal must be kept in mind and collaboration if it is done correctly can alleviate some of the pressure that we feel in the classroom because it lets the students direct their learning. Thank you for reminding me!
Melissa A.
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI have always found it difficult to do collaborative projects in my classrooms. Students get the impression that collaborative projects means talking and playing games online. However, it is something that I really want to work more on. I recently had my students create a project using Prezi. Many of them had used it before and hated it, but they have worked on the website and added templates so that it makes it easier to use. Instead of thinking that adding technology to academic classes is a lesson itself, teachers need to consider these tools as another way of teacher the students. In addition, it could be used as differentiated learning. Students now learn everything using some form of technology. In each household, students either use their cell phone, laptop, or tablet daily. Also I think that we all need to continuously get training and professional tools to gain resources and tools that we can use to stay up with 21st century classrooms.
Nakeia
Hi Nakeia,
DeleteThanks for your post! The most important thing about collaboration and problem-based learning as well, is that the classroom turns into a student driven environment. They are controlling their learning and it gets noisy which a lot of teachers are uncomfortable with, I know I am. I have trouble letting go and allowing students to talk because it does seem to get so loud. However, the final product always reflects that they are working hard. I guess it is just a new method that I will have to get used to.
I am glad that I am not the only one having trouble with collaborative projects.
Thanks,
Melissa A.
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteIt is important to collaborate with other teachers. As teachers we assume that we are on a island with no one else to help. This is not the case. We often forget about other teachers and their expertise. As you have the expertise with technology, it would be a great idea to collaborate with another teacher and do a project that will give students an authentic learning experience. You will have the ideas to incorporate technology and they could have the curriculum that is required. It might also be great idea to have your students create a virtual tour as a lesson. I think that students would be able to find a subject that interests them which would give students the buy in they need and the skills as you would create the framework of what they would need to accomplish in their tours. I think you have endless possibilities to accomplish your goal and you seem to have a great start in doing so.
Tami
Hi Tami,
DeleteI co-teach my sixth graders with the science teachers and I think that this is my opportunity. I must start taking more advantage of that time. Also, with science being so interactive I can test some of the simulation and virtual experiments that are online.
Thanks,
Melissa A.
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI also think that it is very important that students learn how to collaborative while working on projects; but it is up to the teacher to give them the opportunity. One of the best technological tools that a teacher can used to inspire students’ creativity through collaboration would be the use of a wiki. I think that you are in a position where you can give advice or share an example to the general education teachers concerning the use of technology in the classroom. I was wondering if you have shared with your colleagues some of the technology that you have learned from these courses. What were their reactions? I think that it is regretful that your school restricts outside communication with other schools. In my opinion, learning was always meant to be a collaborative exercise. New ideas are composed of old elements (Lau & Chan, n.d.).
Reference:
Lau, J., & Chan, J. (n.d.). Module: Creative thinking. Retrieved from http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/creative/creative.php
Dan Kirst
Hi Dan,
DeleteI have shared my thoughts with the technology department and some of my classroom teacher colleagues. They all say the same thing...sounds so great, so creative and would really motivate students but it will never happen at our school. However, with the backing of my technology director I think that she will fight that fight for me. I have been compiling lesson ideas and web sites that I would love to present to my administrators. We shall see what they say!
Thanks,
Melissa A.
Congratulations on your added responsibilities for next year; becoming the technology specialist for your campus is a great way to reach your second goal of engaging in professional growth and leadership. I believe that this particular goal is one all of our classmates share.
ReplyDeleteI have some suggestions which might make your first goal of facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity easier. I too work in a computer lab and really enjoy having computer access for all of my students. One way I have my students create an online portfolio, and share their projects with their family members is through Weebly. Weebly is a very easy web site building web 2.0 tool. It allows teachers to create numerous pages, create classes and upload students into their classes. Each student, in every one of my classes, has a Weebly web page where they embed all of their final projects. They also use their web site for note taking. Their web pages are linked to my site, so I have easy access to each web page in one spot. Here is a link to one of my student’s web site. He is an English language learner and is in 7th grade: http://mexicos1blog.weebly.com/
Edmodo is another class-friendly site. I will begin using Edmodo next year, and I am just now learning how to navigate through it. It allows all of your students to have email accounts. Currently, I use Gaggle.net for my students email accounts. It’s very school-friendly and also easy to navigate. It has a social wall and blogging features, which are very nice.
Hi Linda,
DeleteThank you for your suggestions! I am going to use the time over my spring break to create a weebly page for my kids. (Boy times have changed)...haha
Melissa A.