What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
Perhaps I shouldn't be mentioning Brain Pop again, but we've already watched a video from this software on Internet Privacy. For those familiar with the site, you know there are quizzes at the end to check for understanding. My students got 9 out of 10 questions correct! I was very proud of them and also of the fact that maybe we won't have to spend a great deal of time in this area. Next, I'm planning on having them view the video on digital citizenship, also from Brain Pop. We had a brief discussion today about why being a good digital citizen is just as important as being a good citizen on a daily basis.
What goals are you still working toward? A goal I'm still working on is getting blogging started through epals.com. I believe blogging is an easy way to get students accustomed to talking with others on the Internet before taking on a partner or group project.
Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself? At the present time I am not ready to extend these learning goals. I want to focus on getting my students comfortable with basic communication procedures and appropriate digital mannerisms.
How will you extend what you have learned so far? An extension I may pursue is contacting another educator through epals.com to determine how he/she uses the software to effectively teach.
What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning? An approach I haven't tried yet is collaborating online with real-time teachers, whom I can speak with right away, or the software Skype. I want to try these approaches.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals? I've turned to a commonly known site, Brain Pop to help my 4th graders begin to understand digital citizenship and safety. This site offers easy to comprehend information in these areas and offers fun summarizing activities.
What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice? I'm still in the process of learning to take more time with having students practice using technology effectively than simply using it as a tool to search for unnecessary information. I desire for them to be aware that the Internet is a resource just like a magazine, an encyclopedia, a book, etc. Plus, that it can only be effective for instruction when utilized correctly. This will take some time as students practice digital citizenship activities before they can connect with students of other communities.
What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen? I still must learn rules and regulations regarding my students' Internet usage. I am at a place of concern as to what I can and cannot teach them when it comes to Internet products, and how they can legally access what they need to produce outcomes. Is there a site I can go to that explains this in layman's terms? Something I can print off and keep with my lesson plans?
How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs? In adjusting the plan to fit current needs, I will begin with scaffolding the activities to fit students' learning needs. Not all of our students come to us with an understanding of what the Internet is and frequently they do not have it in their homes. Therefore, they require scaffolds to reach higher levels of understanding and performance than would be possible without them (Ertmer & Simons, 2006).
Ertmer, P., & Simons, K. (Spring 2006). Jumping the PBL implementation hurdle: Supporting the efforts of K-12 teachers. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1), 40-54.
What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice? I'm still in the process of learning to take more time with having students practice using technology effectively than simply using it as a tool to search for unnecessary information. I desire for them to be aware that the Internet is a resource just like a magazine, an encyclopedia, a book, etc. Plus, that it can only be effective for instruction when utilized correctly. This will take some time as students practice digital citizenship activities before they can connect with students of other communities.
What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen? I still must learn rules and regulations regarding my students' Internet usage. I am at a place of concern as to what I can and cannot teach them when it comes to Internet products, and how they can legally access what they need to produce outcomes. Is there a site I can go to that explains this in layman's terms? Something I can print off and keep with my lesson plans?
How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs? In adjusting the plan to fit current needs, I will begin with scaffolding the activities to fit students' learning needs. Not all of our students come to us with an understanding of what the Internet is and frequently they do not have it in their homes. Therefore, they require scaffolds to reach higher levels of understanding and performance than would be possible without them (Ertmer & Simons, 2006).
Ertmer, P., & Simons, K. (Spring 2006). Jumping the PBL implementation hurdle: Supporting the efforts of K-12 teachers. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1), 40-54.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
GAME plan revision:
- Resources I need: online discussions with other educators who've taught this and were successful; additional courses on digital citizenship; keeping up-to-date with revisions to Internet laws, regulations, etc.
- Modify the action plan: Focus on teaching digital citizenship at this time. Students need to understand and practice Internet "manners" before they can reach out and learn from other communities and cultures.
- What have I learned so far? I'm learning not to rush into this. The prospect of knowing what students can learn from using the Internet is exciting, but can be overwhelming. I need to thoroughly understand digital citizenship before I can effectively teach it. This would include students being aware of those websites that are bias and/or bogus. Additionally, they need to know how to properly cite Internet sources they use for reports; plus verify author, date, and information authenticity.
- Do I have new questions? Is there a reliable website on digital citizenship? What is appropriate for 4th graders to know? How much should they know right now?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Resources needed to carry out the plan:
- sustained cultural awareness, effective Internet service, experts in the field, time to implement, additional courses, funding
- additional information needed:
- students' family and cultural backgrounds
- Steps obtained thus far:
- attending technology and cultural awareness courses through Walden University
- collaborating with other educators
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: d: develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership: a: participate in local and global communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
Goals: attend additional professional learning courses to improve modeling digital citizenship and responsibility; collaborate with colleagues in house and through the web for communication resources with other communities and cultures; set time aside for practice and application before presenting this to my students. Internet safety for students is crucial; therefore, a major goal is to be sure students have the necessary tools to navigate safely on the web. Along with this, students must understand that the information on the web isn't their's and they will know how to give credit to sources on the Internet.
Action: The information I will need to meet these goals are cultural awareness for other teachers and students of differing geographies around the globe. Further, effective instruction and guidance provided by a digital communication specialist in the above areas is essential for my learning in this field. Also, I plan to search the Internet for valid resources of specific content related to my state's curriculum standards.
Monitor: I would like to monitor these goals through the use of blogging with colleagues and taking personal notes along the way. Also, I would like to begin this process with a small activity to determine its outcome-perhaps engage in communicating with an online source such as epals.com.
Evaluate and extend: to determine if I have met these goals, if the initial activity of communicating with epals is effective, I will transfer to a specific technological strategy focusing on content area. For this to be successful, small steps must be taken before I can plan a larger, more involved project.
Many of the other standards I observed from NETS-S offered technological instruction indicators that I would like to begin now, such as designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments. However, I chose the two above because I believe they offer background specifics for utilizing the Internet and the reasons for its application. So often, students have selfish motives for gathering information from the web, and they need to understand how to give credit for this information, understand how other students learn through technology, and how we can learn so much from each other through our combined efforts.
Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use. Mason, OH. Cengage Learning.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership: a: participate in local and global communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
Goals: attend additional professional learning courses to improve modeling digital citizenship and responsibility; collaborate with colleagues in house and through the web for communication resources with other communities and cultures; set time aside for practice and application before presenting this to my students. Internet safety for students is crucial; therefore, a major goal is to be sure students have the necessary tools to navigate safely on the web. Along with this, students must understand that the information on the web isn't their's and they will know how to give credit to sources on the Internet.
Action: The information I will need to meet these goals are cultural awareness for other teachers and students of differing geographies around the globe. Further, effective instruction and guidance provided by a digital communication specialist in the above areas is essential for my learning in this field. Also, I plan to search the Internet for valid resources of specific content related to my state's curriculum standards.
Monitor: I would like to monitor these goals through the use of blogging with colleagues and taking personal notes along the way. Also, I would like to begin this process with a small activity to determine its outcome-perhaps engage in communicating with an online source such as epals.com.
Evaluate and extend: to determine if I have met these goals, if the initial activity of communicating with epals is effective, I will transfer to a specific technological strategy focusing on content area. For this to be successful, small steps must be taken before I can plan a larger, more involved project.
Many of the other standards I observed from NETS-S offered technological instruction indicators that I would like to begin now, such as designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments. However, I chose the two above because I believe they offer background specifics for utilizing the Internet and the reasons for its application. So often, students have selfish motives for gathering information from the web, and they need to understand how to give credit for this information, understand how other students learn through technology, and how we can learn so much from each other through our combined efforts.
Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use. Mason, OH. Cengage Learning.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Saturday, February 27, 2010
When I began this course and saw the text, Reading the Web, I thought to myself, "I know how to read the web. You just google what you want and go there." Wow, was I ever wrong! I didn't realize this involved more than just "going there." Often, I would get so overwhelmed with "going there" and viewing a sea of sites that I really didn't need, that I would give up. This course on new literacy development and online inquiry in the classroom has given me a whole new outlook (sorry for the cliche) on how to read web URL's, and how to distinguish between sites that are educationally sound, and those that aren't.
One particular area that really stood out for me, and actually it didn't occur until later in the course, is the fact that so many students are using the web for whatever they choose. Now, this in and of itself is not a big revelation. They have been doing this now for quite a while; but what is is the fact that if school districts do not get deeply involved in the new literacies education of our students, they (students) will continue to utilize the web without proper supervision and guidance. Often we take for granted that just because our child or our students are sitting in front of computers, they are safe because they're not on the road riding with a drunk driver. However, we have all learned that online predators are very savvy and just as dangerous. It would be very beneficial if our district offered a PLU class for teachers and parents on the benefits and risks of using the Internet.
Because of what I've gained from this course, in my future instruction of students using the Internet as a resource for their work, I will first teach them how to read the web effectively before they begin an online project. This will include step by step procedures with guided practice. As students are able to establish methods for achieving this, they will spend less time searching and will spend quality time reading, using, and publishing only what they need.
A professional goal I'm looking forward to in the near future is to enroll in an upcoming new literacies course. At this time one isn't offered, but I will take an additional course on this essential area as it becomes available. To maintain current knowledge in this field I will spend more time in our resources discovering new and different ways to teach my students new literacy skills. Throughout my learning adventure thus far, it has been very evident that all of our resources were prepared with forethought by educational professionals. Further, teachers are able to utilize them at any time for the betterment of their students.
One particular area that really stood out for me, and actually it didn't occur until later in the course, is the fact that so many students are using the web for whatever they choose. Now, this in and of itself is not a big revelation. They have been doing this now for quite a while; but what is is the fact that if school districts do not get deeply involved in the new literacies education of our students, they (students) will continue to utilize the web without proper supervision and guidance. Often we take for granted that just because our child or our students are sitting in front of computers, they are safe because they're not on the road riding with a drunk driver. However, we have all learned that online predators are very savvy and just as dangerous. It would be very beneficial if our district offered a PLU class for teachers and parents on the benefits and risks of using the Internet.
Because of what I've gained from this course, in my future instruction of students using the Internet as a resource for their work, I will first teach them how to read the web effectively before they begin an online project. This will include step by step procedures with guided practice. As students are able to establish methods for achieving this, they will spend less time searching and will spend quality time reading, using, and publishing only what they need.
A professional goal I'm looking forward to in the near future is to enroll in an upcoming new literacies course. At this time one isn't offered, but I will take an additional course on this essential area as it becomes available. To maintain current knowledge in this field I will spend more time in our resources discovering new and different ways to teach my students new literacy skills. Throughout my learning adventure thus far, it has been very evident that all of our resources were prepared with forethought by educational professionals. Further, teachers are able to utilize them at any time for the betterment of their students.
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