So far, I have been finding information that I need in order to carry out my GAME plan. I have found some instructional videos on how to do a wiki and what a wiki is that I can use in my classroom (found at www.commoncraft.com and called Wikis in Plain English). There are a lot of instructional videos at this particular website that can be used in the classroom to help a student’s understanding of the technology they are supposed to be using. A classmate, Samuel Thompson, also posted a great resource that deals with copyrights. This would be great to use for my students when dealing with digital citizenship and responsibility. I have spent the last few days going through my PowerPoints that I use in my classroom and putting citations in for videos and pictures. Most of my videos come from Discovery Education. This is not quite accomplished yet, but I still have about 5 weeks until I have to get back into the swing of school!!
At this point, I do not have to modify my action plan. Most of this will be ready for the 2010-2011 school year, so I am glad to have this time in the summer to work on what I want to change for the coming year. I have learned that there are so many resources out there to utilize in the classroom, but not only that, there are resources to help you learn how to use the resources! These are great to bring into the classroom as well to aid the students along their path with technology. I have also learned that the hard part is not the planning but the implementing. I can’t imagine what it is going to be like with my students as most of them have used very little technology and we have no technology teacher to teach them the skills. That brings a new question into my mind: Am I going to be able to effectively do this without the support of a technology teacher? This is something that I will have to answer when the school year approaches.
Sounds like you are aoff to a great start! This process has taught me a great deal about just how much information is out there for us to use in our classrooms - it sounds like you are finding out the same thing. I totally agree with you - the planning part can be time consuning, byut the real work is in the implementing. I applaud you for moving forward and working hard even without the aide of a technology teacher. I cannot tell you the number of times that I have gone to ours for help. Hopefully there are other teachers at your school that have been implementing technology and maybe you can collaborate a bit. Also, are there any prefessional development classes that you couls take to help you out? Our county offers them all the time. Just a thought. I know it is hard to find time for extra classes. Hang inthere and good luck with your plan - it sounds great!
ReplyDeleteHi Lyndsay, I have plans to review Unitedstreaming site for instructional videos about cyber-ethnic. I found an article that I hope you would find useful or as a collection piece to accommodate your Game plan. Also, maybe you can suggest a technology committee at your school (or district) for support.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.digitalcitizenship.net/uploads/1stLL.pdf
Great ideas! I love the i plain english series and use it for myself as well! I agree that the amount of available material can be overwhelming. I think that the important thing is to remember that the technology is a tool that is used to help deliver content not the reason in it self to teach it. Many times educators lose site of the purpose of the lesson. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteLyndsay,
ReplyDeleteYou have found so many resources. You seem to be on top of what is available and a grasp of what can be used for your students. We have technology staff in our school, but I feel the best way to learn is to try it yourself. Through this masters program we have been introduced to a lot of technology enhancements, and with all the resources including tutorials, I believe you will be able to use the technology. Just remember you do not need to be an expert, and it is okay to learn with your students. Maybe you will be able to reach out to someone within the district...a high school teacher...or neighboring district that could be of assistance.
Lyndsay,
ReplyDeleteI have also viewed the video on commoncraft.com, "Wikis in Plain English." My indicator to work on is about Community Building within my school. I am planning to use wikispaces.com to create sort of a community resources board for the teachers in my school.
I am a technology teacher. You can ask me questions on my blog or send me messages. I will try to answer questions as quickly as possible. You will be fine. After this course of study at Walden, we should all be way ahead of the game (no pun intended).
-John Parente
Thanks guys for all of the suggestions! I write them all down and check them out! They are much appreciated!
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