GAME Plan:
When looking at the National Education Technology Standards for Students, some goals have come to mind for strengthening in engaging technology in the classroom. One would be to incorporate web tools into not only the classroom, but the district. There are many teachers that may not know how to use the tools necessary to instill technology into the curriculum. As a person that has grown up in the communication era, it is only right to take a leadership role when incorporating tools from the internet and infuse them into the classroom. The second goal is to exhibit the skills necessary to represent digital age work and learning. It is necessary to share your knowledge of information with technology and the tools that are available for teachers through the internet that is easily accessible.
I would like to incorporate an online Wiki that would allow students to update their digital portfolio to showcase their work over the internet. When creating a Wiki it is necessary, especially when students can have access, to make sure you have control and manage the site.
I will also will add a reaction page to allow viewers to share their insight and comment on certain pages. It is important for students to feel some kind of critical critique of their work and be able to constructively take that information and grow as not only professionally but also as a person.
Resources:
The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T)
http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx .
Wikis are a great collaborative tool to use in the classroom. It allows students to continously improve or edit their project and work together outside the class perimeters. I would like to use more online porfolios for the students to reflect their growth and development throughout the year or course. I really like the idea of a reflection page or summary. We currently have the students reflect in their content area journal, but the online reflection will be viewed by all to learn and grow from much like the blogs allow us to do.
ReplyDeleteI am curious how you are going to grade the wiki with the students. Are you going to use a rubric with exemplars modeling acceptable work? I ask as I want to use wiki's in my classroom and I am struggling with do I grade them with rubrics like a portfolio, on participation or do not grade them at all. I was curious as to what you were thinking in terms of your students.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the reflection page as the students will have to describe what they have done and explain what they learned. This will help the students develop a deeper understanding of knowledge (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).
Mike,
ReplyDeleteLove the blog name. I like your explanation on how to use the Wikis. I like Wikis, but I am not confident in using them. If I was, I think I would use it the way you have mentioned. I like the whole idea of uploading their digital portfolios and letting perhaps the whole world see their work
Thank you for all of the comments and to dlomax my grading process would be in a rubric included with the project. It would count as a percentage of their final project grade. I also feel as if the reflection page is neccesary for the advance in montioring how well students like the project that I have put together.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your perspective on the grading process. I find it difficult at times trying to turn some of these projects into grades.
ReplyDeleteI like what you wrote about accepting the responsibility of being a leader in your district in terms of promoting the use of technology in teaching. Does your district offer support for integrating technology in the classroom? I'm fortunate to teach in a district that does, but I know there are several that either lack the resources or don't understand the value of technology.
ReplyDeleteOur district offers professional development opportunities that include both on-site workshops and funding to attend seminars. To be honest, there isn't enough funding to meet the needs, but at least there is an acknowledgment of it's importance.
If your district doesn't support technology, I suggest that you get some of your colleagues together and develop a plan to educate your administration. With our current economic crisis and severe budget cuts, it may be a difficult battle, but it would be worth it.