Reflection: Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas: EDUC - 6713I

As I developed and followed my GAME plan, one of the things that became apparent to me is the enthusiasm that the students demonstrated towards learning new programs and applications in order to communicate their thoughts. They are anxious to get their knowledge and their beliefs out there for others to read. Traditional writing methods have become boring to them. Although they are employing the same techniques of writing (rough draft, revising, and editing), it is the publishing aspect that has taken on a whole new life for them. They have come to realize that they are empowered to communicate beyond the confines of this classroom and this school.

I have grown as much as the students have in this realization. Because of this, I have already begun to re-evaluate the upcoming units in Science and Social Studies. I am actively looking for ways to include these Web 2.0 applications in my lessons and assessments. The World Wide Web has always been a tremendous source of information for me. It became an eye-opening experience for me, however, when I made the connection that my students could become valid contributors to the vast source of information that others around the world would be reading. The integration of technology, for me, had always been to trot the kids down to the computer lab as a group. We would typically be looking at all students working on the same project, a PowerPoint presentation, for example. Although, they were able to produce wonderful slide shows, my eyes have now been opened to such a broader range of ways to present their writing. I have always enjoyed having the students work collaboratively and it is exciting for me to see that the NETS-S place importance on this, as well. Phrases like “group expression” and “interact, collaborate, and publish with peers” give such weight to the value of teaching students to work together and communicate their ideas effectively to their peers.

Looking back through the GAME plan, one of the things that I have enjoyed is how actively involved in the learning I have become. I have always put a great deal of thought and effort into my lessons and I have always been very hands on with my students, but learning the new methodologies of dealing with social networks, podcasting, and digital story telling has been as good for me as it has been for my students.

I think that I am in a unique situation compared to my peers in this program. In my personal professional development, through this degree program and its exploration of the NETS, I have been called upon to expand my thinking and my communication to a more global level. In my professional development at work, the whole concept of the International Baccalaureate program is to develop students that will be able to view problems an idea with that international mindedness. That dovetailing of my studies and application is truly what increases the intrinsic value of my degree. Often times, in education classes, there is a gap between the learning and the application. There is that element of separation between what I am learning and how it can apply to the population at my school. Strategies and techniques that I saw demonstrated in the past were sometimes viewed as only being able to be applied in a perfect world, which is not where I live. The NETS provide a framework that is not only feasible, but is essential. Digital citizenship and international mindedness are major components of the IB program, not an afterthought. Through the melding of these two programs of development, a more complete understanding has resulted. Yes, I am fortunate to be involved in an IB program that gives immediate validity to my studies. Beyond that, however, is the awareness that that wherever I am, this IS the direction of the future and my students need to be moving in that direction or they will be left behind.

Using the GAME Plan Process and The NETS-S

The GAME plan process is a strategy for learning that can be applied to anyone because we are all lifetime learners. As Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer (2009) proffer, “As you set goals, take action, monitor your learning, and evaluate your progress, you take control of your own learning process” (p. 7). This is the ultimate goal for us as life-long learners, and all of our students. By making students familiar with the GAME plan process, they will have the scaffolding they need to set a goal and take the steps to successfully attain that goal; something all humans do throughout their lives.

The relationship between the NETS-T and the NETS-S is one of facilitator and active learner. The teacher is facilitating the learning and setting up the environment that allows the student to develop as a digital learner. NETS-T 2a, for example, tells the teacher that they need to engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. NETS-S 2a, then has the student interacting, collaborating, and publishing with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. In my classroom, for example, we have been working on persuasive writing using the topic of school dropout rates. The students have used a variety of digital environments and media to present their point of view. They have done so, not only a one-to-one basis with me, but have sought to publish their work to be shared on a global level.

Many of the NETS-S standards are skills that my students already possess. They just may not have thought of them in those exact words. For example, NETS-S 1a says that students will apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. This is what constructivism is all about and at the basis of the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) program that we are adopting at my elementary school. The area of communication and collaboration is an area that I can help facilitate the students’ goal setting and developing an action plan. Monitoring, for my students, would involve developing a timeline and a checklist. Again, as part of IB, evaluation or reflection on a learning activity is a standard part of the procedure. As I continue through the rest of the school year, I plan on posting the NETS-S for my students to add a new standard to each of their current projects as the year progresses. This will ensure their readiness for the future that awaits them.

References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

ISTE | National Educational Technology Standards. International Society for Technology in Education | Home. Retrieved December 13, 2009, fromhttp://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS

Revising My GAME Plan

As I said in my original post, The NETS-T, as they are listed, seem to be a bottom up approach to me. The professional development occurs first, followed by the design and the facilitation of learning that involves technology, creativity, and innovation. That being said, I feel that having gone through my “professional development” and becoming familiar with programs, such as Audacity, and web-sites, such as Voicethreads.com, I am now much better equipped to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.

The use of podcasts and voice threads have certainly helped me towards the goal of promoting student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
As stated in my last post, the students’ planning and thinking has developed in wonderful ways as they have had to prepare their writing for publication. They are beginning to truly see writing as communication to others, not just as an assignment.

Moving forward with my students towards becoming digital citizens, the NETS-T goal of engaging students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources seems to apply well to our upcoming unit. There are many digital resources out there for exploring earthquakes, volcanoes, and seismic activity. As is often the case, having so many resources scattered everywhere, the difficulty is in pulling it together in a cohesive unit. My approach, therefore, is to explore the Notebook software that comes with our SmartBoards and come up with a unified presentation method for the students using websites, animations and interactive activities. In response, the students will use digital tools to create their own representations of the constructive and destructive forces.

My approach for the next step is to use digital tools that I am more familiar with, such as Paint and PowerPoint. By using familiar tools, I will be able to spend more time with applying the information and less time with teaching the tools. By modeling different digital resources for them with the Notebook software, the students will see different ways in which their creations can be presented. Together we will come up with ways to incorporate the audio tools that we have already learned with the visual tools that we are currently exploring.