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.
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Lauren
ReplyDeleteGood post, as usual. I certainly agree that professional development must come before effective technology integration. During our research course, I remember reading about a study done in Ohio (Vannata & Fordham, 2004) that analyzed the factors that might predict technology use in the classroom. They included teaching experience and philosophy, openness to change, self-efficacy, and technology training. As you suggested, instructors first have to be willing and then somewhat prepared before utilizing technology tools in constructive ways.
To me, the success of your GAME plan is summed up in one sentence that you wrote: "They are beginning to truly see writing as communication to others, not just as an assignment". This tells me that you are helping your students to use technology for real and genuine purposes that enhance your course content instead of just using technology for the sake of using it. Congratulations on this great accomplishment!
Reference
Vannatta, R., & Fordham, N. (2004). Teacher dispositions as predictors of classroom technology use. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 36(3), 253-271. Retrieved December 7, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
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ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteI also agree that professional development is most important for a educator. I am interested in the use of Smartboards. Just today I found out that the middle school math teachers are all receiving them and the training. It is very frustrating to me that everyone around me is receiving new technology and I am left with very little to work with. I also agree that working with technology is beneficial to the educator and the students.
Porfessional development is so important. That was one of the questions I asked during my interview because I always want to learn. Good post!
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on making your writing assignments authentic and relevant to your students and thus promoting their interest in learning. This is a key element of not only problem based learning, but all educational endeavors, as noted in our video resources (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). Nice work
Monica
Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Program number eight. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion picture]. Spotlight on Technology: Problem Based Learning. Part 1. Baltimore: Author.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI think it is a great idea to start with a familiar program. You and your students will feel a lot more comfortable and then you can slow add new programs to your lessons.