Final Blog Reflection

As this course comes to an end and reflecting on my GAME plan, I have gained great insight as to how to implement my plan.  I have read articles and conversed with colleagues to seek the information I needed.  I find myself growing in the area of designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments.  With what I have learned through this course, I have begun to realize the possibilities and gained ideas from the videos as well as from my cohort.  By creating and implementing the unit plan lesson for problem based learning, I have begun to utilize digital age learning experiences.  By implementing this lesson, I also strengthened by promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility.  I have learned how to utilize technology with the limited amount I have.  I hope to have impacted student learning by implementing my new learning.  I may have to modify my plan due to the lack of technology in my classroom in order to strengthen my use of the NETS-T standards.  I will have to utilize the computer lab more and seek advice from school personnel in regards to the limited technology. 

The immediate adjustments I will make to my instructional practice regarding technology would be to use it in the classroom.  I have a few student computers in my classroom that I could be utilizing during daily instruction.  I also need to make better use of the computer lab and have my students work cooperatively using the computers to enhance learning.  I could incorporate problem based learning through technology by having students research certain aspects of the standard being taught.  I now realize how important it is for students to solve a problem on their own and learn from their findings.  I could also use technology for social networking or online collaboration to promote student engagement.  This could be done with a wiki or a blog site.  This is a great way for students to go beyond the classroom for answers.  Students have the opportunity to ask experts questions and share their findings to a larger audience. 

As far as digital storytelling, this would be the most engaging lesson but at the same time, the most challenging for a math teacher.  After reading ideas I could use digital storytelling for, the most useful unit this would be most beneficial would be when I am teaching the Pythagorean Theorem.  I like the idea of using this form of technology for this lesson as it engages the students and brings the Pythagorean Theorem to life.  After reading about digital storytelling, I find this type of lesson to be used most often.  Students can download a quick video or still pictures and narrate.  This is a quick way to assess the students that does not take up as much time.  I also read from suggestions that these could be shared a little along the way as warm ups or even as a review for a test.  Out of the three types of lessons I designed, I like this format the best in a math class.  I feel that my students can be creative as well as learn the material and share what they have learned to others.  I feel that the students gain an ownership of their learning and they are in control of what they share.  I will definitely use these types of lessons in future lessons I plan for my students.   

Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

Since I have developed me GAME plan, I have been more active in exploring different types of technologies.  I have found some information that pertains to the school and county terms of conditions of the use of technology among students.  This has been insightful in that I am discovering that not all teachers are adhering to the policies properly.  I still need to explore the use of an active board for myself instead of reading about it or hearing about it from others.  I would like to actually take the time and use one for myself to become acquainted with the technology and its terminology before using it in front of the students to increase my comfort level. 

In order to modify my action plan, I would like to design ideas that I could use to better the use technology for my students.  After learning about the various types of technologies, I would then like to learn how to effectively implement the technology into my daily lessons.  After reading about the four types of assessments, I would also like to include how I can incorporate the use of technology that can support and enhance assessments. 

I have learned that finding the necessary information is right at my fingertips.  The literature is there to help me learn about technology as well as the responsibility of the use of technology.  I have also learned that teachers are compelled to share their knowledge and are willing to help and to advise.

The new questions that have arisen after I have been learning about the technology and school use of technology policies is how can I successfully implement the use of technology in my math lessons and assessments?  After I become more comfortable with how to use the technology properly to promote digital citizenship and responsibility and in designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments, I would like to implement my findings.  I would like to implement the four types of assessments and choose the most appropriate assessments rather than the traditional paper and pencil test.  Therefore, how can I properly promote digital citizenship and responsibility and how can I appropriately implement the use of technology to enhance student learning in a math class?

Carrying Out my GAME Plan

In order to carry out my GAME plan in the area of designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments would be through trainings and literature.  I would like to read articles as to how to use certain types of technologies and how to incorporate it into my math class.  I would also utilize trainings to help train me in using the technology.  For instance, I would like to be trained as to how to use an active board or a Mimeo that my school has.  I feel I would be able to use technology to help design and develop learning experiences.  I still have a sense of anxiety with some technology.  I believe it is learning the unknown and wanting to use technology to the best of my ability.  I will also ask colleagues that use various types of technologies and how they utilize it in the classroom.  This will help me to gain insight as to how the use of technology can have an impact on student achievement.  Some additional information I would need would be trainings as to how to use certain types of technology tools.  I would use “how to” manuals that the school has and turn to research as to how to incorporate this technology in my class.  The steps I have done thus far have been to receive a more up to date LCD projector that is more user friendly and efficient in the classroom.  I have also consulted with colleagues as to how they created certain digital learning tools.  I hope to consult more with colleagues to gain advice and information on certain learning tools they use.

The second area I would like to carry out is in the area to promote digital citizenship and responsibility.  In order for me to truly understand and feel comfortable in this area would be to read articles and converse with my school technical support teacher. By reading articles, I would be able to learn the legal aspect of good behavior with technology.  With technology forever changing, it is important to keep up to date with all of the changes to keep current on digital ethical and legal behaviors.  I would also gain insight from my local school technology coordinator.  He will be able to share protocols specific to the county and school in the areas of ethical and legal behaviors to promote digital citizenship and responsibility.  Additional information I would need would to be to have a printout with the exact county protocols with the use of technology.  I would also need to research Georgia, county, and school policies with the use of technology in order to teach my students the correct protocols in using technology.  The steps I have taken so far have been to attend a workshop with the technology department as to what the students can and cannot do with technology.  I was also shown examples as to how students can successfully and legally acquire resources to place in a project.  With the help of the technology support staff, I can be able to successfully promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility.   

Personal GAME Plan

Based on the NETS-T, I do not feel comfortable in the area of designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments.  This is where teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  I would like to be able to use this indicator to be able to utilize digital-age learning experience and assessments in my math class.  An action I would take to strengthen my confidence would be to research contemporary tools I could use in the classroom to maximize student learning.  I would gather information needed to fit my lessons to what the students are learning that are designed around the technology.  In order for this to occur, the main action that would need to take place would be how to obtain certain technologies in my classroom such as an active board or and LCD projector.  I would monitor my progress by using multiple and varied assessments with the content and technology to monitor student performance as well as the efficiency of the technology I utilize.   Based on digital assessments, I will be able to receive data from the assessment and I can be able to adjust my teaching based on the data to address the students’ needs and styles.  In order to evaluate and extend my learning, I would ask myself if I have met my learning goals and if not, what I will do differently in the future.  I will use the assessments as a summative assessment to evaluate the use digital-age learning experiences from the lesson or unit taught.

 

Another indicator I would like to strengthen would be to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility.  This is where teachers understand local and global societal responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  A goal I would have would be current on the ethical and legal behaviors.  I do not feel as confident in this area as I should.  I would like to be able to fully understand the ethical and legal uses of digital technology.  An action I would take would be to research information that properly defines proper ethical and legal uses of technology.  I would want to feel confident in the background knowledge to be able to model for my students.  I will monitor my progress by conducting research to make sure that the information is in alignment and notice patterns from the information.  I will incorporate my findings into my teaching as I become more efficient in modeling the correct digital etiquette.  I will evaluate and extend my learning through my lessons and incorporate modeling citizenship and responsibility.  I will incorporate more digital based projects where the students can then begin to practice proper digital etiquette with ethical and legal behaviors.  I will know if I have modeled this properly based on the outcome of the students from a digital project they will complete.  If they are not successful, then I will know I need to model proper etiquette in a different way for all learners to understand.

 

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Final Reflection

After completing this course, I feel that I have broadened my thinking as to how to incorporate technology into my lessons.  My personal learning theory holds true to some degree.  After reading posts from colleagues and listening to Dr. Orey’s discussions, it seems that everyone is in agreement - technology should be used to enhance learning in order to create student engagement. 

This course has deepened my knowledge and understanding of learning theory and the use of educational technologies by offering me various methods of technology to integrate into my curriculum.  According to Dr. Orey, students learn best when they can build an external artifact or something they can share with others.  This follows the expectations of the constructionist theory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  I have also gained explicit incite as to how to effectively apply the social learning theory in my classroom.  I have noticed firsthand the impact this theory has had on student learning.  An excellent point was mentioned by Dr. Orey whereby conversations help students to understand and construct knowledge (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  This is applicable to my own personal learning.  When I discuss topics with other teachers, I find myself having a better understanding of the topics in which I am discussing. 

Immediate adjustments to my instructional practice regarding technology integration are limited.  Due to my limited access, I will try to incorporate as much technology as I can by having my students work in the computer lab to construct artifacts.  Two technology tools that I would like to use would be (1) the concept map and (2) the use of an interactive board.  The concept map would be used to help students link various topics together in a visual manner.  This would be an effective way for students to utilize technology to present their information in an organized way.  I would also like to use an interactive board in the future as a technology learning tool.  Artifacts created on using the interactive board software can be saved, manipulated, and used again.  I would assume this would follow Dr. Orey’s statement regarding learning – learning should be more student centered with the aide of technology learning tools to allow the students to become more engaged in their learning experience (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). 

I have also learned a great deal of instructional strategies to help expand student learning.  A long-term goal that I would like to make a part of my instructional practice, while incorporating technology integration, would be to utilize the strategy of summarizing and note taking.  I would use this strategy while incorporating technology by having my students use word processing to explain the steps, or to justify steps used to solve algebraic problems.  Summarizing and note taking focuses on enhancing the student’s ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 119).

Another long-term goal that I would like to incorporate into my classroom would be to provide feedback to students in an efficient manner.  This strategy is important because it focuses on formative assessment by giving students information about how well they are performing relative to a particular learning goal so that they can improve their practice (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 41).  This could be done via a word document where I can provide comments (and even questions) on my students’ papers involving the justification of steps taken to solve algebraic problems.    

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program seven: Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program eight: Social learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program thirteen: Technology: Instructional tool vs. learning tool [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

http://voicethread.com/share/2302872/

I believe that social learning theories correlate with cooperative learning.  These strategies are used to bring students together in a group setting in order to create an artifact to deepen their knowledge.  As Dr. Orey stated, social learning theory occurs when students are actively engaged in constructing artifacts while conversing with others.  Learners may develop a deeper understanding of the content when students teach their peers (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). 

After reading an excerpt from the book entitled Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (2007), I learned how a math class incorporated multimedia to research famous mathematicians by creating artifacts through a movie project.  I thought this would be a great way for students to learn about the mathematicians who discovered the mathematical rules students learn today.  This is also a great way to connect the mathematician to what they are learning. 

After reading how Ms. Ortiz used cooperative learning in her math class, I began to think how I could incorporate cooperative learning in my math class.  For the past few weeks, I have been teaching the rules of exponents and radicals.  In order for the students to distinguish the rules, I could create a project where a group of students would be assigned a rule and they would have to present their rule to the class.  They could use social media sites by creating a YouTube video, voice thread, podcast, or a movie maker.  The students could create a one minute song, short video, or a skit to teach the class the proper usage of their exponent rule.  With this project, students would be working together, creating an artifact, conversing with their group members, as well the class, and developing a deeper understanding of the content of the rules of exponents and radicals.  This project will help students in the group to present their information as well as to help students to remember the rules of simplifying exponents. 

I find that when students collaborate together in a group setting to discuss the concept, I tend to see more light bulbs turning on as they are talking about the concept and making the connections themselves.  Therefore, social learning theories and cooperative learning go hand in hand.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program eight: Social learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom         instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Constructivism in Practice

As a math teacher, it can sometimes be difficult to think of ways for students to generate and test their hypothesis.  In the book entitled Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, one of the recommendations mentioned was problem solving (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007).  In math, my department consistently incorporates problem solving in every lesson.  This can be in the form of solving algebraic skill problems or solving real world word problems. 

My students are currently learning the rules of exponent as well as how to simplify problems containing exponents.  With the knowledge they gain while learning basic exponent rules, students may have a better understanding of the skill once we begin lessons on square roots.  For instance, students will devise a list of integers that are raised to the power of two (or squared).  Then, students will work backwards to devise a list of square roots.  Students will generate and test a hypothesis as to what the actual outcome would be by estimating each problem.  They will test their hypothesis by actually working the problem to see how close the actual answer was to their hypothesized answer. 

In order to enhance students’ learning, technology could easily be utilized.  According to Dr. Orey (Laureate, 2011), students should be engaged in learning and the process of creating an artifact to share with others to follow the theory of constructionism (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  For this particular lesson involving exponents and square roots, students could create a spreadsheet via Microsoft Excel.  Students could design a table with the problem in one column, their hypothesis in the next column, the actual answer in another column, and the last column would involve the difference from their hypothesized answer and the actual answer.  Then, students could create a line graph that represents the difference from their hypothesis and the actual answer.  This way, students can visually see how off or how close they were to generating the correct answer for each problem.  After generating their graph, students can share their findings with their collaborative groups.  Students can compare their differences and distinguish which problem(s) the majority of students were missing.  Finally, collaborative groups can work together in order to formulate a plan for determining the correct solution to those problems which had the most errors. 

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program five: Cognitive learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom         instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.