Dr. Ertmer stresses that an educator must have knowledge and confidence
to successfully integrate technology into instruction (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2013). Before I started my coursework in Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas, I had my doubts about my ability to implement 21st tools into my curriculum. However, through the creation of my GAME unit plan and the creation of this blog I have become confident with the idea of incorporating technology into my classroom, and I have become knowledgeable.
The creation of my GAME unit plan forced me to not only consider using technology with my instruction, but I started to plan for its implementation. Creating lessons centered around blogs and digital storytelling was an enlightening experience. It made me cognizant of how technology can truly enhance instruction. As a language arts teacher, tools such as digital storytelling lend themselves well to my content lessons. For example, a digital story could help a struggling writer produce a narrative or persuasive essay in a new and engaging fashion. Digital storytelling allows for flexibility. Students can present content information in ways that suit their individual learning styles (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). While digital storytelling provides differentiation, blogs help students communicate.
Blogs provide students with an authentic audience. After this class I am convinced that incorporating blogs, my students would be more engaged with answering writing prompts if they know their classmates will be reading what they have to say. Because of the weekly resources in this course, I am prepared to teach students how to create a blog and use a blog aggregator to follow their peers' blogs. It will be exciting to see if some of my reserved students participate in class discussion through the use of blogs when they are silent in class. All in all, I am excited to take the knowledge I have gained from this course and apply it when I begin class in the fall.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc., (Executive Producer). (2013). Enriching content area learning experiences with technology part 1. [Video Webcast]. Retrieved at https://www.class.waldenu.edu
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Monitoring My Progress of My GAME Plan
As the school year is coming to a close, and I prepare to move to a new grade level and classroom, I have found it challenging to work towards the goals set out in my GAME plan. However, I have made some strides towards incorporating more technology into my instruction.
Assessment is an area where technology can be successfully implemented to provide options for students to demonstrate their understanding of content (Laureate Education, Inc., 2013). Some of my colleagues have used clickers to administer multiple choice tests, which provides them with fast, accessible data. During the past week, I visited with my technology specialist, and learned how to use the clicker system. I had always wondered about using this software, but my fear of technology, or change, had always prevented me from using this tool. Next year, I will use this tool when I want to give a quick grammar quiz, or just to check student understanding regarding a specific skill.
In addition to speaking with the technology specialist, I had a conversation with a colleague that coordinates pre-AP courses and training. Next year, I will teach pre-AP English for the first time, and I will go through training. Because pre-AP classes are meant to increase rigor, I asked her how we could incorporate more technology with instruction and assessment to challenge students and bring real world application to assignments. She seemed intrigued by this question, and we talked about how we might be able to choose a technology based tool and include it in the pre-AP training. While I still have to find more time to conduct research on technology tools that would be applicable to my curriculum, I feel I have made some significant steps in moving towards becoming a more technology savvy instructor.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2013) Assessing student learning. [Video Webcast] Retrieved from https//www.class.waldenu.edu
Assessment is an area where technology can be successfully implemented to provide options for students to demonstrate their understanding of content (Laureate Education, Inc., 2013). Some of my colleagues have used clickers to administer multiple choice tests, which provides them with fast, accessible data. During the past week, I visited with my technology specialist, and learned how to use the clicker system. I had always wondered about using this software, but my fear of technology, or change, had always prevented me from using this tool. Next year, I will use this tool when I want to give a quick grammar quiz, or just to check student understanding regarding a specific skill.
In addition to speaking with the technology specialist, I had a conversation with a colleague that coordinates pre-AP courses and training. Next year, I will teach pre-AP English for the first time, and I will go through training. Because pre-AP classes are meant to increase rigor, I asked her how we could incorporate more technology with instruction and assessment to challenge students and bring real world application to assignments. She seemed intrigued by this question, and we talked about how we might be able to choose a technology based tool and include it in the pre-AP training. While I still have to find more time to conduct research on technology tools that would be applicable to my curriculum, I feel I have made some significant steps in moving towards becoming a more technology savvy instructor.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2013) Assessing student learning. [Video Webcast] Retrieved from https//www.class.waldenu.edu
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