Q:Summarize how you will use the resources in the Differentiation Station social network to help you implement the principles of Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction.
A: I will use the resources in the Differentiated Station social network to help you implement the principles of Universal Design for learning and differentiated instruciton by using thoughtful planning, organization, and management are required on my part as a teacher. I feel that I am a thoughtful and organized teacher, however there is always room for improvement, therefore my plan is to continue to be a self reflective teacher that continues to improve upon my classroom.
In order to determine my student’s academic strengths and weaknesses, I will rely on many things one of which being multiple online survey’s for student’s learning styles, intelligence preferences, and learning profiles. The online surveys/websites I will use are:
http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm
http://people.usd.edu/~bwjames/tut/learning-style/
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSpage.html
I will modify my learning environment to meet the needs of my diverse learners by utilizing flexible use of time, space, groupings, methods, and materials (Laureate Education, Inc, 2009). In order to add differentiated elements to my instruction, I will need to find time in the curriculum to allow students to create something with their groups utilizing technology. This course has allowed me to see the different ways that I can incorporate student choice and further curriculum while still utilizing technology.
Q: Describe any immediate adjustments you will make to your instructional practice
regarding the use of technology integration to customize instruction as a result of your learning from this course.
A: My immediate adjustment will be to modify assignments based on strengths and weaknesses, instead of asking them to complete all twenty homework problems, ask them to complete the odds or the first eight, other students do not need to know and we need to remember that fair and even are not the same thing (Laureate Education, Inc. 2009). Another way to implement various forms of assessment is to have the same perspective about long term assignments, assign groups with modifications in mind. My other immediate plan is to obtain further technology by getting my own class headset and continuing to have open communication with the librarians, for lap top carts, and the computer lab technician for use of the computer lab. I will also continue to use Discovery Education (http://discoveryeducation.com/) as it has so many excellent tools for differentiated instruction, including my classroom builder, which allows the teacher to assign different assignments to each class or student.
References
Discovery Communications, LLC. (2010). Discovery Education. Retrieved August 7, 2010, from http://search.discoveryeducation.com/
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Differentiating Instructional Elements. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Managing the Differentiated Classrooms. Baltimore: Author.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
FINAL FINAL blog post
Although it was a bit daunting to be following up on a plan each week, it forced me to think about my plan and how it would follow through. As I followed my game plan each week I learned that I should always think about what could go wrong, as it just might go wrong.
Also in following through with my game plan, I created graphic organizers in order to take effective notes at two professional development days. Those graphic organizers proved to be great at those professional development days. I learned so much!!! As a result of so much learning while I attended those two days, I feel that I am more equipped to follow out my game plan as next year commences. I will be able to create creativity in lessons and more authentic learning in labs using the web 2.0 tools that I learned both in this course and at the professional development. I am now fully equipped to utilize wallwisher, wordle, voicethread, delicious, and glogster. I am also familiar with goanimate, animoto, blabberize, prezi, and extranormal.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
ISTE (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers Retrieved May 15th, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Also in following through with my game plan, I created graphic organizers in order to take effective notes at two professional development days. Those graphic organizers proved to be great at those professional development days. I learned so much!!! As a result of so much learning while I attended those two days, I feel that I am more equipped to follow out my game plan as next year commences. I will be able to create creativity in lessons and more authentic learning in labs using the web 2.0 tools that I learned both in this course and at the professional development. I am now fully equipped to utilize wallwisher, wordle, voicethread, delicious, and glogster. I am also familiar with goanimate, animoto, blabberize, prezi, and extranormal.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
ISTE (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers Retrieved May 15th, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Final GAME plan update
Students are very well aware of standards/curriculum. Each time we start a new unit I revisit the state curriculum and remind them of what the state tells me to teach. I like visiting the curriculum to start and end the unit, this way students understand the big picture goal of the unit and where we will be going with the unit.
I do not see a problem with students being given the GAME plan steps as we were, the first time we wrote about it. I would discuss with the students that when trying accomplishing a goal it is a great idea to:
1. Set goals
2. Take Action to meet goals
3. Monitor progress
4. Evaluate achievement level (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009)
I would ask the students to pick one of the ISTE standards that they would like to improve upon and why and then ask them to set a GAME plan, both for individual projects and for a year goal.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
ISTE (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers Retrieved May 15th, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
I do not see a problem with students being given the GAME plan steps as we were, the first time we wrote about it. I would discuss with the students that when trying accomplishing a goal it is a great idea to:
1. Set goals
2. Take Action to meet goals
3. Monitor progress
4. Evaluate achievement level (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009)
I would ask the students to pick one of the ISTE standards that they would like to improve upon and why and then ask them to set a GAME plan, both for individual projects and for a year goal.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
ISTE (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers Retrieved May 15th, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Revising my GAME plan
What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
So far in this course I have learned a great deal that I can apply to my instructional practice, I am hoping to look into and take advantage of live mocha, blogmeister, tagging, google presentations, epals, moodle, twitter, edublogs, ning, and wiggio.
What goals are you still working toward?
I am still working toward the two goals that I set for myself at the start of this course:
The goal I would like to set for myself are to involve one lesson a month that inspires creativity, currently I feel that I incorporate technology and learning, however if I could involve creativity students would be able to express their creative side more often and therefore feel successful.
The second goal I would like to set for myself is to pick two labs throughout the year where I can incorporate more authentic learning; in a science class this change to the curriculum is manageable.
I plan to integrate this plans next school year, 2010-2011.
Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?
Based on the NETS-T I would like to continue to engage in professional growth and leadership.
If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far?
I plan to set new learning goals as listed above and start new ones. I feel that teachers should be life long learners and always continue to attend professional growth and leadership opportunities.
What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?
In order to improve my learning next time I will try to continue to challenge the students. Vicki Davis suggests online collaboration will continue to ask stuents to do their best and therefore become confident.
ISTE (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers Retrieved May 15th, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
So far in this course I have learned a great deal that I can apply to my instructional practice, I am hoping to look into and take advantage of live mocha, blogmeister, tagging, google presentations, epals, moodle, twitter, edublogs, ning, and wiggio.
What goals are you still working toward?
I am still working toward the two goals that I set for myself at the start of this course:
The goal I would like to set for myself are to involve one lesson a month that inspires creativity, currently I feel that I incorporate technology and learning, however if I could involve creativity students would be able to express their creative side more often and therefore feel successful.
The second goal I would like to set for myself is to pick two labs throughout the year where I can incorporate more authentic learning; in a science class this change to the curriculum is manageable.
I plan to integrate this plans next school year, 2010-2011.
Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?
Based on the NETS-T I would like to continue to engage in professional growth and leadership.
If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far?
I plan to set new learning goals as listed above and start new ones. I feel that teachers should be life long learners and always continue to attend professional growth and leadership opportunities.
What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?
In order to improve my learning next time I will try to continue to challenge the students. Vicki Davis suggests online collaboration will continue to ask stuents to do their best and therefore become confident.
ISTE (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers Retrieved May 15th, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
GAME plan evaluation #3
My actions were very helpful in meeting my goals. I have since looked into the three presenters and what we will be learning the days of the professional development. I have set up a graphic organizer to make note taking on those days easier and more organized. So far what I have learned that I can use in my instructional practices is that doing research and being prepared makes for a more prepared learner.
I still have to learn the exciting web 2.0 and Discovery Education tools that they are going to teach us. The question that I have come up with during my research, is if power points or other presentation tools are going to be emailed/available to us after the presentations.
I will adjust my plan in order to apply the current week’s lessons on problem based learning. I have learned that when coming up with the problem I should make sure that it is not too broad or too specific; it needs allow for more than one correct answer. I also need to be prepared to turn control over to the students and to think about exactly how I want to group the students. While hearing Dr. Peggy Artmer discuss document sharing software, such as google docs, I immediately thought that I might need to ask parent permission for creation of accounts and that I should check with our library media specialist (Spotlight on Technology: Problem Based Learning Part 1 & 2, 2009).
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Spotlight on Technology: Problem Based Learning Part 1. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Spotlight on Technology: Problem Based Learning Part 2. Baltimore: Author.
I still have to learn the exciting web 2.0 and Discovery Education tools that they are going to teach us. The question that I have come up with during my research, is if power points or other presentation tools are going to be emailed/available to us after the presentations.
I will adjust my plan in order to apply the current week’s lessons on problem based learning. I have learned that when coming up with the problem I should make sure that it is not too broad or too specific; it needs allow for more than one correct answer. I also need to be prepared to turn control over to the students and to think about exactly how I want to group the students. While hearing Dr. Peggy Artmer discuss document sharing software, such as google docs, I immediately thought that I might need to ask parent permission for creation of accounts and that I should check with our library media specialist (Spotlight on Technology: Problem Based Learning Part 1 & 2, 2009).
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Spotlight on Technology: Problem Based Learning Part 1. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Spotlight on Technology: Problem Based Learning Part 2. Baltimore: Author.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monitoring of GAME Plan Progress
In my time thinking about the game plan, so far, I have been successful in finding information and resources necessary for my game plan. I am continuing to look forward to my professional development days in the middle of June.
My action plan has not been modified yet, as I am wrapping up the school year and have not yet fully implemented my plans.
So far, I have learned that computer based lessons need to be planned far enough in advance to prepare for error with computers or power outages etc. Technology is very helpful and a wonderful resource, however it is important to remember that there can be glitches and time needs to be accounted for. As I finish up a lab with students investigating how pulse is affected by different activities, I am realizing, even more, how important authentic assessment truly is. “We need to remember that one of the primary reasons we use authentic learning is to promote students’ deep understanding of subject- matter content through the process of doing” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, p. 169, 2009).
A question that has arisen is, what is; the best way for me to be prepared for the two upcoming professional development days? My thought is to prepare by doing research on the presenters and access power point or mimio presentations for the professional development days, this way I can see in advance what we are going to be learning about. I will therefore be mentally prepared. I will also be able to prepare a word document for efficient note taking during the presentations.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
My action plan has not been modified yet, as I am wrapping up the school year and have not yet fully implemented my plans.
So far, I have learned that computer based lessons need to be planned far enough in advance to prepare for error with computers or power outages etc. Technology is very helpful and a wonderful resource, however it is important to remember that there can be glitches and time needs to be accounted for. As I finish up a lab with students investigating how pulse is affected by different activities, I am realizing, even more, how important authentic assessment truly is. “We need to remember that one of the primary reasons we use authentic learning is to promote students’ deep understanding of subject- matter content through the process of doing” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, p. 169, 2009).
A question that has arisen is, what is; the best way for me to be prepared for the two upcoming professional development days? My thought is to prepare by doing research on the presenters and access power point or mimio presentations for the professional development days, this way I can see in advance what we are going to be learning about. I will therefore be mentally prepared. I will also be able to prepare a word document for efficient note taking during the presentations.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Carrying out my GAME plan
In order to carry out my game plan I will need the ability to access computers both for myself and the class, the library media specialist, and the technology specialist in district. In addition, I can also access professional development opportunities in the area in order to enhance the creativity of my lessons. The two days after school gets out I am attending two full day sessions the first day has outcomes of; learning about new tech tools to use with students, considering how to use these tools in new projects or GTEs, and hands on time to register logins and play with these Web 2.0 tools. The second day has outcomes of; applying what I learned from two prior professional development sessions to create a new project and/or GTE and exploring the Stafford 2.0 Wikispace.
In regards to my second goal I will again need access to computers. I have recently found that the NSTA website has great opportunities for authentic learning. In cleaning out some filing cabinets today, I also found some one minute readings about real life science that I could build upon as well. The above mentioned professional development day, involves one of the discovery education experts, who also has some great ideas for science labs and the incorporation of authentic science learning.
At this point in the school year, we are wrapping up our unit on the human body, reviewing for the final exam, and taking the final exam, so there is not much time to create new lessons and labs. Therefore, so far I have been able to schedule my attendance at the professional development days, begin thinking about my GAME plan for next year, and how to be reflective in practice.
My intended learning strategy for this GAME plan will incorporate all of the learner-centered strategies as mentioned in the course text. I will incorporate creating a collaborative environment, promoting content learning, and promoting reflection. I will be a participant in the collaborative environment as the presenters at the professional development workshops will ask us to create in groups. I will be using content learning by doing in both workshops “we need to remember that one of the primary reasons we use authentic learning is to promote students’ deep understanding of subject- matter content through the process of doing” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, p. 169, 2009). Lastly, throughout my GAME plan next year I will think about thinking, or be metacognitive (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, p. 170, 2009). I plan to be reflective as stated in my above plan by writing myself a note in my lesson plan book to check and see if I achieved that goal after implementation of the creative lessons and authentic science activities.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
In regards to my second goal I will again need access to computers. I have recently found that the NSTA website has great opportunities for authentic learning. In cleaning out some filing cabinets today, I also found some one minute readings about real life science that I could build upon as well. The above mentioned professional development day, involves one of the discovery education experts, who also has some great ideas for science labs and the incorporation of authentic science learning.
At this point in the school year, we are wrapping up our unit on the human body, reviewing for the final exam, and taking the final exam, so there is not much time to create new lessons and labs. Therefore, so far I have been able to schedule my attendance at the professional development days, begin thinking about my GAME plan for next year, and how to be reflective in practice.
My intended learning strategy for this GAME plan will incorporate all of the learner-centered strategies as mentioned in the course text. I will incorporate creating a collaborative environment, promoting content learning, and promoting reflection. I will be a participant in the collaborative environment as the presenters at the professional development workshops will ask us to create in groups. I will be using content learning by doing in both workshops “we need to remember that one of the primary reasons we use authentic learning is to promote students’ deep understanding of subject- matter content through the process of doing” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, p. 169, 2009). Lastly, throughout my GAME plan next year I will think about thinking, or be metacognitive (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, p. 170, 2009). I plan to be reflective as stated in my above plan by writing myself a note in my lesson plan book to check and see if I achieved that goal after implementation of the creative lessons and authentic science activities.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
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