Reflection For Integrating Technology into Content Areas

During this course I had an opportunity to delve more deeply into the NETS standards for teachers and students.  I believe these standards are important for teachers to understand in order to effectively implement technology within their classrooms.  Just reviewing the NETS-T got my brain going on all the possibilities that technology can enrich the learning environment.  I believe that if teachers incorporate these standards within their classrooms, the learning experience for students will be greatly enhanced and the classroom will become a place for innovation and creativity rather than a place where students are the simply “looking for the right answer” and regurgitating information.  I have also had I had an opportunity to explore a variety of Web 2.0 tools (some of which I have used previously and others that I learned from group discussions) with my students to address various NETS-S standards in my classroom.  I particularly enjoyed the “Tech it out” e-mails, which highlighted a variety of websites that I have not used before.

            This course has also given me the opportunity to explore project and problem based learning.  Before this course I had used the terms project and problem based learning interchangeably.  Through exploring resources presented in our discussion forum, I learned how to differentiate between the two and understand how I could utilize each type of learning experience to maximize student understanding of critical content.  While I have already embedded various project based activities into my curriculum, upon reflecting on my curriculum I have found that I rarely have students participate in problem based experiences.  Often problem based learning activities seem overwhelming.  I have learned that these activities do not necessarily need to take place over extended periods of time, but can be implemented within a shorter time frame.  With this redefined idea of problem based learning, these activities seem less daunting and I look forward to designing more of my lessons to incorporate these types of activities. 

            Through the creation of my GAME plan, I had the opportunity to explore resources that have previously been utilized only by a small group of teachers.  Currently, my district is in the process of upgrading our current technology and have been exploring the use/implementation of a variety of technology tools/resources.  While it has been great to participate in these discussions, I have become frustrated with the lack of communication/training on these resources.   Rather than wait for the district to provide training, I reached out to my colleagues to learn more about how I could use these tools with my students.  From these conversations/discussions I have learned about an online program called Compass that uses students reading scores to design individual instruction based on student need.  I have created an account for all of my students and have had them use this program to practice individual reading skills.  I have also learned that I can assign students certain activities/assignments and have had students participate in lessons involving figurative language.  I think this program could be a great way for students to practice their reading skills, and will help me differentiate the instruction to meet the needs of my diverse population.  I look forward to continuing with this program this year, and am excited to see how this program impacts students reading scores when they have access on a continual basis. 

           

The second goal I created for this course was to start planning for an “Open Library”  to take place at my school.  This is a long range goal that will not be implemented until next year, but this course gave me the opportunity to explore available resources and begin dialoging with my colleagues about my vision.  Next September I plan to begin an “Open Library” from 6-8 in the evening.  Horizon’s “Open library” will occur twice a month and will be a time where students, parents, and community members can come to learn about technology (set up e-mail accounts, learn how to check students grades online, sign up for school newsletters, etc.),  make connections with community resources (Catholic Community Services, Interfaith Medical Clinic, Ferndale Public Library, sign up for free and reduce lunch, etc.), and use our resources in our library to better their understanding of our community and enrich the lives of our students.   My principal was very supportive and is excited to see our school become more of a community center. 

Making Progress

I have spent the last few days researching how I can best implement each of my goals.  My first goal was to learn more about an online learning program called Compass.  This is a program that our district pays for, yet it has only been utilized by our special education and Intervention classes.  I think this program would be greatly beneficial for all students and could help teachers differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners.  Unfortunately, I have had a medical emergency that has landed me in the hospital for a few days, therefore the meeting that was supposed to take place on Monday did not occur.   Since I did not have time to discuss this program with my colleagues, I have spent some time exploring this resource and have set up groups for each section of my language arts classes.  I am not sure how to import their previous tests scores, but hope that upon further exploration and guidance from other teachers, I will be able to differentiate assignments based on specific student needs.  For now I have assigned all students a lesson on figurative language (which they have been learning about while I have been gone) to check for understanding on literary devices.   I plan on having students give this program a try on Monday.  After students have completed this lesson I will have a better understanding of what the results “look like” and how I can use this program with a diverse group of learners.

My second goal is a long term desire to create an “open library” time for students, parents and community members.  We were not planning on implementing this until next year, but are using the rest of this year to create a vision of what we want this to look like.  This week I have been looking into different community resources that we could invite to come in and provide information during this time. I found that we have a service called Ferndale Community Resources Center, which provides resources to individuals who are in need of extra support due to financial problems.    I have also found contact numbers for people at the Opportunity Council of Whatcom County and the Interfaith Clinic who also provide services to those in need of support.   I will be meeting with my colleague who is helping create this “Open Library” next week to outline how we want to structure this time, and what outside services we would like to contact. 

Moving Towards My Goals

My two primary goals for my GAME plan involve meeting with other teachers to see how I can utilize resources we have at our school.

My first goal is to learn more about the online program called Compass and create accounts where students can individually work on improving their reading proficiency.  I have set up a meeting with a colleague who uses this program in her intervention classes, to discuss how she uses this with her students.  During this meeting I would like to address how she manages the data she receives from this program and get ideas about how I can best use student data to inform my instruction.  Currently this program is only being used with intervention classes (10-12 students per teacher) and I am curious to see how she feels the management would change if this was being used with all Integrated Studies classes (60 students per teacher).   After this meeting on Tuesday of next week I would like to get student accounts set up by the following Friday.

My other goal is a long term goal of creating an “open library” where students, parents, and community members can come access community resources 2 nights a month.  I have already spoken to my principal and a few of my colleagues about this plan and they have all been supportive of this vision.  I would like to spend the next couple weeks doing a little research to see how other schools have created a “community center.”  Using ideas from these resources I will then prepare a plan to share with my principal to see if we have the funding/support from the district to make this happen.

GAME Plan

As I reviewed the NETS-T standards, I struggled to prioritize just two of the standards that I want to improve upon.  Often with technology, I find myself getting excited about all the possibilities that I struggle to find a focus and to set specific/strategic goals.  As I reviewed the NETS-T, I found that each of the five standards contained elements I would like to work towards, but in the end I decided to focus my GAME plan on NETS-S Standard 2: Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments, and NETS-S Standard 3: Model Digital Age Work and Learning (International Society for Technology in Education, 2011). 

            My first goal is to use technology to “customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2011).    My district currently has an online program called Compass that provides interactive reading lessons/activities based on individual student test scores.  Using data from Washington State Measurement of Academic Progress, this program builds individualized reading lessons that target specific skills that students need to work on.   Through this program teachers also have the ability to create/assign lessons to individuals students and/or to the larger group.  This program will then send the teacher a report on student activities/assessment on reading progress. 

While this program has been in our district for a couple years, I have not received any official instruction on how to access this program and how to begin using this resource with my students. The feedback I have gathered from teachers in other buildings on this program have been generally very positive regarding student motivation and engagement.  The background research for this program shows a positive correlation between time spent using this program and test scores, so I am interested in how I could use this resource to better individualize instruction for all students. 

My goal is to learn about how to use Compass online learning to individualize reading instruction in my classroom.  My action will be to interview teachers within my district about their experiences with Compass and learn how to set up accounts for my students and import their current scores.  During this time I would also like to discuss how the teacher can access the assessment tools to get feedback on individual progress.  Using information from these interviews, I will then set up accounts for my students.  Students will participate in this program 2-3 times a week for 15 – 20 minutes. I will use reports generated from this program to monitor individual student progress.  At the end of each day that students participate in Compass online learning, I will have them fill out an exit slip where they summarize what they learned that day.  I will also take note of student engagement and time spent on task.   After four weeks of using this program, I will have students complete a Google survey to evaluate how they feel the use of this program impacted their reading skills.  I will use student feedback, as well as individual student reports, to decide if this program is something I want to continue. 

         My second goal is a long-term goal focused around NETS-T Standard 3:  Model and Design Digital Age Work and Learning.  Within this standard teachers are required to “demonstrate fluency in technology, collaborate and communicate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources, and model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2011).  This standard stood out to me because it addresses a topic that another teacher and I have been talking about for the last few months. 

         One of our district goals is to make connections with our community, and we were thinking about using our school library to create a community center where students, parents, and community members could come learn about technology in a safe and supportive environment.  Our vision is to open the library from 6pm-8pm so parents and/or community members could come in after work. During this time parents could sign up for e-mail accounts, access our online grade books, and learn about community resources that are available.  We were also thinking of inviting community organizations to come in and make presentations and/or provide flyers with information on how people could access their services.  With technology becoming the center of many students’ lives, I feel that it is important for parents to know how students are using online resources from social networking, collaboration, to communication with the larger community.  Parents could also explore many of the tools/resources students are using to become more familiar with them and to provide guidance in making the most of the resources students are using and to teach them to use the Internet in safe and ethical ways.

         My goal is to encourage parents/community members to view our school as a “community center” where they can learn about technology and access community resources to improve the lives of students.  My action would be to create an “Open Library” time at my school twice a month for students, parents, and community members to access technology and other local resources.  I have already discussed the idea with my principal and other colleagues and they are supportive of this vision and have stated that they would be willing to volunteer at the “Open Library” at various times throughout the course of the year.  I would like to take the rest of this year to complete my plan of what this would look like and to create a publication to inform the community of this opportunity.  My goal is to implement this plan beginning in September of 2012.  I would monitor the effectiveness of my plan through Google surveys of those who attend Open Library.  With this survey I would seek to gain information about what services people were interested in learning more about and how we could improve connections to the community.  I would also monitor the effectiveness of this program through attendance.  I would take notes on who is coming (students, parents, community members) and ask for feedback on how we could ensure that this experience is worthwhile.  I would like to run this program for the 2012/2013 school year, then use data on attendance and community feedback (through exit slips and/or Google surveys) to decide whether this program is an effective use of school/teacher resources. 

Reference:

International Society for Technology in Education.  (2011).  Iste NETS-T, Advancing Digital Age Teaching.  Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx.