As I continue to work on the two goals I set at the beginning of this course, it is imperative that I constantly monitor my progress and make adjustments accordingly. Cennamo (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009) has made the point that the process of working towards a goal is in constant circulation as one makes a goal, regulates and evaluates the progress, and makes adjustments as needed to continue in a forward direction towards the goal. As a reminder, the first goal I created was to seek out professional learning opportunities on a consistent basis to enrich my learning of various technologies. My second goal is to then incorporate one new technology into my curriculum once a quarter.
In terms of finding the information I need to address my goals, I have been making progress. I met with the district-wide technology committee last week to discuss uses for various technologies in the classroom, and received some great suggestions. Some examples of technology I learned more about from my colleagues in the meeting include Moodle and Animoto. I am hoping to integrate Animoto into a project over the next couple of months to work towards my second goal of integrating a new technology into my classroom each quarter.
While I feel that I am well on my way to achieving my second goal, my first goal may hit a snag, as the opportunities to meet with other colleagues to discuss technology is limited. The district-wide technology committee will not be meeting again until sometime second semester, and other colleagues within my building already feel bogged down by other required meetings, making it difficult to add one more meeting to the schedule. While I feel that I have plenty of online resources to aid in my quest for knowledge about technology in the classroom, I appreciate time to discuss technology with people in my own building. Stephenwvu (2011) made the suggestion in a prior blog post of mine that setting up an online collaboration tool to discuss these issues with my colleagues may be helpful. I could not agree more with this idea, as it would allow for me to interact with other teachers in my building on a more consistent basis.
While going through this process, I have already learned that technology can offer a wide variety of tools and resources that other tools cannot offer. November (2008) argues by using some of the technology available to schools, students and teachers get an option of doing different things, rather than doing things differently. By reading the blogs I have been following, I am learning about new web resources and tools I can utilize in my classroom that will give students a more hands-on experience with their learning that other paper-and-pencil activities cannot do. I have also learned that because of this knowledge, I need to utilize technology for other aspects of my goal. Besides just reading blogs, perhaps starting one with the colleagues in my school or district would provide an easier way to gain information and practice using the technology.
Because of the progress I am making, I do not feel that I need to modify my action plan at this time. In terms of questions I still have, I am wondering if anyone has some examples of projects or skills they focus on while using the technology, Animoto. I am also curious as to what technological resource would be the most useful and accessible for online collaboration? I feel that the resource must be easy to use so that colleagues are more inclined to use it as a discussion tool.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Chapter 6, “Expanding the Boundaries: Blogs, RSS, Podcasts, and Wikis”
Stephenwvu (2011, November 20). Re: Carrying out my game plan. [Blog message]. Retrieved from: http://lmackley.blogspot.com/2011/11/carrying-out-my-game- plan.html
It's amazing how the simple act of creating a goal has actually allowed me to make progress toward my goal. Cennamo states that once you have created a goal it takes constant revisiting to make sure you are progressing toward meeting it. Your new learning about Animoto and Moodle are examples of why setting goals are so important. Although we may have the best intentions, without setting the goal you may not have learned about these great resources.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to know more about using Animoto in the classroom check out his blog: http://tinyurl.com/animotoblog. Several years ago I stumbled across this blog about many of the free tech resources for educators. This specific blog shares several examples of how teachers are using animoto in the classroom. One of the great things that teachers are saying about Animoto is that it is EASY for students to use--they don't get bogged down with the technology but can instead focus on the learning.
I appreciate the tip about the Animoto blog. I need a technological tool that is easy for third graders to learn about and understand in a short amount of time so that they may focus on the learning, as you discussed. Animoto seems like a great resource!
ReplyDeleteI also completely agree with you about needing to set goals in order to make progress as an educator. I often have plans to learn about a new teaching strategy or tool, but do not have the actual goal of addressing when the learning will take place. It definitely holds one more accountable!
I can relate to your suggestion of blogging with your peers outside of the Walden learning environment. I had taken a small break from teaching in the classroom and when I returned, My teachers had decided to develope a Wiki that focused on weekly Planned Learning Community (PLC) discussions. Not only was this a great way to store our data and discussions, but remember ideas or projects that could aid us in the furure. At any point we also use it as a toool to prepare about topics that need to be addressed, such as planning for a Campus common assessment or how we are monitoring the progress of our studets. While our district prides itself on technology, I fear that it does not take enough time to let teachers explore or train tecahers in all the aspects that it has to offer.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to try this site and planned on doing so with my 4th graders, but was changed to 2nd grade rather sudedenly. www.voki.com has speaking avatars that could be fun for students to use as a method of presenting their knowledge gained.
You are right on the money in regards to continually setting goals and then revisiting them to determine that they are still the same goals that you desire to achieve.
It sounds like you are well on your way to reaching your goals for your GAME plan. The suggestion for an online forum (like a blog)sounds like it may best meet your needs for the immediate future. You could open it up to not only co-workers in your building, but co-workers in your division or beyond in order to gain new perspectives and more ideas.
ReplyDeleteI too am excited about using Animoto in my classroom this year. From what I have seen and heard, it is fairly simple to use. I know that your students will enjoy participating in that project!
I understand how difficult it is to find teachers who are willing to "give up" their time to discuss technology. Sometimes it seems like we are living moment-to-moment, and long-range ideas that other teachers have (like your technology discussions) may seem like something that can be put off until later. Is there someone close to you in your building with whom you collaborate? It may be much easier to just find one person, as opposed to a larger group. You may actually find that you and that one person get more done, too.
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