Online Classrooms

Resisting Online Learning

            After this presentation of rCampus, you may have many comments and concerns.  I see the great potential of this online classroom to allow us to track our students’ learning through the ePortfolio, discussions, and collaborations.  As educators, we are continually asked to give district assessments to show that students have met all of the standards.  The ePortfolio would be a way for students to show that they have met them without taking a test.  This will cut down on the tests that most educators would rather not give to students and instead use their class work to show their progress. 

            There are also many students that are not currently succeeding in the educational system.  They either need to be motivated or need extra help to bring their educational skills up to par.  The online classroom allows these students to get extra help and support from classmates and tutors.  The options of using a calendar and receiving alerts when assignments are due will help keep students organized.  This type of classroom allows students to individualize their learning in a way that best fits their needs, thus providing more motivation.    

            The online classroom can also be very beneficial to students that are not being challenged enough in the classroom.  According to Julie Young, Pam Birtolo, and Raven McElman, virtual classrooms will provide the knowledge students need in every classroom along “with opportunities to embrace leadership roles and to demonstrate social responsibility and enhance social skills” (2009, p. 15).  These skills are going to help our students succeed in life after they leave our school.  We need to make some changes to develop students that are lifelong learners and will succeed after they leave high school. 

References

Young, J., Birtolo, P., & McElman, R. (2009). Virtual success: Transforming education     through online learning. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(5), 12-17.

To view a presentation of an online website visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxpH17H9ROM

Reflection for EDUC 6714

            Through my courses at Walden University, I have learned many ways to use technology in a classroom to promote higher level thinking.  This specific class revealed another great way to use technology in my everyday instruction - differentiating my instruction.  Differentiated instruction has taught me how to be “flexible in [my] approach to teaching and adjust the curriculum and presentation of information to learners rather than expecting students to modify themselves for the curriculum” (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2003, p. 2).  Looking back on all of my growth, I think my biggest area of development is in differentiating instruction by readiness, interest, and learning profile. 

            With every lesson that I present, I have started to consider what adjustments I can make to reach learners with different needs.  I have always looked at their needs as strictly learning needs, such as how ready they are for the lesson.  This course has taught me to look at their interests and learning profiles more often.  Tomlinson (1999) stated that “[i]nstead of first focusing on what to do in the classroom, it’s wisest to focus on how to think about teaching and learning” (p. 96).  Through this course, my thinking has been transformed and I now try to integrate all of my students’ needs into the classroom. 

            One change that I will implement immediately is to give my students a learning profile quiz on-line that provides more information about how my students learn.  I will share this information with my students so they also know how they best learn.  It is important to teach using multiple strategies because “[e]ach person possesses all nine intelligences in varying degrees” (Smith & Throne, 2007, p. 68).  I want all of the curriculum to be available with all nine intelligences so the students have an opportunity to learn using their strongest intelligence.  From this information, I am going to use different audio devises, such as Audacity, to reach my auditory learners.  I will use my smartboard for different manipulatives found on-line or through computer programs such as Geometer’s Sketchpad.  I will then utilize the laptops, allowing my students to physically manipulate information and demonstrate their learning through computer based projects. 

            The next change I am going to make in my classroom will involve giving my students an interest survey using surveymonkey.com.  This information will help me provide “interest-based activities [to] help motivate children to learn” (Smith & Throne, 2007, p. 17).  Within my lessons, I will use the survey information to integrate my students’ interests in some way.  This could be done when I present material or by giving options of how to learn the material. 

            The final way that I am going to integrate technology is by becoming more aware of activities that some students may need before jumping into new material.  This means I will need to tune “into [my] students’ varying degrees of ability in order to create activities that match their skills and levels of understanding” (Smith & Throne, 2007, p. 50).  There are also some students that do not require much instruction on the new material; they will do better with little instruction and an activity that will involve higher thinking. 

Resources

Hall, T., Strangman, N., & Meyer, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction and implications for UDL implementation. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstructudl.html 

Tomlinson, C. (1999). Differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. 

Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms.       Belmont, CA: International Society for Technology in Education. 

Reflection (GAME Plan)

My original GAME plan developed at the beginning of this course was very general and needed to be more specific.  My GAME plan was to increase my students’ eagerness to use technology because they see the benefits of it while also increasing their knowledge.  Through this course, I gained a greater understanding of how I could make my GAME plan more specific and still accomplish what I wanted.  An example would be to create problem based learning units that allow my students to use math in everyday life.  I also became very acquainted with some other technology resources that allow me to portray real life discussions and presentations.  My original GAME plan is a year long process, so I have not met the goal yet.  I have been working towards it and I will continue working the remainder of the year. 

Developing a GAME plan has helped me learn more about setting goals and how to follow through with them.  I need to set goals that are attainable and can be measured.  I “need to constantly assess [my] technology integration skills in order to identify the new knowledge and skills [I] need” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 4).  Technology is constantly changing and evolving and educators will need to keep pace with this progress.  Probably the greatest thing I will take from this course is how to apply technology in a way that inspires creative and higher-level thinking throughout a lesson that involves technology.  In the past, I have used technology mostly for lower level thinking.  While this captures most students’ attention, it does not help them to understand the content material at a higher level.

I am planning on using the unit that I developed for this class and also take what I have learned about writing problem based lessons to keep developing them.  I have never developed a problem based lesson as well as I did for this class, which has provided me with more confidence.  I would like to take all of the technology that I became more familiar with and integrate it into my curriculum to generate higher level thinking.  I would like to change my perspective on homework and emphasize that “learners are given control over the amount of information they receive, the number of practice exercises they complete, and the level of success they obtain before moving on” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, pg. 37).  I also need to reconsider my theory that a successful lesson means that all of the students completed their homework.  Instead, I need to focus on the ultimate goal of learning the material and how this can be accomplished.

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.

GAME Plan (Application 7)

The process of using the GAME plan to set goals for myself and to create lesson plans has been very beneficial.  The GAME plan is a simple outline that provides all of the necessary steps.  Looking at the NETS standards for students, I see how it would be beneficial for me to create a goal for each standard that will get accomplished sometime during the school year. 

The goal of the GAME plan can be the individual standards that my students must accomplish.  The action will be the steps or activities I will use in my classroom to meet the standards.  Some of the activities that I plan to use are blogs, wikis, VoiceThread, Geometer’s Sketchpad, social networking, podcasts, PowerPoints, and more.  This will give me a great outline of what will need to be accomplished throughout the year.  Developing my action plan will require “analyzing and determining tools and strategies that will best help students master curriculum standards” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 245).  Monitoring and evaluating each activity may differ for everyone.  This part of the GAME plan will be very important to make sure all of the students are meeting the NETS standards in addition to the curriculum standards. 

Setting a GAME plan for a year can be a great way for me to outline what needs to be taught, when it will be taught, and how I will teach it.  Every standard will be taught in a manner that is implementing technology to enhance every student’s learning.

 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.

Jenna Enevoldsen

Revising my GAME plan

As a look back on the goals I set, I realize they are long-term goals that may not come to fruition any time soon.  My goal was to show my students how valuable technology can be in learning as well as in life.  Going forward, I want to be more specific with my goals so they will be easier to measure.  Through my readings and experience, I have become much more familiar with technology and how I can use it in my classroom to benefit my students.  Setting goals has increased my awareness of how technology is used. 

At this point, I am not ready to set any new goals.  Instead, I want to continue to work towards my current goal.  I want to add to my action plan by using social networking in my classroom.  I want to use something more than just a blog, such as Twitter or another similar website.  I also want to collaborate with another teacher somewhere in the world and start working on more technology projects.  All of these ideas came from this week’s resources, which inspired me to reach out to other teachers (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). 

My goal has helped teach me the benefits of using manipulatives, games, and drill and practice applications.  I have found that some work really well while others are not as effective in getting the curriculum across.  I have also developed a better understanding of problem-based lessons and how to implement them.  Finally, this week has taught me more about social networking and ways I can implement it in my classroom. 

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Social Networking and Online Collaboration, Part 2. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Jenna Enevoldsen

GAME Plan (Application 5)

The actions towards achieving my goal are going to be ongoing through my teaching career. I have initiated my search for technology tools that will supplement my teaching, allowing my students to learn the material at a higher level. I was looking at some virtual manipulatives this week and found a great way to help teach my class to add integers. Another tool that I discovered, which was mentioned in our reading for this week, was creating tessellations using a computer program. All of these different tools are just a start; I hope to continue this search throughout my career. I have also learned about more ways to explore data through calculators and computer programs. Geometer’s sketchpad has also been useful in my classes, but I am now getting a better understanding of how to use it in a problem-based learning activity.




I think PBL (problem-based learning) units and lessons can be very beneficial in a math classroom, but it will take some time to determine the correct way to implement them that will allow my students to learn at a higher level. One method I am going to try is to use “mini PBL units” to get started (Ertmer &Simons, 2006, p. 43). Integrating technology in my classrooms by using PBL units, my students will see how beneficial the technology was for solving a problem as well as the benefits of using technology in general. One change that I would like to make to my plan is to integrate PBL units. Accomplishing this change will require a lot of practice and will be something the students need to get used to.



References

Ertmer, P., & Simons, K. (Spring 2006). Jumping the PBL implementation hurdle: Supporting the efforts of K-12 teachers. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1), 40-54. Retrieved from

GAME Plan (Application 4)

In my GAME plan I focus on teaching students the necessity of technology.  I feel that I need to continue to develop my ideas on how implement that technology.  As of now, I have used technology in hopes of increasing motivation and engagement rather than also increasing higher order thinking.  Another change that I would like to make towards my GAME plan is to include integrating technology in the assessment part of my classroom.  I want the technology to help with “monitoring and evaluating the academic progress of students” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 163).  I want to use technology in every unit to assess my students, whether it is a formative assessment or a summative assessment. 

The resources that have been given every week have helped me to find more ideas on how to implement technology.  I have also been doing some brain storming on how I could integrate technology through various presentations and projects.  I have also been provided many ways to score these types of assessments.  Using rubrics seems to be the most beneficial for the students because it shows the “different levels of quality” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 155). 

PowerSchool will be beneficial for me to individualize my instruction, as it summarizes all of my students’ data that is collected on a daily basis.   As a teacher, it is important to remember that “early identification and reporting of student difficulties can lead to identifying helpful interventions before the problems become insurmountable” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 158). 

One point of discussion that really sparked my interest this week was my use of technology as it relates to higher order thinking.  A lot of my ideas have been for lower level thinking, such as playing math games to get a lot of practice.  Every time I teach a lesson or assess my students, I want to ask myself if the students were able to use higher order thinking.

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.

Jenna Enevoldsen