Was it all worth it?...Of Course!

At the beginning of this course, I set goals to strengthen my confidence and proficiency in two National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) set forth by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (ISTE, 2007). I felt that I needed to become more proficient at presenting technology-enriched lessons that allowed students to pursue their individual curiosities while modeling fluency in technology to my students. Though these goals sounded simple enough, I soon realized that implementing them would require a little more planning, preparation, and patience than I was initially giving.

After reflecting on my progress the first two weeks, I decided that success would not come naturally – I had to make a conscious effort to progress forward. That is when I decided to turn a new class I was forming into my own opportunity for learning. I arranged for us to meet in a computer lab every day for approximately thirty minutes, no pen and paper would be required, and these students would become “experts” right along beside me. We set our own goals as I outlined the plans I had for them, and though some of them looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language, I promised them that blogs, wikis, and digital storytelling would soon be things they would become comfortable with and enjoy doing. By setting these goals with my students, it made me accountable for my own progress. I accepted the fact that I did not have to be an expert before I introduced my students to these activities, I could learn alongside them. In fact, my students showed me how understanding and forgiving they were when obstacles came up and I had no solutions. They really seemed to enjoy helping me help them! I now realize that I don’t have to be an expert before I try to teach my students a new activity, I only have to have an understanding and a willingness to jump in and explore right along with them.

Because of the experiences garnered from setting goals and monitoring my progress, I no longer will hesitate to implement technology into my classroom practice. I don’t want to use technology just for the sake of technology (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009), but I do want to use it as a way to enhance learning in the language arts classroom (Cennamo et al., 2009). While I realized before this experience that I could take any writing assignment and move it into the computer lab as a way to “integrate technology,” I know realize the learning that comes from responding to online text, writing for an authentic audience, and responding to real problems and projects in an effort to find solutions and enhance the world in which our students live (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). When I can create learning experiences that include these certain criteria, I can enhance the learning that my students achieve. But, before I could do this for my students, I had to realize that my own learning could parallel theirs; it didn’t necessarily have to supersede it. My progress does not have to have a specific target; it is an on-going process that will reach certain peaks, and then continue in a new direction. But most of all, I learned that my students do not expect me to be an expert on everything; they are comfortable just knowing that I am learning along with them and together we can find answers, solutions, and pathways toward our goals.

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach (1 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2007). NETS for students 2007. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Ertmer, P. (Speaker). Spotlight on technology: Problem-based learning, Part 1. [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD.

It's Not How Well You Play the Game, It's How Good You Look In the Uniform

Progress is a funny thing; the first step is definitely the hardest one to take, but it usually initiates a little momentum. I do believe I've got a little momentum going! My students each selected a news story that posed a problem or dilemma they felt worth learning more about. Then, they were able to form groups of common topics to begin researching. They will officially begin the research tomorrow, knowing they are going to create a digital story for a solution/suggestion presentation. After reading and viewing this week's resources, I cannot wait to begin using digital storytelling in my classroom.

Now, I realize this does not sound like a lot of headway in my GAME plan, but you have to consider that my students are now entering the computer lab and immediately logging on and going to the website we are working off of, they are posting comments on their own every day, and they are asking questions about the upcoming things we will be doing. They are excited and enjoying this class! These students were formerly in a study hall type of class where they spent the thirty minute time period reading, getting make-up work, or being tutored. They started this class feeling as though they were being punished and made to work when others were not, and now...they want to be in the class! That certainly backs up a lot of the things we have heard throughout the courses at Walden.

The other interesting thing was when I unexpectedly got to visit with our Superintendent of Curriculum and tell him about the plans we were implementing in this class. He was a little surprised and taken back, and he said he certainly wants to keep up with what we are doing and see some of the results. That does add a little pressure, but hey, I always work better under pressure., I am really getting into some of the things I have been learning about, reading about, and listening to my classmates talk about.

So, tomorrow we begin researching,and then on to digital storytelling, posting to wikis, solving the world's problems, rocket science, brain surgery, etc., etc., etc.

Jane

Even a snail leaves a trail....

Okay, so I'm not sailing through this GAME plan at the speed of sound. Or even the speed of a race car. I'm more along the lines of the slow, slithering snail who doesn't seem to be making progress. You step over him and go in the house. When you come out the next morning, there's a shiny trail that marks where he passed. I like to think I am leaving a shiny trail that will be noticeable at the end of the school year when I reflect back on the previous nine or ten months. Just hope I don't slime anybody in the process!

I have made a little progress, though. The students in my special class have all registered with an online newspaper for tweens and are beginning to browse it for articles and news stories. They made their first postings today and I am anxious to get in there and see what they had to say. After a few days of this, we will step it up a bit. Not sure to what...but a step of some sort. That is the type of progress we are making. We are all snails together, but that is better than staying stagnant.

So, as I move along at my snail's pace, just know that I am learning to be okay with it. I gain confidence with each little step and find a new step to take when the time is right. I usually feel that I am rushing my students, so this is a little different, but together we are leaving shiny trails on the sidewalk. Just as long as we don't get stepped on!

Who Am I Fooling?

Hahahaha!!! I am sitting here laughing at the fact that I am soon to be a graduate of a master's program relating to technology and I have to stop and try to remember how to log onto my own blog so I can create a new post! I will never be a digital native; perhaps the most I can strive for is to be somewhat 21st century literate!

One thing I learned this week was that when you think you know what you are doing...you are probably wrong. But, on the bright side, the earth does not stop spinning and the students don't really care. You just take a deep breath and regroup. I began my class of specially selected students and we will be utilizing an online newspaper for "tweens" for reading and responding. We met for the first time this week and the students seemed to be looking forward to this class. This is going to be a plan-as-we-go and learn-as-we-apply approach, but I am excited because I am forcing myself to incorporate things I have not done before. I also have another teacher working with me who is totally unfamiliar with any of this, so she is also depending on me. Did I mention that I work better under pressure?

Hopefully by next week I can post of the great strides we have made and how we have begun changing the world...one post at a time. Till then...Jane