Week 8 Reflection Post

Looking Back, Heading Forward

As I reflect on my GAME plan that I had created weeks ago, I am pleased with the progress that I have made. My most important goal was to become more aware of and comfortable with at least 2 or 3 technology tools that I could implement in the upcoming school year to provide a more authentic learning experience for my students. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) mentioned that “this type of learning is more relevant and engaging and increases the likelihood that students will be able to use what they have learned in new situations” (p. 35). By using this instructional practice, students will become self-directed learners and will become more responsible for their learning altogether. Through this course, I have really become fond of the whiteboard, digital storyboards, and voice thread. I have acquired and bookmarked many resources for the whiteboard and digital storytelling from my classmates through our blog posts and discussions. However, to my disappointment, I still have yet to discover what types of technology tools are permissible in my county. I have tried to email and call the technology department and no one has been able to respond to my inquiries. I am hopeful that once school begins, I will be able to access this information a little bit more easily. On the other hand, I recently spoke with a student in middle school (8th grade) who had taken 4 computer classes last year. I asked her about blogs and wikis and she had no idea what they were. I immediately became worried by this because this is showing me that my county is not striving to meet the National Education Standards for Students through technology.

I have learned many new things throughout this course and by following my GAME plan. In fact, this class has proven to be the most beneficial in my master’s program thus far. Through our discussions, I was able to obtain various ways in which I can use digital storyboards. My classmates had innovative ideas that I had never thought of before and I know my 4th graders would enjoy creating these storyboards immensely. I have also learned that evaluation does not always have to be formal and in forced-choice formats. Regretfully, my assessments in the past have been the customary multiple choice, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank formats. Many of our reading and math tests have open-ended response formats that required the students to demonstrate their higher levels of cognitive skills. This year, I would like to develop more performance and project-based assessments, which coincides more with real-world contexts. These assessments can be as simple as concept maps or as complicated as creating a Webquest. One particular concept that I had much difficulty with was problem based learning. It was troublesome to create a problem that was just right. By engaging with my classmates on our group Wiki, I was able to see how others incorporated this instructional strategy into their lessons. This will prove to be a great resource for me in the future. Lastly, I learned more about how to accommodate various learning disabilities using minor assistive technology applications. This year, I have several special education students that will benefit from the implementation of these aides as well as the Universal Design for Learning approach. “The more flexible the teaching strategies, materials, and assessments you use in your classroom, the more accessible they will be to the diverse needs and preferences of all the students with whom you work” (Cennamo et al., 2009, p. 117).

Besides changing my assessment formats and implementing the Universal Design of Learning, I also plan to take immediate action in creating and utilizing flipcharts with the whiteboard. When I stepped into my classroom for the first time about a week ago, I was expecting to see a whiteboard installed so that I could begin tinkering with it before the students arrived. Although it has not been installed yet, my administrator said they are being installed next week. I have already begun conversing with my colleagues about dividing our curriculum content so that the work would be less cumbersome. In addition, since I loathe talking in front of parents at Back to School Night, I am planning on creating a digital storyboard presentation that will highlight procedures, behavior and academic expectations, and school activities for our 4th grade year. This will be more engaging for the parents to view and less stressful for me.

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.

National Education Standards for Students retrieved at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf