Sarah Stere’ BlogSarah Stere is a STAR member of the Discovery Educator Network

This class took me out of my comfort zone, but I also learned a lot.  I learned how to identify an emerging technology, explored various emerging technologies and developed a game plan of how I could implement an emerging technology in my classroom.  I now have a better understanding of many emerging technologies and feel better equipped to utilize and advocate for them in my classroom and my school.   

In learning the difference between emerged and emerging technologies from three different perspectives, I had to determine which definition worked best for me.  Ultimately, I had to go with Soloway’s perspective.  When a technology is emerged, it is cheaper, it is heavily advertised and talked about, and is essential in our lives (Laureate Education, 2009).  It was fascinating to think about the evolution of technologies over the years and which technologies have walked the path of emerging to emerged to obsolete.  It is fascinating to think about what new technologies could arise in the future that will make our current technologies obsolete.

Learning about the different leadership styles helped me to reflect upon my own leadership style and determine my strengths and weaknesses in this area.  Knowing what each style has to offer, both positively and negatively, I can reassess some of the situations I have been in with others and how I could have handled it differently.  Not only did I learn about change through leadership, but I also learned about change agents that can transform technology in education.  Technology should allow for democratization of knowledge, participatory learning, authentic learning and multimodal learning (Lemke, C., & Coughlin, E., 2009).  Knowing how a technology supports these change agents allows us to advocate for its adoption.

The next several weeks I encountered the unknown (or maybe little known) when learning about course management software and online learning, MUVEs and digital gaming. I have not had much experience with these technologies other than our master’s program).  I had not thought about how these technologies could be used in my classroom or with my students prior to this course.  I have been able to determine the many benefits to using each of these technologies with my students.  I also now feel much better equipped to share these benefits with and advocate for adoption of any or all of these technologies with my administration.  As discussed in our discussion posts, I believe it is beneficial to start with training the teachers and helping them to feel comfortable before moving to integrate it into the classrooms.  Teachers who feel more comfortable and confident with these new technologies are more likely to use them and get students interested in using them.

The “Changing the Game at Your School” assignment allowed me to put all of the pieces we have learned about throughout the course together.  I decided to use digital gaming, and more specifically Leapsters, to help the students in my classroom.  Leapsters offer games and activities across the curriculum areas and it is on a level that most students can be independently successful with it.  I believe the Leapster offers built-in differentiation because it can help with remediation and students can also extend their learning by trying more difficult games on their own.  I feel confident that I can explain the benefits of this technology with my administrators in order to try to influence their adoption in our school.  Researching grants has also allowed me to learn about what avenues are available to help acquire technology during these tough economic times.

Learning about the Horizon Report has brought an important resource to my attention that will allow me to stay abreast of the latest technologies that are available.  I am still by no means an expert on any of the emerging technologies we learned about throughout this course.  I do, however, feel that I have acquired a strong arsenal of knowledge and skills that will allow me to be a strong change agent.      References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Emerging vs. Emerged Technologies [Motion picture]. New and emerging technologies. Baltimore: Soloway, E.

Lemke, C., & Coughlin, E. (2009, September). The change agents. Educational Leadership, 67(1), 54-59. Reproduced with permission of Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development in the format electronic usage via Copyright Clearance Cente.r.

Visit my VoiceThread to learn more about online learning…

 voicethread.com/share/1025821/

I have learned a lot throughout this course about Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Differentiated Instruction (DI) and technology integration.  My colleagues have introduced me to many new resources through our Differentiation Station social network.  These resources highlight important information about UDL and DI and will provide encouragement for me as I try to implement these principles and strategies in my classroom.  The resources also offer new ways to integrate technology into my classroom.  I need to look at these resources more in depth and determine which would be most effective for my students.  As Throne and Smith (2009), technology can be a great differentiator for us (Laureate Education).    

Two of my favorite assignments for this course were the UDL project and the VoiceThread about UDL, DI and technology integration.  Because this degree is Integrating Technology in the Classroom, I think it is only fitting that we use technology tools to demonstrate our learning as well.  Creating projects using technology can expose us to new or give us more experience with technology.  I find that this inspires me to use the technology with my students because I have developed a confidence with it and see the possibilities for integration.  I also find that the planning it takes to incorporate the knowledge I want to share and the technology I am using to share it strengthens my understanding of the topic.  I also enjoyed the opportunity to find resources to aid with implementation of UDL, DI and technology integration because they will help me to take further steps to implement them in my classroom.

I am pleased with the amount of technology I use in my classroom at this point.  We use the SMARTBoard daily for a variety of activities.  I use videos from both Discovery Streaming and BrainPOP Jr. to enhance my lessons.  I have 3 student computers that my students frequently use for both literacy and math centers.  Students also use these when they finish work early or if we have indoor recess.  I also sign out our mobile laptop cart so I have more student computers to use.  My students have completed a digital story and VoiceThread so far this year and I have other projects planned in the upcoming months.  We have also participated in a collaborative project through JenuineTech.com. 

Despite the amount of technology integration taking place in my classroom, I feel like I could be offering my students even more.  I discovered a website this year, www.pbskids.org/read which allows for differentiation and a way for me to monitor student progress.  Through research in this class, I have discovered a couple more of these types of websites.  However, I would still like to learn about more of these in all curricular areas for my students.  I would also like to use other technology tools with my students such as WebQuests and virtual field trips.  Because it is challenging for my students to use some of these technology tools independently, I would like to become a little more hands-off and empower them to take more of a role in using technology tools.  This will also allow me to offer my students more options when assessing them as well.

References: 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). What Is Differentiated Instruction? [Motion picture]. Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Tomlinson, C. A., Smith, G., & Throne, S.

Just learning about the GAME plan process was a new experience for me.  It is a great structured way to use goal setting for both myself and my students.  I had two original goals.  The first was to do a better job of citing resources when creating lessons.  I have gathered resources that will assist me to cite correctly when I create lessons for my students.  My biggest hurdle in accomplishing this goal is to make it an automatic action because it is not something I have had to make sure I have been conscientious of in the past.  The second goal was to add more social collaboration into my classroom.  My class participated in a holiday card exchange within the last month.  They were so excited to get each new card and “meet new friends” from all over the country! 

In revising my goals, I added two new goals to work on.  One is to know what the latest research says and what the latest technologies are.  This would allow me to ensure that I am using the latest technology with my students.  The second goal is to exhibit leadership.  This is a goal I feel I need to take seriously in light of the fact that budget cuts are again predicting that our school’s ITRT could lose her position.  I hope that my colleagues will integrate technology into their classrooms because it will benefit their students.  If I would like to see this accomplished, I need to share what technologies are available and how they can be integrated into our curriculum so teachers are more likely to use them with their students.

Developing the Problem-Based, Online Collaboration and Digital Storytelling lessons helped me to see how each of these types of learning can fit into my classroom and enhance my students’ education.  Brainstorming ways that digital storytelling can fit into different curricular areas was a fun challenge for me.  It makes me realize that this technology tool can be used in every subject area.  I have used digital storytelling mostly in language arts in the past.  I want to try to use it in other subject areas in the future.  I want to be able to look at my curriculum and determine how technology can be integrated in each area through digital storytelling, social networking, VoiceThreads and other technology tools.

Both teachers and students can benefit from the GAME plan process.  This process allows us to stay organized and focus on completing a task.  We not only set goals for ourselves, but also determine all of the steps needed to accomplish the goal and evaluate our progress along the way.  The GAME plan process involves reflection throughout the process so we need to take time to think about what and how we are learning.

As a Kindergarten teacher, I do not feel that my students would be able to use the steps of the GAME plan process independently.  They have difficulty setting goals, thinking about their own learning and understanding the concept of elapsed time which would cause them problems when trying to set long-range goals.  This process would require a great deal of teacher guidance.

On the other hand, I think the GAME plan process could be used in one of two ways in Kindergarten.  The first, which would be more challenging for various reasons, is for me to hold conferences with each student and guide them through the process step by step.  This would be a management nightmare for me because I would have to find time to meet with each child to set their goals and decide what actions they would need to take,  help them stay on track towards reaching their goal by monitoring them along the way, and help them to evaluate at the end.  I think a lot of the process would require me prompting and guiding rather than the students offering their own thoughts.  The second option would be to develop a goal or goals as a whole group, brainstorm actions needed to accomplish the goal, monitor periodically and evaluate as a group in the end.  I think this option would be more efficient and more effective for Kindergarten students.

The student NETS standards overlap with the teacher standards in multiple areas and share many similarities throughout.  Therefore, if we as teachers had success using the GAME plan process to determine how to best meet our NETS standards, students can be successful with using it as well.  There just may need to be some modifications made based on the age level of the students in order to accomplish the goals.

Reference:

http://www.iste.org

In setting goals for myself, I have learned new information, gathered resources and have taken proactive steps to integrate technology into my classroom.  The first goal I set for myself was to learn more about how to cite resources accurately, both for my benefit as a learner and teacher as well as for the benefit of my students.  I have learned about some resources that will allow me to do a more effective job with this, although I have not created many lessons in the past weeks that have required me to cite my sources.  The second goal I set for myself was to use social networking and online collaboration.  I have already taken a big step towards this goal by taking advantage of an opportunity for my class to participate in our first collaborative project of the year.  I still need to find more resources for projects but have found many great opportunities through JenuineTech.com.

I am still working towards both of my original goals as they are part of a continuous process.  I will be creating lessons and showing my students how to cite sources throughout the school year.  We will also hopefully participate in several more collaborative projects throughout the year.  In all reality, all of the NETS-T standards offer me challenges in that I need to build more expertise in each area.  I do not believe that I have completely mastered any of the standards at this point.

Two particular areas that I would like to set for future goals are to “exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others” and “evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning” (http://www.iste.org).  I have been sharing a lot of what I am learning through this program with my ITRT and Kindergarten team specifically.  There is talk of our ITRTs losing their positions due to budget constraints for next year.  Our school’s ITRT has been an integral part of getting new technology into our building and being a leader and inspiration in getting our staff to integrate technology.  I am really concerned about all of the progress she has made coming to a halt without her.  I am not nearly as knowledgeable as she is or as comfortable teaching others, but I almost feel that I will need to take a serious step forward if I do not want to see all of her hard work go by the wayside.  The second goal is because through this program I have learned so many new great technology tools that I have excitedly implemented with my students.  I am concerned that after I am finished with the program, I will not be “in the know” about the latest technology resources and will be less likely to take the risks I have taken with the push of our courses.   

Reference:

http://www.iste.org

Evaluation is an important part of any process.  Whether it is learning as a student, assessing your students as a teacher or setting goals for yourself and carrying out a course of action, evaluation is necessary to carry out the process and accomplish the task at hand.

4a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

My actions have been effective as far as working towards my goal.  This is an ongoing goal so I have not met it yet.  I have been acquiring resources that will continue to aid me in determining what sources need to be cited and which do not.  The more confident I am with correct use of citation, the more effective I will be at passing this information on to my students.

I have learned about many resources that will help me to learn about correctly citing my sources.  This has not only helped me to do a better job, but also enables me to be more effective at modeling for my students and helping them to understand that it is important to give others credit for their work.

Although I have been learning new information, I still have plenty to learn.  I do not have any new questions at this time, but will probably continue to have questions as I learn more.

I do not think my goal needs to be adjusted at this time.  The biggest thing I need in order to reach this goal is more time.  I need time to delve into the resources that have been provided to me and to find more resources.  This goal is continuous because I do not get a chance to create new lessons daily so I do not always have the need to cite my resources.

4d. develop and model cultural understand and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.

Considering the fact that we are in the middle of our first collaborative project of the year, I feel that the steps I have taken towards meeting this goal have been very effective.  Following this project, I will need to continue to be proactive in finding more collaborative projects that will fit into my curriculum and benefit my students.

I am learning about some collaborative projects that are available.  I am also learning how to integrate these projects into my curriculum.

I still need to learn about more collaborative project opportunities.  I also have to continue to work on finding ways to integrate these projects into my curriculum. 

I need to focus on completing our current project (holiday card exchange) right now.  When this project ends, I will need to reflect on its value, for myself and my class.  I can then move onto locating other projects that may fit into our curriculum.  Again, I need time to locate more resources and determine where and how they best fit into my curriculum.

I feel that both of my goals are ongoing, so although I have made progress towards each, I will need to continue to work on meeting them.  As you can see, the biggest thing I need to help me achieve both goals is more time.  I need time to both find resources and then to create and collaborate!

When setting goals, it is important to take time to reflect upon how things are progressing towards meeting the goals.  Sometimes, it takes a long time to reach a goal and other times the goal needs to be adjusted for various reasons.

4a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

I have been given some resources towards meeting my goal.  I am trying to be more cognizant when making SMARTBoard lessons and inserting graphics to take note of the copyright and make sure I am giving the right person, company, etc. the proper credit.  This goal is ongoing because I use it when creating new lessons, which is not something I do everyday, but do continuously throughout the school year.

The only modification I might make is adding that I not only want to make sure I cite properly, but also that I make sure to point this out specifically when looking at websites or other resources with my students.  I need to point copyright information out so students know how to find it and also so I can become more familiar with it as well.

I have learned that I still have a lot to learn as far as what sources need to be cited and which are copyright free.  Some sources have stipulations for how they are being used as to whether they can be used.  I am not sure what new questions I might have because I feel like I am still in the early stages of my learning in order to reach this goal.

4d. develop and model cultural understand and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.

I have begun my first collaborative project through JenuineTech.com.  This project is designed to exchange holiday cards with other classes throughout the country.  There are 25 different classes in my group stretching from the east coast all the way to the west coast.  We need to send a holiday card to each class and include information about our class, school and state as well.  Following this project, I need to continue to look for and learn about new collaborative projects that my class can take part in.

I do not believe I need to modify my action plan at this time.  I am acting on the goal by joining this first collaborative project.  I hope to find new projects to take part in throughout the year as well.

I have learned that I need to take time to research upcoming projects during the summer or at the beginning of the school year so I can determine which projects can be integrated with my curriculum and which I feel would be most beneficial for my class to take part in.

JenuineTech.com has been a great source for finding collaborative projects but I know there must be others out there.  Finding them is my next step…

As you can tell, I have made more progress with my second goal.  This GAME plan process is making me take the time to reflect upon the progress I am making, what adjustments might need to be made and whether or not I am nearing my goal.  I am still sure that these were the right goals to choose, but now I need to continue on my journey to complete them!

4a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

Resources-Collaboration with my ITRT, websites such as http://copyrightfriendly.wikispaces.com/ and http://www.oslis.org/.

Additional Information-more specific information about what needs to be cited and what does not need to be cited (i.e. google images vs. Microsoft clip art)

Steps Taken-I have looked at the websites that have been shared with me, I am trying to be more aware of citing my sources 

4d. develop and model cultural understand and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.

Resources-Collaboration with my ITRT and colleagues, contacts for collaborative projects

Additional Information-more information about collaborative projects that are available, information what technology tools are needed (and what I have available to me) to implement collaborative projects, learn more about skype

Steps Taken-I have joined a holiday card exchange collaborative project through JenuineTech.com.  I am collaborating with my ITRT and other colleagues who are participating in the project to determine the best strategy to implement the project with my students. 

References:National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.

There are two NETS standards that I would like to become more comfortable with and more proficient at using and incorporating into my classroom.  The first of these is:

4a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

Goal-I will model the proper use of citing sources for any digital media I use with students and share with my colleagues.  I will advocate the use of citation of digital media with my colleagues.

Action-I will make sure that I use proper citation and point out the citations and their importance to my students.  I need to become more aware of what sources are available for educational use.

Monitor-I will work with my ITRT to learn about which resources are available for educational use. I will monitor my own use of proper citations.

Evaluate and extend-I will see if my students notice where citations are lacking and are able to transfer ability to cite sources in their work. I will also share educational sources that I learn about with my colleagues.  This will help to create a supportive culture (Ertmer, P., Laureate Education, 2009).

The second standard is:

4d. develop and model cultural understand and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.

Goal-To collaborate more with others and use project-based learning activities by incorporating them into already existing curriculum

Action-I will find project-based learning opportunities and determine where they fit into my curriculum.  I will find ways collaborate with others via skype, epals or through other technology tools.  Teachers should remember that whatever it is they’re teaching, there’s probably someone else out there that would like to collaborate (Davis, V., Laureate Education, 2009).  I will need to make sure I have whatever technology resources are necessary in order to participate in collaborative activities.

Monitor-I will keep track of collaborative activities I participate in throughout the year.

Evaluate and extend-At end of year, I will look at how many collaborative projects my class participated in and survey my students to see which they liked best and determine which were most effective.  To extend, I will make a bulletin board to share with others to highlight collaborative projects in the school or share project ideas with colleagues.  I will also look ahead at collaborative projects for next year, determine which fit into my curriculum and put them into my long-range plan so I make sure to participate in them.

References:

Laureate Education Inc. (2009). “Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology, Part 1.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.

Laureate Education Inc. (2009). “Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology, Part 2.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.