Last week I chose the following two areas to focus on for my GAME Plan:
1) Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
2) Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
Reflecting on these goals I now realize I have a lot of the resources and information I need, but have many other things that I need to spend more time researching.
Some resources that I currently have available to my students are computer access, different software, flip video cameras, digital cameras, district subscriptions to different media, and much more. My challenge is to decide which of these technologies best meet the needs of the students I currently teach. And not all students may use the same tools. I would like to create a technology survey for my students to learn about their strengths and weaknesses and work from there.
There are also some resources and information that I have heard about, but do not currently have available. I heard about "Study Island" in a discussion post last week. I have read a little about this program and am intrigued by the possibilities. The only problem is funding. I would like to spend some more time researching to see if this is the tool that I need for my students and if it will indeed help them manage their own learning. Once I have more information I can begin asking for funding from my administrators or seek funding through other means, such as a grant.
My eyes and ears are constantly open for new ideas and different tools to help my students succeed. Please share...
Thanks for your ideas!
Tiffany Hall
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Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI think that your ability to be flexible and open minded to the various options that you hold at your finger tips is a start! I think that opening yourself to the various learning styles, likes, and tendencies your students have is an amazing beginning to developing and honing your GAME plan.
One small suggestion I have, that I have seen work with my junior high students, is to have the students teach their peers something of interest to them. This way the student is researching and pursuing their own interests and owning the information because teaching it always leads to solidification of the information gleaned. Also, you can position the research assignment so that it addresses your first goal of solving an authentic or real world problem.
I did this in reference to having students solve the problem in the school. The students researched an area they thought was a problem and then they taught their peers why they thought it was a problem and solutions to that problem. It addressed the problem/solution essay that they had to write, but I am sure that any and all students could do a similar assignment using the necessary modifications.
Hope this helps and great ideas for your GAME plan.
Lacey W.
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI use survey monkey to create many online surveys for my students to use when gleeming information about their opinions. The basic plan is free and easy to use. I hope you are able to use this resource.www.surveymonkey.com
I also noticed you mentioned limited funding resouces, well last year I was having a similar issue with my administrators and a teacher introduced me to donorschoose. I filled out the forms and people donated to our cause and purchased the equipment we needed as a class. here is the website www.donorschoose.org. I hope this helps you reach your goals in your game plan.
Rakeebah B
Hi Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. I saw that you had mentioned that it is a challenge to see what technology tool is best to use with your students. Have you ever thought about giving your students the choice of what technology tool they want to use for a particular project. I know that this idea needs to be backed up with a lot of organization, but it could work.
I was the person that posted about Study Island. It has been a great tool for me and my students to use in the classroom. I am able to create groups and post assignments for my students. They absolutely love this program and I would suggest it for anyone to use in their classrooms. Talk to your technology teacher about this program. Maybe you could write a grant for it for the upcoming year. It is very beneficial!
Good luck to you!
Elizabeth Brindley
Thanks for all the comments!
ReplyDeleteLacey- I like idea of students teaching each other about real world problems and giving ideas for solutions! I think I will do something around this for Earth Day. Thanks!
Rakeebah- Thanks for the resources- surveymonkey & donorschoose. My principal used surveymonkey to survey the staff, but I never thought of using it with my students; great idea! I am checking out donorschoose as we speak! Thanks!
Elizabeth- What a logical idea; ask the kids what technology they want to use! Big duh on my part, I do this all the time with topics, so why not tech. choice! Thanks. I really want to use Study Island next year! Our state just had our standardized test changed so I am waiting to see when Study Island updates the organization of info. for our state. Thanks again!
Wow, great ideas everyone! I love blogging!
Tiffany
Hey Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you have so much technology available to you. Since so much of technology is about how to integrate the numerous tools, perhaps students could work in groups. Each member or pair could use a different technological tool to complete a piece of the project. In the end, students can explain what tools they used and why they chose them to solve their particular problem. I imagine students will use applications in ways we would never think to teach them.