Wednesday, May 26, 2010

GAME Plan Progress

My first goal is to become more proficient in facilitating the web conferencing tool Safari Montage Live. My students have been rehearsing their scripts all week long and have been applying the communicative and creative skills that are highlighted in second grade. A parent of one of my students is a communications professor at a nearby university. She actually came in this afternoon and taught a public speaking lesson to my class to prepare them for Friday's web conference. I have experimented with the equipment several times this week and have even held practice conferences with the other classroom teacher. I have been hard at work in accomplishing my first goal and I look forward to sharing the outcome with you all in the near future. I plan on focusing more attention to my second goal following the web conference.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

GAME Plan Prepping

In order to reach both goals of my GAME plan to become a better teacher with technology, I need to properly prepare and gather resources before I begin my Action. To prepare for my first Goal: to become more proficient in facilitating the web conferencing tool Safari Montage Live. To prepare for this lesson, I am currently seeking out professional develop opportunities with the staff from the Department of Technology that utilize this software on a regular basis. In additional to staff from the Department of Technology, I am also gathering names of teachers interested in completing this lesson with me. In addition, I have already began experimenting and exploring Safari Montage Live independently to become more familiar with the software. I plan on holding my first conference within the next couple of weeks.

For my second Goal: plan ahead in each of my units across the curriculum to successfully infuse the National Technology Standards into my county's curriculum in whole group and individual enrichment or reinforcement activities, I been viewing the Curriculum-Based Technology Integration Activities page on my county's intranet to get inspiration and ideas for next year's lessons. In addition, I have gathered all my typed lesson plans developed throughout the year into one chronological folder for future review and revision. As the year winds to a close, I will continue to document my lessons in this manner for review while I have a little downtime in the summer. I now look forward to a technologically groundbreaking year for me next year!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

GAME Plan

After looking over the National Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers, to become a true 21st century teacher, I realize I would like to improve my technological skills in the following areas.

For Indicator 1.d.: model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.
My goal is to become more proficient in facilitating the web conferencing tool Safari Montage Live. This is a goal I already have in action. Next week, my second grade class is web conferencing with another second grade class in a neighboring school to compare and contrast male and female mosquitoes for our "Skeeters" unit. My class is in charge of researching characteristics of male mosquitoes and the other class is in charge of researching the characteristics of female mosquitoes. During the web conference, I plan on using the online whiteboard feature to have both classes manipulate a Venn diagram in real-time.

I will monitor my understanding by videotaping my instruction of how to use Safari Montage Live and will evaluate my progress by watching the video to look for clear instruction of use. I will also evaluate my students' understanding of the similarities and differences between male and female mosquitoes because, after all, their progress as students is a result of my effectiveness as an educator.

The second indicator that I would like to work on is Indicator 4.b: address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.

My goal is to plan ahead in each of my units across the curriculum to successfully infuse the National Technology Standards into my county's curriculum in whole group and individual enrichment or reinforcement activities. My plan of action is to include a technology-infused lesson at least twice a month during the next school year now that I'm more familiar with the second grade content. (This will be me second year as a second grade teacher.)

Throughout the course of the year, I plan to monitor my students' progress in each curriculum outcome in which I use a technology based lesson. I will evaluate my performance by comparing the data collected from each technology-infused lesson taught to the same lessons taught the year before without technology. The students' successes will by my successes and their areas for growth will be areas for growth for me as well.