The NETS-T standard of “Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences” has provided me with a great amount of resources that can help create digital-age learning experiences. At this point, I am finding the information and resources I need. I have found many technology tools that are of interest to me and I would like to share with my administration. I am also looking for tools that will be beneficial to my second grade students as well as those that may benefit the entire school. I do not feel that I need to modify my action plan right now. There is plenty of information that I can locate and use to help me create wonderful learning experiences that incorporate technology. So far, I have learned that there are many valuable tools and I need to narrow it down to tools that I know would work for me as well as my students. Because our district is looking at a smaller budget for this upcoming school year, I need to determine the value of tools that require a subscription and if they are worth implementing in our school. A question that I have involves money. Does anyone know of various grants and resources that are available to educators that may pay for the cost of various technology tools that will be incorporated into the classroom? Would you encourage students to create portfolios to demonstrate growth? If so, how would you keep track of products created digitally so that they would have access to the products after leaving the classroom? Some interesting assessments of technology proficiency have been developed that rely on some of the capabilities of technology to create unique learning and assessment environments (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).
The NETS-T standard of “Model Digital-Age Work and Learning” has been very valuable. I have appreciated all of the feedback that my colleagues have provided me to ensure that I have all the information and permission necessary before posting student work on a website that is accessible to the public. I have had no problem with gathering enough information and resources. All information gathered has been wonderful and continues my understanding of the importance of sharing student work to promote their excitement and success in school. At this point I do not feel that I need to modify my action plan. One question I am contemplating involves my parent survey. Since I am about two weeks from the end of the school year, I do not know if I should survey parents of my current students or wait until next year. Any thoughts? The parents of my current students could provide me with great information but they would not see the finished product since their children would no longer be in my classroom.
Reference:
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.
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Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteThere are many grants out there, but in today's economy competition is tough. I would search for elementary technology grants. Hopefully you will find something that works for you.
I keep remembering the advice from a previous course to start small and add on. Maybe a digital journal would work for your first year? As you reflect upon it you can modify and build upon it the following year.
It cannot hurt to survey parents this year and use their data to start next year. The population will most likely be similar. You can tell them you are beginning a new journey and their input would help you get started. Then survey next year's parents at the beginning of the year. You can start setting things up this summer if you have somewhere to start.
Lynne,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information. I never thought of using a digital journal. I agree that the information gained from current parents will provide me with a starting point of information I would like to include on my class website.
Hello Amy,
ReplyDeleteThis year I had the students develop their own web pages and on the page, they inserted tables of inforation that linked to their work, so basically it was a portfolio. The idea was interesting; however, it did not work out as well as I had hoped. It was time consuming to scan or take pictures of the students' work and get it uploaded to the Sharepoint site. It was also a challenge to get the students in the computer lab on a weekly basis to allow them to update. Next year, I will try again because I like the idea of digital portfolios and journals and most important, the students say that they enjoy it. This summer I will take time to look at more of the tech tools available for digital portfolios.
I also agree with Lynne to wait until the beginning of the year to conduct the survey. Nonetheless, you are on the right track with your GAME-plan. Keep up the outstanding work!