Course Reflection for EDUC 6715:

Over the past eight weeks, I have gathered and experienced more applicable knowledge than in any other course I have taken (and that is saying a lot). I am always searching for new technology to integrate into my methodologies, but my search has constantly been alone or unsupported. I am one of the few teachers in my building that sees technology as an asset to student learning as opposed to a headache to the teacher. Even though many times incorporating the new technologies has been a difficult, bumpy road, I have always reaped the benefits of student motivation and engagement in the end. I realize that I have a big responsibility to my colleagues and the rest of the student body in my school to break down the negative stigma surrounding technology and its application in the classroom, but I feel well-prepared to take the nay-sayers head-on and make believers out of them. The tools I have to share this upcoming school year are nothing short of amazing and exciting. I am confident I can at least change a couple of minds, or sway some people to try some new things.

One new idea I feel very comfortable sharing with my colleagues is the use of digital gaming in the classroom. I understand the application completely, and I know the reception will be positive. Even if technology causes apprehension, my colleagues understand what motivates junior high students, and incorporating a learning tool that is disguised as a recreational activity is genius. Maybe my favorite quote concerning the implementation of digital gaming is

“…[C]hallenge and learning are a large part of what makes good video games motivating and entertaining.” (p. 34).

The plan I created during week six and seven will help me to share my excitement with my peers and show that this technique is easy to implement and accomplishes what we are all setting out to do: engage students in innovative, exciting learning opportunities. It is easy to argue the value of a tool that has such high teaching/learning potential. While students are playing, they are learning key concepts, and while they are learning, they are practicing necessary 21^st century skills. I found value in all the new, emerging technologies we learned about during this course, but I am not as sure of my own application of tools like MUVEs. Though I find MUVEs intriguing and appealing, I have little personal experience with them. I plan on becoming much more familiar with them, and I am sure I will be able to find multiple ways of incorporating them into my classroom and share them with my colleagues. Overall, I am thrilled at the outcomes of this course; I have a lot of great new ideas and teaching tools that I did not have prior. I have not been this excited for the start of a new school year in a while!

Reference:

Gee, J.P. (2005). Good video games and good learning. Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 85(2), 33-37.

Online Learning in K-12 Schools Presentation:

Click the following link to view my presentation:

Online Learning in K-12 Schools

Week 8: Course Reflection EDUC-6714

What a whirlwind the past eight weeks have been! Time has really flown!

I have learned so much throughout this course—I am excited to jump back into teaching next fall and share some of these ideas with my colleagues and see how my students respond. I have a new found confidence and comfort with my skills in the area of differentiation. I always worried that I did not have the “know how” to follow through with differentiated lessons, but I realize now, that it is a strong skill that I naturally have applied to my lessons to begin with and my apprehension was unwarranted.

Through open discussion with my Walden peers and my colleagues, I have built quite a repertoire of lessons and resources to assist me in my endeavors next year and for years to come. I cannot thank my peers enough for all of their input during this course; they have inspired me to continue evolving as an educator. It is with these tools and resources in tote that I can implement lessons rich with technology and activities that will engage even the most hesitant of students. The goal has always been to teach to each individual student’s strengths and encourage growth in ALL students; reaching that goal has simply become more realistic and less overwhelming. Technology can make a classroom a haven that inspires and develops student minds and makes life “easier” for the teacher.

My classroom atmosphere in general will change next year—not only will computers and laptops be a regular appearance, but I will be taking more of a facilitator role in my room. I have always loved playing that role, but I still relied heavily on the teacher-centered role as well. I am more comfortable with giving up control and becoming the “guide on the side” as opposed to the “sage on the stage” attitude (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).

Resource:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Putting it all together. Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.

Course Reflection:

Over the course of the past eight weeks, I have learned more about myself than during any other class I have taken through Walden. I have developed my teaching and leadership “voice” and began setting and accomplishing small but valuable educational goals. I have always had an “I’ll get to that later” kind of attitude—which at some point becomes quite unmanageable after a while. After replacing that attitude with more of a “no better time than now” outlook, I am finding that I feel accomplished and motivated to continue setting goals, monitoring progress and eventually evaluating my success of my attempts. The GAME plan has given me a whole new outlook and helped me grow as an educator—which has helped improve my students’ learning experiences and attitudes.

I have also become more open with my colleagues about my ideas and experiences with technology. I am helping them become more comfortable with the resources available to them at our school and they, in turn, feel more open to ask me questions when they are struggling or have their own new ideas. Our team is stronger now, and our students are reaping the benefits from our new team rapport.

Lastly, I have begun to develop ways to incorporate what I have learned in this class into the tasks my students are expected to complete. Setting manageable goals is such a valuable tool for students to master—and I am beginning to implement activities and class discussions that center around that vital skill. I am utilizing KWHL charts more regularly, and I am planning on starting the year off next year with a quarterly goal setting activity catered to the learning that planned for each individual quarter. Technology goals will be set simultaneously with content goals—I want the two to go hand in hand in my classroom. I feel like I am a better teacher for finally starting to focus on my own development as an individual educator—and my students are benefiting from my new found strengths and comfort level with technology, goal-setting, and leadership.

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students:

The GAME plan process would be a beneficial tool for use in the classroom and a skill to teach students to utilize independently. I have found a lot of personal success and have been surprised with how easily my plan fell into place, and I feel comfortable and motivated to pass the skill onto my students. It would be a great tool to use at the beginning of the year—for students to set goals for themselves in relation to the science curriculum and technology areas they feel they can or should work to improve on over the course of the school year. It is something we can complete within the first week and monitor/edit as the year progresses. I can imagine some students will need to edit more than others as they find success and wish to move further past their development goals.

In relation to the science curriculum, I already use a pseudo-GAME plan process in my class at the beginning of each unit. I have my students create a K-W-H-L chart which becomes a flexible document that the students edit and use as a tool to help them focus in on their goals. How else can I encourage students to set goals and maintain focus on monitoring their acquisition of their goals? I am sure it is a skill that not all of them practice daily, and some of them will struggle with the concept.

Revising MY GAME Plan:

I am making great strides towards both of my goals—but after further review, I do not think that one of my goals can ever be “achieved.” I need to continue to make efforts to become more of a leader on my team at school and as a staff member. I do not think that goal will ever go away; it is something that I need to perpetually monitor and practice. It may become easier and less conscious, but I will always need to focus on getting my voice and ideas heard at my school because they are valuable and beneficial to the student population. I am also still working towards building a unit that incorporates a global learning community. I plan on completing this goal next year, once I have researched fully and found an applicable, relevant connection to my classroom. I have found a few options, but will continue to search and learn more about the options available to me and my students.

Based on the NETS-T, I would like to “demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations,” more specifically I would like to become more knowledgeable concerning the Smart Technology available at my school. I recently attended a school-wide seminar about the Smart technology and student response systems, and it was intriguing and exciting. I had no idea how many neat options were available at my finger tips. I plan on working at least one Smart lesson into my curriculum before the interim of fourth quarter. I cannot wait to see how my students respond to these new methods.

I am going to continue to experiment with my technology options and keep an open mind. I will also be continuing to develop my leadership skills and voice at future meetings and in general. I am excited to see how these new skills work their way into my teaching practices—my students stand to reap the benefits from my new approach to my own learning.

Resource:

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

Evaluating MY GAME Plan Progress:

Overall, I am feeling inspired to set more goals for myself in relation to my teaching career. I feel silly for putting some of my ideas and desires on the back burner because I felt like my goals were not as important as the other responsibilities I am juggling right now. I have experienced the complete opposite over the course of the past couple of weeks—I feel more accomplished than ever before, and I am more excited to try even more new “adventures” as a result. My positive experiences have also crossed over into my instructional practices—mostly because my students are directly benefiting from the accomplishment my goals (the goals are student related). Since one of my goals was to take more of a leadership role on my team, I have also affected the teaching practices and student experiences of within my colleagues classes.

I have decided to adjust my plan and add to my goals as I am accomplishing my others. I want to further my technological skills—especially in the area of Smart technology, so I am attending a course offered at my school this Thursday (during an in-service). I am excited to see what else I can offer my students—our school recently acquired a classroom response system (clickers) that I would love to incorporate into my classroom practices. I am learning though to balance my goals with my other responsibilities. How many is too many goals? Is there a limit? I do not want to reach a point of frustration, but I want to continue setting and achieving my goals.