After reviewing the National Education Standards for Teachers I decided on two standards that I would like to become more proficient and confident in. They are:
3c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats
5b. 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 (ISTE, 2008)
The first goal I have for becoming more proficient on standard 3c is to design a classroom website. I have tried this before, but I got busy, and the project fell by the wayside. At this point, having taken a number of classes through Walden, I am already better prepared at designing the website to be a place where I can relay information to students and parents, as well as showcase student and classroom work when appropriate.
The second goal I have relates to standard 5b. At this point, I am the only teacher in my program at school (students with multiple disabilities) interested in technology integration. Of the five teachers in the program, I am the only one to have made any technology requests, other than for a computer. As such, it is sometimes difficult for me to convince administrators to spend the money on technology for my students. I feel that if I can convince my colleagues how the technology integration can enhance their teaching we can petition for the technology together. To do this, my goal is to demonstrate and teach my colleagues about the power of technology integration.
To accomplish these goals I will take action on building a website with information for students, parents, and peers. The website will also have suggested resources and showcase classroom work and projects. I am also looking for other suggestions on what I should include in the website. Successful and beneficial sites need to be defined (Who is the audience? What information do they need? What content will be available?) in advance (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p.64).
I will also need to take action in accomplishing my second goal, but I am having a little more trouble in what action will make the biggest impact. I thought about inviting my peers to see me use the technology. I also thought about maybe leading a little in-service during the afternoon of a half-day. Does anyone else have suggestions? They seem so worried about everything they have to teach, that they say they do not have the time to learn the technology. While I understand their concern, Ertmer notes that for technology integration to be truly successful, supportive culture is key (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Having supportive colleagues would be a big help to me.
To monitor my progress on these goals I will set goals on when to accomplish each step of my GAME plan. I also will have the timed aspect of these blogging assignments for my Master’s class. Lastly, I will also make these professional goals that we need to develop each year in the district.
To evaluate and extend my learning, I will look to see if I have completed what I set out to do. Do I have a website with all the components I am looking for? Have I shown my peers the vision of technology integration and are they willing to work with me in getting the technology and sharing ideas on how to integrate them seamlessly into our lessons to enhance student learning?
Please feel free to add suggestions for me. I am especially looking forward to hearing suggestions on how best to get my peers at school to see the power of technology integration, or for them to understand the technology integration is not just having a student computer in the classroom. Any thoughts?
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.
Laureate Education Inc., (Producer). Program three. Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology Part One [Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Eno,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading through both of your ideas and concepts to enhance your GAME plan. It is sad that your other co-workers have not taken an interest in learning more about technology and the benefits it could have for their students. I would suggest first gathering information relative to the technology that you are interested in and developing a list of benefits that each piece of technology could provide for your students. You could then meet with your team of co-workers and present the information in a small group setting. Once you have more team members on board, I would then meet with the administration and take a variety of materials to back up your requests. I know that money is an issue in schools, but perhaps your administration could provide some financial funding once they see how passionate your team is when it comes to integrating technology in the classroom. Best of luck!
I love that you are stepping out there promoting the same level of technology integration with students with disabilities as with the general school population. It is such a disservice to students to dismiss the thought that they would be able to benefit from the technology; in fact, I feel that the technology should be in the hands special education and those grey-area students who struggle at school but receive no services more than students with average or above-average intelligences. You will see absolutely amazing things come from your students.
ReplyDeleteI think creating a website that is informative, well-designed, and tied to the learning the students are doing in your classroom will be your best bet with both of your goals. If you will use lots of student examples and pictures and then use these as examples of what can be accomplished with technology, perhaps at those in-service presentations you mentioned, I think you will not only win over converts to technology in general, but will also show the rest of the staff, who often discredit the value of what special education students can bring to the educational table, what wonderful learning is happening in your classroom with your students.
Rachael,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the great ideas. I think I might try coming up with that list. There is one teacher in particular that I think would respond well to that. Sometimes that is all it takes to get the ball rolling.
Shannon Eno
Anita,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about the importance of technology being integrated into the special education classroom. I thought I knew what to expect, but every time I integrate something my students blow me out of the water.
I never thought of using the website to also help accomplish my second goal. Thank you so much! What a great way of highlighting what can be done with integrating technology into the classroom. It will definitely be helpful in convincing my co-workers about using the technology.
Shannon Eno
I've included a link to my classroom website at the bottom of my comment if you are interested in getting some ideas for your own classroom website. I know it can be difficult to advocate for something when your peers may not be on board right away. Maybe you can find some research about how technology can increase student learning to help you promote technology into the classroom. I believe Marzano recently did a study about Activboards in the classroom, you may want to check it out.
ReplyDelete