Unfortunately, my GAME plan is not proceeding as planned. This has nothing to do with the plan itself or about learning the new technology I am trying to incorporate into my classroom. The problem seems to be focused upon my commitment to the actual logistics of dedicating time towards learning how to build my intended website.
I have found the information I need regarding how to build this website, and I have established an account that allows me to begin the process. The problem I seem to be encountering involves me fully committing myself to the schedule I made at the start of this process. I will admit that I have not been following this schedule and I have failed to begin work on my website. Therefore, with this in mind, I am not going to modify my plan because I believe it is a well-intended plan and could work out marvelously; however, I will change my attitude towards the plan and make the proper commitment to myself, and this class as well, to begin and fully continue the process of becoming a self-directed learner and establish my classroom website. I am currently away for the Thanksgiving holiday, but upon my return to home tomorrow morning, I will work for at least one to two hours to learning methods on how to build my website. I understand that I should commit more time to this plan, but I want to make my start realistic and then from that point on, I will continue with the timetable I initially laid out at the beginning of the process.
If new questions arise, I will reach out to my fellow students at Walden University to help guide me through my process, but at this point I simply need to dedicate myself towards my GAME process and begin to utilize the new technology I have chosen for this project. I know once my website is established and running its uses could be limitless for all of my students.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
First Step of GAME Plan - Week 3
In order to carry out my action plan and get my classroom website up and running, the first resource I will need is webpage building software. After searching on the Internet for information on this topic, I have found a free website that allows ordinary people like myself to build their own website through a drop and drag method. The website is called Blue Voda and it allows for different layouts and methods to plan a website. Since Blue Voda is equipped with short videos and tutorials showing how to build a website, I should be able to learn the necessary information to start the foundation of my website. It will more than likely look plain and ordinary at first because I want to focus on placing all the necessary content onto the website before installing various “bells and whistles” to make it more exciting.
I do not need any more additional information at this time because I merely want to start building the website and see what happens at that point. I will obviously want to add music and video to the site, but I am sure I can find out this information during a tutorial or perhaps an additional outside source.
So far, I have unfortunately not been taking large steps in the process. I have found the web building software and opened the account, but that is the extent of what I have accomplished. I plan on spending the next few days looking over the site and starting to build the website and I will post more progress as it comes to fruition.
Once more, I am excited about starting this process, and I am looking forward to embarking on this technological journey.
I do not need any more additional information at this time because I merely want to start building the website and see what happens at that point. I will obviously want to add music and video to the site, but I am sure I can find out this information during a tutorial or perhaps an additional outside source.
So far, I have unfortunately not been taking large steps in the process. I have found the web building software and opened the account, but that is the extent of what I have accomplished. I plan on spending the next few days looking over the site and starting to build the website and I will post more progress as it comes to fruition.
Once more, I am excited about starting this process, and I am looking forward to embarking on this technological journey.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Response to NETS-T Standards
The fifth National Educational Technology Standard for Teachers (NETS•T) states that teachers need to engage in professional growth and leadership and teachers should improve their professional practice as well as model lifelong learning. I find this is true because I want to desperately infuse more technology into my classroom, but I lack some necessary skills in order to feel confident with certain pieces of technology. Because of this, I have chosen to commit myself to learning one new form of technology during each school quarter. I chose this time frame because I feel it is a realistic amount of time to become fully engaged with a new piece of software. My originally plan was one new piece of technology a month, but with the constraints of work, school, and family, I decided to change the timeframe to once a quarter so I do not become overwhelmed with the technology and decide to quit. When I learn these various pieces of technology, it allows me an opportunity to meet NETS•T standard number three. This standard states that teachers should be able to model and demonstrate fluency in technology systems (ISTE, 2008), and I understand how powerful modeling can be when trying to teach students new or difficult information.
As a sub-goal, I have decided to choose the first piece of technology I want to master. At this current time, I have chosen developing a web-page as my first conquest. I feel this could be an extremely valuable tool for my students because, as an English teacher, my students will be able to create websites based on books or characters. A wide variety of writing styles can exist within the website as well as evidence for a large variety of literary terms. It is important for me to gain confidence in using this technology because I have a hard time allowing my students to try this instructional piece of technology before I master it myself (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009.) I understand that some of my students probably know more about making web pages than I do and may in fact be able to teach me; however, I have a hard time letting the students obtain that type of control. I do not mind if students want to teach me more advanced tricks regarding web sites, but I, at the very least, want to have down the foundation and raw ability to create web pages before diving into a lesson.
There are a few actions that need to take place on my part in order to achieve my goal of learning webpage design. First, I need to incorporate a schedule. I juggle many different hats and have an insane schedule, so spare time is something that does not come easily, and when it finally does seem to arise, I am exhausted from my daily schedule and routine. Therefore, I want to have a set schedule on when I will work on creating a web site. Some work can be completed during my school hours. I can find some time during the work week to dedicate towards this project, and I can also incorporate the help of our school’s technology advisor and other teachers familiar with building web sites. During the course of the work week, I can probably find one or two hours to dedicate towards this cause. I can also dedicate time outside of school. I am going to block off time on Monday nights and Saturday mornings to teach myself at home. However, I will need to overcome a software obstacle. My school uses Apple software, such as iweb, to build websites, but my home computer and laptop is a PC. Since my colleagues at school know how to use the iweb format, I need to find a similar program for my laptop. This way, whether I practice at work or home, I will always have the same program, and I am assuming someone who is fluent in iweb should be able to transfer their skills to a PC program. Does anyone know about any good web design programs similar to iweb but made for a PC? If so, please let me know. I would high appreciate it. Finally, I need to find tools and resources in order to teach myself and learn more about website design software. I can search for online tutorials and information that will help me learn the required information in the shortest amount of time. Books could also be a good source of information, and I am sure there are plenty of self-help books inside the computer section of my local bookstore that would be able to accommodate this request.
Once I begin to learn the software, I will have to monitor my progress. The best way I can think to accomplish this task is by actually completing an assignment requiring this type of software. Before I start planning my own lessons around this technology, I will find an already established lesson on the Internet or from a fellow teacher at school and complete it myself. I will try to finish the assignment as if I am a student and take notes on what obstacles I faced because some of my students will probably face the same dilemmas. Each week, I will see how much I have achieved on the project to see my progression with using the new technology. This project can not only be used to check my progress, but I can also evaluate what I did and see if it worked. If during my evaluation, I notice that I am still having problems with the software, I will need to rethink my self-directed learning techniques. At that point, it may be time to try and find a class that will teach me the required skills I teach, but I have tried this in the past and either the classes are non-existent , or if I do happen to find what I was looking for, the cost can be a little too expensive for my budget.
Overall, I am excited about the idea of learning this new technology. I am hoping my learning experience goes smoothly and if it does I will continue on with my next technological conquest during the following quarter.
Resources:
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.
ISTE.nets. (2008). The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx.
As a sub-goal, I have decided to choose the first piece of technology I want to master. At this current time, I have chosen developing a web-page as my first conquest. I feel this could be an extremely valuable tool for my students because, as an English teacher, my students will be able to create websites based on books or characters. A wide variety of writing styles can exist within the website as well as evidence for a large variety of literary terms. It is important for me to gain confidence in using this technology because I have a hard time allowing my students to try this instructional piece of technology before I master it myself (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009.) I understand that some of my students probably know more about making web pages than I do and may in fact be able to teach me; however, I have a hard time letting the students obtain that type of control. I do not mind if students want to teach me more advanced tricks regarding web sites, but I, at the very least, want to have down the foundation and raw ability to create web pages before diving into a lesson.
There are a few actions that need to take place on my part in order to achieve my goal of learning webpage design. First, I need to incorporate a schedule. I juggle many different hats and have an insane schedule, so spare time is something that does not come easily, and when it finally does seem to arise, I am exhausted from my daily schedule and routine. Therefore, I want to have a set schedule on when I will work on creating a web site. Some work can be completed during my school hours. I can find some time during the work week to dedicate towards this project, and I can also incorporate the help of our school’s technology advisor and other teachers familiar with building web sites. During the course of the work week, I can probably find one or two hours to dedicate towards this cause. I can also dedicate time outside of school. I am going to block off time on Monday nights and Saturday mornings to teach myself at home. However, I will need to overcome a software obstacle. My school uses Apple software, such as iweb, to build websites, but my home computer and laptop is a PC. Since my colleagues at school know how to use the iweb format, I need to find a similar program for my laptop. This way, whether I practice at work or home, I will always have the same program, and I am assuming someone who is fluent in iweb should be able to transfer their skills to a PC program. Does anyone know about any good web design programs similar to iweb but made for a PC? If so, please let me know. I would high appreciate it. Finally, I need to find tools and resources in order to teach myself and learn more about website design software. I can search for online tutorials and information that will help me learn the required information in the shortest amount of time. Books could also be a good source of information, and I am sure there are plenty of self-help books inside the computer section of my local bookstore that would be able to accommodate this request.
Once I begin to learn the software, I will have to monitor my progress. The best way I can think to accomplish this task is by actually completing an assignment requiring this type of software. Before I start planning my own lessons around this technology, I will find an already established lesson on the Internet or from a fellow teacher at school and complete it myself. I will try to finish the assignment as if I am a student and take notes on what obstacles I faced because some of my students will probably face the same dilemmas. Each week, I will see how much I have achieved on the project to see my progression with using the new technology. This project can not only be used to check my progress, but I can also evaluate what I did and see if it worked. If during my evaluation, I notice that I am still having problems with the software, I will need to rethink my self-directed learning techniques. At that point, it may be time to try and find a class that will teach me the required skills I teach, but I have tried this in the past and either the classes are non-existent , or if I do happen to find what I was looking for, the cost can be a little too expensive for my budget.
Overall, I am excited about the idea of learning this new technology. I am hoping my learning experience goes smoothly and if it does I will continue on with my next technological conquest during the following quarter.
Resources:
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.
ISTE.nets. (2008). The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx.
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