Friday, December 10, 2010

GAME Plan Week 6

My website seems to be coming along nicely. Part of my GAME plan is to monitor my progress on how well the project is developing (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009), and I can definitely say I am learning more and more about the program. I have discovered how to overcome some of the issues I mentioned in my last blog, and my confidence on how to use some of the technology is growing.

Most of my learning comes in the form of being self-directed because I have a task I need to fulfill, and I am researching and teaching myself how to actually create the website (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). It is important for me to become a more self-directed learner because new technology is expanding so rapidly I need to take more of an initiative to seek out how this technology can help my classroom teaching and teach myself how to use it. My research comes in the form of looking at other teacher’s websites to see what type of layout and items they have, and I receive ideas for my own site by looking at others. Also, I have been utilizing the help feature for the web building program in order to teach myself how to create my site. As of now, I have not been able to meet with the technology expert from my school due to scheduling conflicts and time commitments, but I am still making progress at a steady pace.

The only challenge I still have is placing a calendar onto my website. I want to have a place for important dates on my website, so I thought a calendar would be a great idea so students can see when certain papers and projects may be due and dates for quizzes and tests. Obviously, I can simply write down important dates in list form on the side of the website, but I believe a calendar would be more ascetically pleasing and be more organized for the students. The help section does not seem to provide information on this topic, but I will keep on looking for solutions.

I have been completing various pages on the website and it seems to be going well. I have a basic foundation laid for the website, but I have to consider what I am going to use the actual website for and how will it benefit my students. I want to make sure my students are using the website in order to help with their learning and that the website is beneficial for all students.


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.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Dustin.

    I'm glad you are making progress with your website! It's so motivating when things work out! I feel pretty fortunate that my school district offers a site for us to create our own website. In the past, I would use the main page to explain what we were studying in each of my classes, along with announcements, character education information, etc. I also had a page with a calendar that I used for assignments. Parents are always saying that their kids come home and say they don't have any work or it was done at school. With the website, parents can look to see what was studied and what was assigned. I always loved this feature. I also had a page for downloads that I would include notes, "how to" sections, information like websites, books, etc. that could be useful, and so on. I also included a page where adults and kids could both comment.

    I have been trying to initiate blogging but haven't been able to get many answers yet. I'm still waiting for my principal to get time to talk to me about it.

    It sounds like you have really taken the initiative, just like a good self-directed learner would, and have sought out the necessary resources to help you implement the website. I hope you can get answers on inserting the calendar since it is a great tool to have.

    Good luck!
    Krista

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