Online Learning PowerPoint Presentation

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B7tRGgTh_iXeNzg4YjFhODMtMGM1NC00OTFlLWJmZjEtNzQ1NmRiZDNlYTQ2&hl=en&authkey=CImgpM0N

Reflection

I am glad that I was able to take "Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology." This class was very helpful in making me aware of how to use UDL and DI in my classroom. It also taught me how I could incorporate technology into my lessons while using these strategies.

I think that I will definitely change some things in my classroom immediately. I plan to begin implementing UDL and DI into my classroom lessons more often. I found that I was already using these methods in my classroom to some extent. However, there is so much more that I can do! I plan to find more online programs that I can use in the classroom to differentiate instruction for students. I also plan to use some programs to allow students to blog about what they are learning in my math classroom as well. Finally, I plan to make more of an effort to assess my students through non-traditional methods like projects, etc. I would definitely like to offer my students more choice in the classroom when it comes to how they show that they have learned new concepts.

Next year when I start fresh with new students I will incorporate even more of the new methods and ideas that I have learned through this course.

Final Blog Post

I am glad I had the opportunity to create a GAME Plan for learning some of the NET-T Standards and using them in my classroom. Although I have not yet integrated my plan into my classroom, I am planning to use it next semester in my Geometry classroom. I am very excited about creating two meaningful technology activities to use in my classroom!

I think mainly I learned that I need to make more of an effort to integrate more technology into my classroom. I need to have a plan that I can use to slowly get more comfortable with using technology in my classroom. I think having a plan will be key to really getting it done!

Since my GAME Plan goal was to create new technology activities for use in my classroom, I will definitely make some immediate changes to my instructional practices. One thing I plan to start at the start of the new semester is the use of www.schoology.com with my classes. I am very excited about this. I also plan to create at least one meaningful technology activity for each 9 weeks.

I have enjoyed this class! I think it has definitely been one that has inspired me to get to work creating new activities for my students!

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

I do think that the GAME Plan process could be a great learning tool for students to really make a plan to learn more about technology and what is available to them as students. I also think that it could be a great tool to help students follow through on their goals. I think that it could be implemented in the classroom in much the same way that it was implemented during this course. I feel that students could look over the standards and choose one that they feel a little uncomfortable with. I could help them to write their goals and come up with a plan to meet those goals.

I do have one concern for my classroom specifically. Right now in my district, technology is becoming a bigger deal. Every classroom in the district has a promethean or smart board. We have added computer labs to each school as well. They do support us using technology in our classrooms and even expect us to use it. However, we also have an even bigger push for teaching the content standards to students, and it can be difficult in a math class to have the time to teach every standard. There has not been a push to teach students the technology standards in NET-S. Therefore, using the GAME Plan to help my students learn the NET-S standards does not seem feasible right now. However, I could see myself implementing it to help students meet some sort or math goals that they set for themselves. We could even include the use of technology to help students meet their goals.

Revising your GAME Plan

What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice? What goals are you still working toward?

I feel that throughout this master's program, I have learned so many new thing that I can apply to my teaching practice. Right now I am seriously considering using a social networking site to have my students submit assignments to on a regular basis. I cannot remember the name of one that my cousin is using in her classroom, but she said that it is set up much like facebook, but is a safe site that students can only use after being given a password from the teacher. This could be used in so many ways in the classroom. I am looking forward to implementing it into my classrooms second semester! I still have so many goals to work towards meeting. I want to be a teacher who truly puts to practice this new knowledge that I am gaining in my master's courses, so I have a lot of work to do to make my instruction the best that it can be!

Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?

Since I feel that I still have not truly met the goals that I set for myself in the first place, I am not ready to set new goals for myself.

If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far?

Again, I hope to begin using the social networking site in my classroom. I also hope to implement new technology-based activities into my classroom each 9 weeks.

What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?

To improve my learning, I think I need to spend more time really learning about different web sites that are available for me to use in my classroom and I also need to spend a significant amount of time determining exactly how I want to implement them into my classroom, making sure that everything I do in the classroom is intentional, and nothing is just "fluff." I want to have a yearlong plan that outlines how I will use technology specifically in each class to teach the standards and keep students engaged and interested in the learning process at the same time. I am excited about all of the possibilities that these new technologies bring!

Evaluating my GAME Plan Progress

I feel that this week I am very much in the same place that I was in last week as far as the implementation of my GAME Plan. Since I have decided to implement my GAME Plan for next semester in my Geometry classes, I have not yet decided on specific projects to use. I think my next step needs to be to decide exactly which two units (one first 9 weeks and one second 9 weeks) I would like to create my technology activities for. I would like the two activities to be somewhat spread out so that they fall at least 6 weeks apart. Once I decide on specific units to use for my activities I can really begin to plan specific activities for my students. I want to make sure that the activities are truly engaging and I want to make sure that they are standards-based since I only have so much time to teach all of the standards that they students are required to learn! I also want to make sure that they students will truly learn the standards on their own without too much additional instruction from me (other than a discussion and some modeling afterwards to make sure all students understand). I am excited about my GAME Plan and getting it under way next semester!

Monitoring my GAME Plan Progress

In monitoring my progress on my GAME Plan, I do feel that I need to modify it slightly to make it feel more manageable. My current GAME Plan is set up so that I will create on new technology activity per unit. Although this is still my ultimate goal, I think for now I would just like to focus on creating one very meaningful activity per 9 weeks. I would also like to add that since I am getting ready to start a new semester with new students in January, I would really like to focus on starting my GAME Plan next semester. I have already begun to brainstorm some ideas that I can possibly use for my projects. However, I have not come to the point where I have surely decided on what projects to implement. I will be implementing these into CP Geometry classes, so I think it will be easy to do, but I really want to make sure I plan meaningful activities that my students will get excited about and have the opportunity to show off what they have learned in a creative way. There are still so many things that I need to do to get this GAME Plan going, but I feel that now that I have changed it to just two activities, I can really focus on making two GREAT activities. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them. Have you done similar activites in your own classrooms that I could benefit from? Thanks for the input! I look forward to hearing from you!