Resources:
One of the biggest pieces to executing my game plan will be access to computers next year. This year it has been difficult getting the tools that I want to use when I want to use them. The computer labs in our school are constantly full between classes utilizing them and students testing on them. In the fall I plan on mapping out time in the library for each of our units to ensure access. Also each team has four netbooks for student use. This year I have not taken advantage of these as I did not always know how best to use four netbooks with a class of 30 students. Next year I will make sure I have access at least once a week and devlope stations that students can rotate through to achieve the goals that I want my students to.
Additional information:
I need to obtain more information on how to obtain more technology in my class. I know that teachers in my school have utilized our district technology coordinator to receive more technology. I need to be in contact with her and also keep my eye out for possible grant opportunities.
Actions:
This week I have spent some time examining the capabilities of edmod. I continue to be amazed at some of the capabilities this program has. This week I spent some time reading the help page on the edmodo website to learn more about the capabilities of the program. There are a few interesting things that I would like to highlight. First being that parents can be issued a specific key that allows them to access the edmodo page but only allows them to see what their student sees and only interact with me. Another really cool feature is the ability to create assignments that students submit online. I know that currently I have student email things to me and it can become quite a pain finding them when I get around to grading them. I have also gone a head and started to set up my own personal edmodo page. I have even convinced some of my teammates to look into using the program next year for their classes. One really cool feature we discovered was that assignments for different groups will show up together on one students calender. I feel like I have made a good start and will continue to search out video tutorials and fellow teachers who are using edmodo so I can get a better grasp of how specifically I want to use the site in my class next year. I am really excited about this because I will give me a venue to provide students the choices of media and contexts to learn about our curriculum which a key aspect of using the Universal Design for Learning (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 123)
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.
Nicholas.
ReplyDeleteLike you, one of the main issues I face in implementing my GAME plan is having access to technology in the classroom. I think mapping out a plan, like you mentioned, is a good idea. Talking to your district technology coordinator about possibly obtaining needed technology is also a good idea. Another idea is to try to obtain technology or technology funds through grant writing. While I have not written any grants as of yet (other than those through donors choose.org), I do have a colleague (a Science Teacher) who has had multiple grants funded. I hope to work with her next year in writing a few grants that span cross-curricular.
On another note, it sounds like you are making great progress with edmodo.org!
Good post.
Tonya Todd
Nicholas,
ReplyDeleteI understand your struggle in accessing computers for your entire class. One strategy my school used was to create a schedule to ensure that all classes had the opportunity to use the lab once a week. This was a great option for grades K-3 because they are self-contained classrooms, but unfortunately for me, only one of my four classes could access the computer lab a week. This made scheduling assessments and activities that utilized technology very difficult. While the solution was not perfect, it was a good start.
I love your idea of creating stations in order to utilize the four netbooks that you have available. I understand that having four netbooks is not ideal, but you will create movement in your classroom with the stations. My students always enjoy moving form station to station as opposed to sitting in one seat the entire class.
Good luck with your plan!
Amanda
Nicholas,
ReplyDeleteI also have difficulty finding enough time in the computer lab at my school. Just like Amanda, my school decided to make a weekly schedule. This ensured that every class had a set computer lab time each week. While this is a positive, it does not always work out. Our schedules sometimes change. Some projects require more computer lab time than just once each week. Needless to say once a week is not ideal, but could be a step in the right direction for your school if set into place.
You also mentioned that each team has four netbooks. Your idea to use these in stations should work fairly well for you. Another idea is to share with other teams. Are you able to share netbooks with another team? My school received ipads this year with grant money. However, each class only received four ipads. As you know, this is not ideal for lessons. Another teacher and I decided to put our ipads together and coordinated times that we wanted to use them. It worked out great since it is more effective to have access to eight ipads at one time rather than four. Talk with your colleagues, since they may have other ideas. Sometimes so of the best solutions come from people in our own schools. Good luck!
Shonda
I think the scheduled one day a week for each teacher in the computer lab is great but I have a hard time envisioning it working my school. With three four person cores at each grade level 6, 7, 8, and teachers having four different classes a day it would be too complicated to implement in my school. I have in the past borrowed netbooks from other cores and this seems to be my best option for getting most of my students on the computers at one time.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest that once you get your basic site up and running that you might ask a small group of students to come in and test the site. Ask them to analyze it; what is challenging, what do they like, what don’t they like, what do they wish this site had to help them etc? This way you can first hand feedback on how the students will interact with the software and be able to continue seeking support on how to solve these issues. There is an ELA teacher in my school that has students assigned to specific days where they can use the 2 computers that are mounted in the back of her classroom. She has a periods of Silent Sustained reading where 2 students will get 10 minutes to go online and review the books they are reading online, they will then switch and 2 more will get on. She says this is a great way to track student understanding of what they are reading and increasing engagement. Students can then comment and track each other’s progress. Maybe this is a type of construct you can use with the netbooks or something similar.
ReplyDeleteI have found stations to be extremely useful, especially when computer access is very limited. One thing I do struggle with is making it so each station takes the same amount of time as the others. There are times when I overload certain stations and the rotations get messed up. Do you have any suggestions with stations?