PERSONAL GROWTH PLAN
“Fourteen students about to change the world”
Week 1
As I look around our classroom, I see teachers from all areas, both academic and geographic. The impact of these fourteen teachers on the learning of their future students is immeasurable.
Lives are being changed exponentially almost on an hourly basis. Having learned more in the past three days than I would normally learn in a month or longer makes me even more excited to share in this experience.
I was always the teacher wanting to take technology classes, even as far back as twenty years ago. I bought my six year old son a used Commodore 64. He’s now 27 and develops hardware and software as a career.
Teachers would often come to me for assistance with computer issues. “Using Computers/Internet for Instruction” types of courses can be found scattered in my earlier transcripts. Then something happened; technology began to develop so quickly that it became difficult to keep up. I began relying on students for help with newer technology.
Several people I know completed this program and raved about it. When all the pieces finally came together, I found myself here and couldn’t be happier.
My brain is swimming with knowledge that I didn’t even know I didn’t know. I’ve now worked with technology that I didn’t know existed. I’ve often thought how difficult it is to instruct this course, as Year 1 last year can’t be anything like Year 1 this year. Much of the technology being taught this year wasn’t even available this time last year. I’ve tried to explain to friends what our days are like. I can’t.
When I arrived here, I was hoping to learn how to record and edit videos of students’ work in my classroom. I wanted to explore various options for delivery of class presentations. Finding ways to circumvent security restricitions on my school’s server and classroom computers would make my teaching easier. Now I realize I set my goals too low.
Beyond those hopes, I now have specific lessons that I can teach in my class; the marshmallow tower will be one of the first activities I try. Students need to understand the necessity of preplanning and functioning in a group. Looking at the world creatively through the lens of the camera has potential as a strong writing prompt for my 8th grade language arts classes.
However, now I realize the following ideas and software will allow many changes to my program.
Google Docs will completely alter how students do peer edits and submit work for evaluation in my class. Collaboration becomes so much easier for group projects when students can work together from their own home computers. I particularly like the availability of checking to see how much input each student has provided in the development of the program.
Something as simple as the split screen presentation video we saw offers my students a great way of presenting two sides to the story. I can’t wait to share this idea with the history teacher on my team.
Students will be encouraged to utilize the software we are working with to add technological variety to their presentations. Each student in my class must do at least five presentations each year. I can’t wait to see what they can develop. I also want to level the playing field so that each student has the opportunity to explore new technology. Now it is just a few students who have more advanced level skills.
I am still looking at various options to provide immediate feedback to my students about lesson plans, due dates, changes, etc. We have explored several options, but I’m still not sure which program is the best. Often students have limited internet access in their homes on the military base. Other students often must wait 2 to 3 weeks to get internet if they are moving. However, being able to access lesson plans while away would certainly make it easier to keep their education continuing even if they are not in school. This would also eliminate the excuse, “But you didn’t email me my assignments.” Almost every student has a cell phone by the time they are in 8th grade. I should take advantage of that situation, as well.
I think about when my own children and I have taken correspondence/online courses in the past. Today’s technology changes the very essence of what can be available in distance education. This, in particular, is something that I would like to be involved in throughout the next several years. I see working with students online/virtually as a great “retirement” job for me.
It’s hard to predict what Year 2 and Year 3 will bring as the future holds so many possibilities. How much will technology change in the next eleven months?
Unfortunately, much of my future professional experience working with technology is controlled by DoDEA and the military. Our school servers are directly connected with the military servers, which of course makes no sense to anyone dealing with the daily frustrations of security blocks. Yet, the military is now being encouraged to use FaceBook and Twitter to interact with their families from downrange. Unfortunately, we don’t have access to those programs within our schools.
I know when the program is over for the summer, I will no longer be the same teacher I was on June 27th. What an exciting time for education!
Week Two -- July 8, 2010
Photo galleries, blogs, wikis, videos, Edmodo, Prezis, web sites, web pages, oh, my!
What should I use? How will these fit into my 8th Grade Language Arts class? How do I determine what technology is best for my students’ success?
In a perfect world, I see students developing a web page on a class website, using Prezi to analyze literary elements of a book, developing a video portfolio of their class presentations, engaging in online study groups through Wiki or Edmodo, producing a commercial illustrating a persuasive advertising technique, and having a portfolio of their written work saved to their own CD to take with them to high school.
How do I buck the system? Which of these technologies will be available for me to use in my classroom? Will my students even have sufficient access time to computers to do their basic work, let alone use more advanced technology? This is a concern that is always in the back of my mind.
Realistically what do I know I can use:
Google Docs will change how my students edit their own and their peers’ writing. I am hoping that I can work it so that I can review and grade students’ work online. The final draft they submit would be the hard copy that gets put up in the hallway with all final corrections made.
At this time, Edmodo is not blocked on our school computers. This will likely be the major program to transform my classroom and my teaching.
Prezi will offer an alternative to PowerPoint and will be required as one of the student’s book report presentations.
It would be interesting to try using a Wiki, instead of Outlook email, to support team planning and discussion about students and events. We get so many emails every day that important details often get lost.Week 3 - July 16, 2010
WEEK 3 July 16, 2010
“The cup runneth over”
How do I organize all the new information, websites, tools, knowledge that I have gained in the past three weeks. I feel scattered and I feel the information is scattered. I entered this class with no blog, no Myspace, no RSS feeds, no Picasa or Flikr account. Google was only used for searching; knowing nothing else. Prezi was the word for gifts in England, but now I know how to Diing and Jing.
The task of sorting out this new information is daunting. Impementing it seems to be a formidable task. I want to bring this knowledge back to my school, but with a principal with her own agenda, there won’t be support there. The teacher in the room next door has taught the same lessons for years and the teacher on the other side of me is always looking for new methods, but is overwhelmed with running extra-curricular activities and keeping a family going.
Hopefully, I can find a way to change my own style of teaching and have that trickle “down” to my team members.
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