As pointed out by Cennamo, Ross and Etmer, (2009), as a metacognitive and self-directed learner, I must take cognizance of three important key areas such as meticulous planning, tireless monitoring of the plan and consistent evaluation in order to achieve those goals that I have set for myself. These processes take time and efforts to achieve, however they are surmountable and achievable with concerted efforts. I have set up my GAME Plan, I did put in place the Action to achieve my goal, and I am Monitoring the process so far to see if I am moving towards the right direction. The Evaluation piece is also going on and is on an on-going basis, to do this, I constantly reflect on my actions so as to look for areas where I need to modify and make changes if need be.
Hunt for Information
To achieve the GAME Plan, accessing and gathering of relevant information is critical, as such, I am vigorously looking for information that I need for successfully executing my GAME Plan, the good news is that, the information is out there on the internet, from colleagues, my administrative team, my students and their parents. Dr. Ross advised that we should be on top of everything; we can make use of local, regional and state organizations to scout for all relevant information. There is no shortage of information, the only constraint is time. I need to create more time and sieve through the information I have gathered so far and separate the wheat from the chaff.
Modification of Action Plan
After consulting with colleagues and my administrative team, I had to modify my initial GAME Plan a little. I decided to start small and then consolidate and extend my GAME Plan as I progress incrementally as not to overwhelm myself and students. My initial plan was to model to my students how to model, and teach safe, legal and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property and appropriate documentation of sources. I then plan to introduce three or four different types of new technology tools to my students all at the same time. With consultations colleagues, I have now scaled back the new technology I want to introduce to my students to only two from four, I also plan to start by attending local conferences for the first year or two and the move up to attending international conferences. Some of the information sources include the followings:
Lesson Learned so Far
I have learned so far that collaboration and consultation can be very beneficial, the art of learning and teaching is like an up task, no one can do it all alone. We need to learn from and with other people, two good heads are always better than one. I have also learned that we should not underrate anybody, even our students, they might have a good idea that you may never have thought about, and the students can also contribute to knowledge and even help beyond your imagination.
New Questions That Arose
The new questions that came up during my search for information is what can we do when there is no computer time for students in the school to work on computer and sharpen their skills? Another question in my school is why there is o slot for computer in the students’ time table, especially grade eight students? Having slot for computer in the schedule will give students the opportunity to work on their projects and also improve their general computer skills, since many homes may not have access to high speed internet at home. How do we ensure equity for those students whose parents may not be able to afford the type of resources they need to work with after school? These are some of the questions we came up with; we are still working on how to resolve these contradictions.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach: Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Program 7: Assessing Student Learning with Technology [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Program 7: Assessing Student Learning with Technology [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author
2 comments:
I as well share the same goal of teaching my students the legal and ethical practices of using the Internet. If anything, I have discovered that completing this goal is not something that can be done overnight and takes time to properly accomplish. LIkewise I have gained valuable information from colleagues and other sources and now simply need to put it all together in a way that is most suitable to my needs and the needs of my students. I have found it so helpful to share this process with fellow colleagues as that can guide me in the right direction and let me know their opinions on what they believe will work and not work. It was great that your coworkers suggested your goal of introducing four new technologies would be a tad overwhelming to your students. Now you can look back, make alternations and have a more successful outcome.
Hello Yemi.
I can certainly understand your desire to want to implement as many new types of technologies into your curriculum as possible. I find once I learn about something new, and being really engaged in that learning and the possibilities of all it can do for me in the classroom, I am excited and eager to get started and teach it to the kids. I forget, though, that the time it takes for me to sit down and learn something is one thing. Teaching the lesson to 28 kids with all different learning and interest levels is something completely different, and therefore more time must be spent on learning one or two new concepts as opposed to four, and with ample practice time on each for skill mastery.
Thanks for sharing.
-Heather Davis
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