Thursday, June 20, 2013

Final Blog Post: Reflection

As this course comes to an end, I reflect on how much I have learned through the integration of technology across the content areas. Teaching students with disabilities always requires me to differentiate my instruction and find several avenues for my students to show what they know. With the use of technology, they are able to use their creative sides and produce work they feel proud of. "While technology is not essential to creating authentic, learner-centered instruction, it offers a powerful resource for engaging students in authentic experiences, typically increasing both their motivation and their learning" (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 51).

Through the use of the GAME plan, I learned how important it is for my students to become self-directed learners. When they can create goals for themselves, monitor them throughout the learning process and evaluate their own learning, it helps them create more meaningful experiences with the content.  While technology is not the end all be all to learning, it enhances students' learning so that these meaningful experiences can occur. Students become creative thinkers where they are confident in their own ability, motivated to achieve the goals they have set for themselves, and are flexible to any changes that may need to occur throughout the process (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). Ultimately we want to create authentic learning environments that develop these critical and creative thinking skills while teaching the content standards and the GAME plan does exactly that. As I enter into the next school year, I plan on getting more involved with my goals and work on creating more of these meaningful experiences for my students with the use of technology.

Giving students alternatives to the traditional paper and pencil method of showing what they have learned is something I plan to do in the future with my lessons. I really think my students would benefit from the use of digital storytelling where they are given the option to incorporate pictures, music, narration and words to convey their message to more than just their classmates. I also like the idea of incorporating problem-based learning into some of my lessons because it will encourage students to work together and think outside the box on issues that are real to them. They are able to learn content deeply and can apply this learning to new situations. I want my students to be critical thinkers of all things, and the use of problem-based learning helps them achieve those goals.

Technology is a wonderful tool because it hits upon all the learning styles and all levels. If a student is completely turned off by the subject material, there is generally a reason. Technology provides the means for students to become engaged so that the content becomes more meaningful to them. By having students utilize technology, we are opening their eyes to a whole new set of skills that will be required of them once they leave us.


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.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). [Executive Producer]. Promoting Self-Directed Learning with Technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

After we have set goals for ourselves and begin to put our GAME plan into action, we must monitor and evaluate our progress toward obtaining those goals. Just like we want our students to assess their learning throughout a lesson, we must assess our goals in order to know where we are going and how we are going to get there (Laureate Education, Inc, 2010).

As the school year is coming to an end, I am realizing how difficult it is to take my lessons and begin to find ways to integrate technology into them. This is definitely a project that I will want to really dive into over the summer and at the beginning of the school year. I have been successful at finding some resources to help me along the way. Technology integration is definitely something that requires advance planning in order to reserve resources and be sure I know how to operate the device before setting my students on it (even though they probably know more than I do!). I have found that it is also important to have a back up plan just in case that particular digital tool does not want to cooperate that day! The nice thing about that is I already have the general lesson planned so that can be my back up if the technology is not working out for me. One lesson that I have already transformed and implemented with my students involved having them respond to their novel prompts through a classroom blog that I set up instead of writing or typing them and only submitting them to me. This easy transition has allowed my students to collaborate more with each other and leave really constructive feedback. They have really impressed me with this and it took virtually nothing for me to set up the blog!

I have also done some research in terms of technology conferences that are going to be offered next year that I would like to attend. I found one that is really interesting to me called The Teaching Professor Technology Conference http://www.teachingprofessor.com/conferences/technology-conference-2013. It is a little distance away and costs more than the usual conference so I will have to broach it with my headmaster before the year is over so we can work to see if there is money in the budget for me to attend. I would really like our technology teacher to be able to attend as well so we can collaborate and bring back great ideas for our faculty for next year!

At this point, I do not feel that I need to revise my plan, but I will definitely need to continue to monitor my progress especially as I put into action more throughout the summer and beginning of next year. One thing that I need to always remember when embarking on this GAME plan is that "technology should only be used when it facilitates learning, and not simply as a novelty" (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 146). I do not need to transform every lesson, but only where it deems appropriate and where it will enhance my lessons for my students.


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. 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Assessing Student Learning with Technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Carrying Out Your Game Plan

In order to continue with my GAME plan, I must look into the variety of technology tools that I have available at my disposal. "Digital tools can help you customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources" (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 109). When we incorporate technology into our lesson plans, we are hitting upon all learning styles so that we may reach and teach all students.

In order to begin to carry out my first goal of my GAME plan, I knew I could use the help of our technology specialist at the school. I sat down with her to discuss the different technologies we have at the school and we talked about ways to use them in my current unit on a novel that we are reading, Across Five Aprils. She discussed ways for my students to use a web tool called "Toondoo" to create comic scenes representing main events in the story. She also showed me how my students could create concept maps for each of the characters to help them remember the different traits of each as we read since there are several throughout the book. Another avenue I would like to seek out is the help of my other English colleagues to talk about ways we can enhance our units to incorporate other classes so that we open up a wide range of collaboration between the grades.

I may need to wait to carry out the second goal of my GAME plan until the next school year begins considering we only have 9 class days left in this year. I have started to research different conference offerings for next year around my area and have also talked to our technology specialist about having her join me as well. I find it is always best to have someone else go with you to a conference because you can come away with different insights and ideas to share with the rest of our school. I have made a tentative plan with her to meet several times next year so that she can help me work on incorporating technology into my units throughout the year as well as ways we can share our learning with the rest of the school so that we hopefully start a trend with technology integration within our school.

Our population of students all have special needs and I think would really benefit from digital tools being incorporated into their classrooms so that all learning styles are being met. I think we may see many of their "disabilities" become their "abilities".


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.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Developing Your Personal Game Plan


Just as our students need to continue to learn new content everyday, we too as educators need to do the same. The GAME plan “requires you to think about and take steps to direct your learning process, specifically while learning about technology and how to integrate it into the curriculum” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3). Overall, I have always felt very comfortable with technology since I grew up in the beginnings of the technology era. With that being said, I still feel like I have a lot of work to do with many of my lessons to integrate technology and make my lessons more interesting and engaging for my students as much as possible.

While looking at the National Education Standards for Teachers in regards to technology, there were two areas that I would like to work on in order to provide my students with the best possible education. One goal that I have for myself is in working with the Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments standard (NEST-T, 2008). I would like to take enhance my lessons and my students’ learning experiences through the use of digital tools and resources. The second goal that I have for myself is in working with the Engaging in Professional Growth and Leadership standard (NEST-T, 2008). I would like to attend more technology conferences and learn about the new technologies that continue to arise and ways that I can incorporate it into my classroom. With that, I would also like to start presenting my findings during our share sessions at school so that my colleagues can be informed as well.

In order to achieve these goals, I must have a plan of action in place. I can begin designing and developing digital age learning experiences for my students by taking a look at my lessons one at a time and collaborating with my colleagues to enhance lessons and eventually units. This could take a lot of time and effort on my part, but if I work on it little by little, I would have several lessons that have been improved through the use of technology. I can also begin looking into local conferences around my county as well as online videoconferences to continue learning about the latest technologies that will enhance my lessons. I need to talk to my head master ahead of time, to schedule a share session twice year to provide information to my colleagues as well.

Once I have set my plan into action, it is important to always monitor whether I am making progress on these goals and find ways that I would need to improve if I am not finding the information that I need. It is important to be sure that I am not centering my lessons around the technology, but that I am using it to enhance my lessons. My first goal can be a large one to tackle so I need to be specific in how many lessons a semester I plan on evaluating.

As with any lesson, I must evaluate and reflect on my progress to be sure goals have been met and how I can change things for the future to correct any problems. The best way for me to do this is through my students’ reactions and knowledge learned from lessons that I have enhanced. Even asking feedback from them would give me an idea of what I can improve upon next time. Continuing to be a life-long learner myself will help me create more active and engaging for my students and keep my lessons current. Technology is a great tool that we can use to help bring our students to a better understanding of the skills that we present to them on a daily basis.

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.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers  
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology: Part 2. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Final Reflection

At the beginning of this course, I felt that I more closely related to the constructivist perspective. I felt that learning is entirely based on the individual and their experiences with the mental processes created (Lever-Duffy, & McDonald, 2008, p17). As I have ventured through this course, I find that my perspective is much the same, but I also have been leaning more towards the social learning theories. By collaborating and conversing with others, I feel that students have a better understanding of the content being presented and can work on building artificats together. As Dr. Michael Orey stated, "we often learn best when we can teach the material to others" (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). This course has helped me realize that this instructional strategy is a key component to what my students will be involved in when they enter the workforce and that I need to be providing as many opportunities as possible for them to collaborate with one another. By incorporating technology tools, I am able to tap into the diverse needs of my students and expose them to more engaging lessons that surround them in their every day lives.

As I reflect on the adjustments that I need to make in my classroom regarding technology integration, I find that I will need to begin slowly and find the best tools that will work with each of my lessons. I have been exposed to quite a bit of technology tools in this course that I have never had experience with, so it will take some time on my part to understand the benefits and best practices before I introduce them to my students. Being that I teach students with disabilities, it is important that I am very concrete in my directions on how to use the particular devices and I give them ample opportunities to practice using them. I have also looked at not only using technology to enhance my lesson presentations, but also the difference of having students use them as learning tools and creating their own artifacts. It is important for me to be able to incorporate technology in both ways to make sure I am meeting the needs of all of my students.

One technology tool that I would like to start using more with my students is the Smartboard. I often use it more to display my lessons and keep students engaged, but it is a great tool for students to use even for drill and practice lessons that are often daunting for them. Incorporating that kinestic movement will help students retain the information better. I would also like to start using blogs and wikis more with my students and have them branch out to communicate with others in the community on novels that we have read and have meaningful discussions that way as well. The web opens up a variety of ways for students to become experts on certain topics, and what better way than to have them working with others out in the community.

One long-term goal that I have for myself in regards to technology integration, work on tweeking my PowerPoint presentations so they involve more visual features rather than words so that the lessons are more engaging for my students. This will take some practice because I do tend to forgot everything I want to present to my students and the text on the PowerPoint often is a great reminder for me, but what Dr. Orey mentioned about Paivio's dual coding hypothesis, this would be a much better way to present my material (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Another long-term goal I have for myself is to continue to become more knowledgable about the technology tools that are available and how I can integrate them into my classroom. The more I can saturate my students in technology, the better prepared they will be for the future.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Social Learning Theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved fromhttp://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Technology: Instructional Tool vs. Learning Tool [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved fromhttp://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008).Theoretical foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

In this week's learning resources, Dr. Michael Orey highlighted upon the importance of social learning theories in education today.We are seeing these theories becoming more and more prominent in education as we move through the 21st Century as students are engulfed in technology. Social constructivism states that students learn best when they are actively engaged in constructing artifacts while conversing with others (Laureate Education, Inc, 2011). By communicating with their peers, students are able to make concepts more concrete and participate in higher level thinking.

The instructional strategy that was discussed this week that correlates with the social learning theories is cooperative learning. Students are building knowledge together and are each responsible for learning information and teaching it to each other. One thing Dr. Orey mentioned that really stuck with me is that we learn better wen we are able to teach the material. I think back to myself in grade school and how difficult it was to master certain concepts and then when I turned into a teacher, those concepts became so much more clearer as I taught them. In order for students to be "prepared for the fast-paced, virtual workplace that they will inherit, today's students need to be able to learn and produce cooperatively" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.139). Having students use multimedia and web resources, students are able to create videos, power points and hands-on projects which can take their learning to a higher level. No longer are students limited to their own classroom to work with their peers, they can use Skype to connect to friends in other schools and children around the globe to learn about new cultures and concepts.

Social learning theories were definitely not a thing of the past, but we will be seeing them become the predominant learning theory in the classroom as we go through the 21st Century. With new technologies that continue to evolve, students are getting so many opportunities to participate in engaging lessons and teach other!

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program three: Social Learning Theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved fromhttp://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

VoiceThread: http://walden.voicethread.com/share/4099284/ 


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Constructivism in Practice

Dr. Michael Orey discussed constructivism this week and defined it as "a theory of knowledge stating that each individual actively constructs his or her own learning" (Laureate Education, Inc, 2011). The main focus lies on getting students to build things and having students engaged in their learning and the process of creating artifacts.

One instructional strategy that we looked at this week talked about students generating and testing hypothesis. When doing this, students are "engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 202). Allowing students to create their own hypothesis and then test them out, we are giving them the freedom to construct and build new knowledge. As teachers, we must be giving some of the reins to our students so that learning can occur. Activities such as problem solving, experimental inquiry, and decision making all give students the power to build their knowledge. Oftentimes, I will put my students in groups for such activities where they can build on their knowledge together and construct new ideas and hypothesis. I find that more students are more engaged and enjoy learning more when they are able to go off on their own and investigate. Technology can play a big role in this instructional strategy by taking the tedious part of an activity and making it much quicker so that students can focus on the actual content and learning. Using the Internet for research projects and data collection is also a great tool for students to use while generating and testing their hypothesis. Dr. Michael Orey also discussed the benefits of using power point in classrooms for not only displaying new information, but allowing students to create their own to show knowledge. I am currently using this technology tool in my classroom as my students have just finished reading their own "Who Was" biography and will be using power point to present important findings. They are also encouraged to dress up as their person to enhance their presentation. By doing this, students are building on their knowledge and presenting it in a way that is all their own.

Overall, the constructivism theory is all about students building and constructing their own knowledge. Students are taking more control of their learning within this theory and continue to test and question the information that they receive. I think this theory will become more and more prominent as we go through the 21st century.


Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program five: Cognitive learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved fromhttp://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with
classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.