Blog Week 7

Going through the GAME plan structure, I found myself reflecting on several things. The largest realization I found was that we now exist in a world where isolation of thought it very rare. Between technology and the internet, our very thoughts and ideas can be shared beyond the walls of our classroom. We can find those around us who agree or disagree with our thoughts, like or dislike their statements, and summarize it all down to 140 characters. As an educator, we must realize then that our classroom should reflect these changes in thought. Rather than isolate student thoughts on a page where we as the teacher are the only ones who read it, we should be looking at ways for them to express thought on a larger scale. As a result of my initial work on my GAME plan, I have opened the door to exploring further how I can allow for assessment in new and innovative ways. For example, embracing Google Docs as a platform to allow for students to communicate and collaborate on their writings. I also have started to realize how important it is to use this technology to communicate what it going on in our classroom to the outside world, including the rest of the school, the parents, and the community. When exploring this side of technology, I realized how easy this GAME plan would be to utilize with my students. The structure and self-direction in exploring the ideas deeper allowed me to move and adjust where I saw necessary in my plan. The same could be said for my students when they begin researching. Rather than place restrictions on their work, it would be beneficial to explore the GAME plan as a way for allowing them more choice on our research projects.

One immediate change to my instructional practice I will be taking away from my GAME plan will be including one assessment per unit that is technologically based. While overhauling my entire structure would not make sense, I can commit to trying to include either a formative or a summative assessment in each unit. The most logical way to use this will be through the writing process and for group discussions. The reason being that these both allow for the participatory nature of what technology brings and also allows for students to communicate with a larger audience. I also will begin using Twitter and Facebook as a way to communicate and create community with my students. By allowing them to communicate with each other and  myself as their teacher, I open the door for extending my classroom beyond it’s four walls. The biggest thing I have taken away from this course is that rather than use technology just to use technology, it can be utilized to strengthen the classroom and lessons by allowing our classroom to be bettered by it.

Week Four: Monitoring the Game Plan

In our world, technology causes what we know to shift daily. What was cutting edge use of technology last year is now dated. One of my favorite things as an educator is reading the new material out there that can inspire new thoughts and new trends. When working through my GAME plan, it became really important for me to see what the cutting edge trends were out there for helping with assessment and communication.

            I began my research with Henry Jenkins’ (2013) Reading in a Participatory Culture. Jenkins’ (2009) book explores a world where students interact with each other in a social media world. Jenkins (2009) argues that students are used to living in a world where their opinions are a few keystrokes away from being shared with the world. Don’t like a video on YouTube? Leave a comment. Like a friend’s Facebook status? Click the “like” button. Upset about your test score? Take to Twitter to rant. What Jenkins (2009) argues is that this aligns itself perfectly with students interacting over text in the classroom. By making assessments over a text less about isolated activities like writing a paper. Instead, we should be looking at ways in which students can participate in each other’s writings. This comes in the form of online forums for writing and allowing students to show mastery in shorter writings like blog posts that can then allow students to interact with each other in a world they are comfortable with. Doing this, Jenkins (2009) argues, allows for the classroom to meet students where they are

             Michael Graham’s Google Apps Meets the Common Core (2013) outlines several apps that can be used through the Google platform for use in the classroom. Many of the apps would not align with my assessment needs, but Graham (2013) does outline the use of Google Docs which would be helpful. With Google Docs, students can write, edit and comment on the same page in real time. Changes are tracked and students can collaboratively create together. Ultimately, the writing process becomes collaborative and allows for students to learn from each other.

             Todd Hick’s Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres (2013) echoes many of the same ideas of the other texts. Hick’s (2013) argues that in order to prepare writers for relevancy in the modern world, they must prepare to share their writings with a larger audience and in different mediums. Hicks (2013) outlines several ways including digital blogs, discussions, video creations and audio recordings to help gauge a writer’s ability. This includes writing more than just literary analysis and typical English classroom writings, but also including forms of writing that will stretch them as readers.

            In regards to my second GAME plan, I worked with Dwight to discuss how he uses Twitter. Dwight explained that he uses it as a way to disseminate information quickly to students and parents, allowing them to easily link to important information on school websites. He also uses it to link articles that he thinks will be beneficial for people to read, whether a staffer or a student.  He uses hashtags to label which group he would like to read the article. I also met with Jeni to look at her portal. She showed me a few easy steps I can take to set up units in advance and then hide them so I can just unlock them for students as needed. She also showed me how to link to several pages my PLC members had already worked on.

            Looking at my GAME plan, my next questions are revolving around where to go next. I am going to start looking at how to best integrate this information with material that I already have in my classroom to improve the units already in place. My only remaining big question is how to make the assessments fit in a way that feels natural without feeling like we’re using technology just to use technology. This will be my goal going forward.

Reference:

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.

Graham, M. (2013). Google apps meets Common Core. New York, New York: Corwin.

Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Chicago,

Illinois: Heinemann.

Jenkins, H. (2013). Reading in a participatory culture: Moby dick in the English classroom.

Teachers College Press.

Week 3: Flushing out the GAME Plan

On my journey to tackle my GAME plan, it becomes important to evaluate what tools I will need in order to achieve these improvements as an educator. In order to do so, I need to structure my needs for each of my goals.

            The first skill I am focusing on is what NETS-T (2012) describes as providing “students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching” (page 1). In order to achieve this, I first need to look at what resources I will need. I have obtained a copy of Henry Jenkins’ (2013) Reading in a Participatory Culture, a book that looks at reading classics like Moby Dick in a culture where students are focused on social media. The book offers options for assessing differently in the context of this generation’s needs and skills. I also have a copy of Michael Graham’s Google Apps Meets the Common Core (2013). Graham’s (2013) books looks at how technology can be used to integrate technology into the day to day classroom. The book outlines the ways in which these tools, which every student at my school has access to, can be utilized in order to help me less formally assess students. Another focus of my GAME plan goal of assessment includes looking at writing utilizing technology. I have also gotten a copy of Todd Hick’s Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres (2013) which look at ways in which students can utilize technology to improve their writing, while also preparing them for the skills necessary for the 21^st century. The only component I may still need to locate is a resource that will give me specific tools to utilize the class set of Kindles I have in my room. I will continue to look for this source.

            My second GAME plan goal focuses around what NETS-T describes as the ability to “Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats” (page 1). As part of this goal, my focus is going to be around how to better utilize the technology available to me in the forms of my class portal webpage, Twitter, and Facebook to communicate with my students, their families, and my peers. Because there are not necessarily resources directed at my exact needs in print, I have decided that the best resources available to me for this goal are actual colleagues. I will be utilizing my principal, Dwight Carter, who was recognized as a national digital principal of the year; my department chair, Jeni Hawkins-Newman, who utilizes her portal extremely well; and our district public relations director, Mallory Sribanditmonkol, who utilizes social media for the district. My goal is to interview them as to how they utilize these tools to better their communication and see how it can be translated to my classroom. For this goal, I will still need to locate a print source or two to support the claims that these experts make in order to strengthen my understanding. I will do this through further research.

            The steps I’ve been able to achieve so far are gathering my resources. I have interviews set up with my colleagues and have procured the resources necessary. The next step will be filling in my further information spots and then beginning to categorize and take notes on the resources available to me.

Reference:

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.

Graham, M. (2013). Google apps meets Common Core. New York, New York: Corwin.

Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Chicago,

Illinois: Heinemann.

Jenkins, H. (2013). Reading in a participatory culture: Moby dick in the English classroom.

Teachers College Press.

Week 2 Blog: Tech Triumph

          Despite being raised in one of the first generations to have personal computers in the house, I have found that when it comes to the classroom, the world of technology is constantly changing and requires that we remain actively engaged. As Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer (2009) point out, educators who hope to prepare their students for the world outside their classroom, they must first understand what that world needs in regards to skill. When looking through the NETS-T indicators, I was encouraged to realize that there were some indicators that I did feel comfortable that I am currently meeting within my classroom.
            However, there are a few spots where I would like to focus my skills. The first skill I would like to focus on is what NETS-T (2012) describes as providing “students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching” (page 1). In order to achieve this goal, I will need to first look at what assessment techniques are available to me that can help me monitor understanding. I will do this by first selecting a unit of study for my students and looking at which assessment tools I currently use. I will then look to pair these current assessments with a form of technology. My progress will be monitored and evaluated by trying to implement one of these new assessment techniques with a group of students in order to compare their effectiveness with the previous assessment. By the end of my goal, I should have an entire unit of formative and summative techniques.
       Besides technology in my classroom, I need to look beyond the confines of my building. NETS-T describe this skill as the ability to “Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats” (page 1). In order to achieve this goal, I will need to work on exploring the options for me to utilize in communicating with those connected to my classroom. I will begin by looking at ways to utilize my school classroom webpage, my Twitter account, my Facebook account, and email list serves to better communicate with parents and students. I will monitor my progress by establishing the forms of communication and practicing how I will utilize them. Being able to remove the walls of my classroom through technology allows anyone connected to it to have access any time of day, which will show ultimate success as a goal.
         Technology has changed drastically since the first time I sat at my parent’s computer. As Theroux (2013) point out, “Computers were originally thought to be programming tools only useful for the technically inclined.  Later,  it was thought that computers would replace teachers and all that was needed was really good software. But experience has taught us that this just is not so” (page 1). Instead of robot teachers, we now see that technology has simply helped us become better educators.

 Reference:

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.

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. (1999). Using technology to enhance learning.

          Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/classtech.html

Theroux, P. (2011). Enhance learning with technology. Retrieved from

          http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/index.htm

Why PLCs are important?

As part of my masters class at Walden, we got into a discussion on Professional Learning Communities or PLCs. As this has become an extension of my PLC, I thought it was the perfect time to reflect on their importance. The following is my discussion from the class:

When I was in my student teaching, I was working with a teacher who was very straight forward when it came to English. When I first met him, he introduced me to the other teachers in the department and said of one of them “This is Debbie. If you want to do touchy, feely, emotion Language Arts stuff, you better talk to her. I don’t do that kind of stuff.” Don’t get me wrong, I think the world of my mentor even to this day, but that was the extent of our professional learning community. We were a team of two and if there was anything else I needed it was down the hall and I would have to seek it out myself. 

As DuFour (2004) states, “Despite compelling evidence indicating that working collaboratively represents best practice … the staff's willingness to collaborate often stops at the classroom door” (pg. 3). My first experiences in the classroom were reflective of this mentality. What happened in your classroom was your business and did not pertain to your peers next door as long as they covered what needed to be covered. When I got my first teaching job, however, I was greeted with what Wilson (2005) refers to as the “village mentality.” No longer were my students just English 10 students. They were social studies, math, music, and art students as well. They were former English 9 students who were bound for English 11. What happened in my classroom touched each of their subjects and if the “village” did not come together, how were we expected to raise an effective student. When Wilson (2005) says “The synchronization of adults and youth is key to young people’s involvement at any level. If adults fail to affirm the significance of youth by providing access, support, and safe opportunities for honest participation, they miss the chance to be part of a ‘joint rhythm’ and youth contributions will be no more than an appearance” (pg. 98). This is where PLCs become important.

I have been lucky in my current school to have common collaborative time with my entire department. As a result, we meet once a week as 10^th grade teachers, once a week as 12^th grade teachers, once a week with my mentor, and once a week as a department. We are lucky enough that this planning time is in addition to our personal planning period. Through this PLC, we have grown leaps and bounds. We are able to develop comment assessments and look at the data. If my students don’t do as well as Teacher A, Teacher A and I can look at how she approached teaching it and I can reflect and adjust accordingly. These periods also allow time for me to work with my department regarding district wide initiatives. As Niesz (2007) argues, these moments are both rewarding and beneficial to all involved because they allow for fluency of instruction.

My district also has a first year teacher program that brings teachers who are new to the district together once a month to discuss common issues to those new to the district and new to teaching. This mentor based program also allows for the new teachers to meet alone to share experiences they may be too embarrassed to discuss with a more experienced faculty member for fear of sounding wrong. These discussions have made me feel like I am not alone in the occasional question or concern. This personal interaction has been an important one.

The best thing about blogging has been that connection to PLCs outside of my school. My blog (www.mrwagnersbigquestion.blogspot.com) has been a way to express and share my ideas as an educator with people that I may never have had the chance to interact with. In fact, I’ll be sharing this discussion post on my blog as well under the question, “Why are PLCs important?” Through feedback from peers both at my school and in other states, I can create a PLC that doesn’t have boundaries, perhaps one of the most valuable things in the world. Having these connections allows me to learn from others, even if we may be worlds apart. I hope to continue the blog as a way of both self-reflecting and connecting with others.

PLCs are able to do more than one person can accomplish. They bring together like minded and unlike minded people and ask them to work together. The interactions, questions and reflections are key to making a functioning educational community (DuFour, 2004).

References:

DuFour, R. (2004). Schools as learning communities. Educational Leadership, 61(8), 6–11. Retrieved

             from http://pdonline.ascd.org/pd_online/secondary_reading/el200405_dufour.html

Niesz, T. (2007). Why teacher networks (can) work. Phi Delta Kappan, 88, 605–610. Retrieved May 24,

             2007, from http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v88/k0704.htm

            Used by permission of Phi Delta Kappan and Tricia Niesz, PhD

Wilson, H. (2005). If it takes a village to raise a child, how many children does it take to raise a village?

             U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from ttp://cydjournal.org/2005Fall/pdf/  

            Wilson_Article.pdf