Throughout our Walden Course we have been picking up a lot of great ideas and insights from our resources and communicating with other teachers in blogs and discussions. I've been working these new ideas into my own GAME plan and I think that it has really made a difference in providing a better quality of education in my classroom. Some of the ideas that I have implemented or plan on implementing is a podcast assignment and an overhaul of my classroom website so that it is a communication portal for my students.
I am still working towards my GAME plan goals of implementing one online collaborative assignment and one assignment that gives students several technology options to complete. I have been successful so far and I would really like to stay on top of my plan as this Walden course wraps up.
Looking at the NETS for teachers I think I would like to expand my goals to work more towards the 6th technology standard of social, ethical, and human issues. I feel that I should be teaching and modeling a lot more of the proper and ethical ways for using the internet so that my younger students start on the right foot to use the internet safely and with purpose.
I think the key to continuing to work towards goals and developing new goals is to communicate with other technology savvy teachers to borrow ideas and clarify our own thinking. I'm planning on continuing to take ideas from teachers in my Walden courses, other employees in my building, and other teachers that I have met and connected with online.
If any other Walden teachers know of a good place to network with other teachers who integrate technology in the classroom please share and enjoy the rest of this week.
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I am also trying to focus on teaching my students how to ethically and safely use the internet. Our school district has filters in place to protect them while they are at school. However, our students are part of a one to one initiative so they are allowed to take their computers home. It is when the students are home that they are more likely to stumble upon inappropriate websites or use social networking sites to bully other students or post inappropriate material or pictures. It is a tough job to teach middle school students to use the internet in a safe manner. This is one of my goals for this year.
ReplyDeleteI am also making a new goal for makin ethic choices on the internet. As you said, we should model this more than verbalizing it without visual. I have falling victim of not citing or giving credit to the website I barrowed the information from. I need to began doing that in front of my students and now have a goal to do so with every worksheet and materials I use.
ReplyDeleteAs for your last paragraph, connecting to technology savvy teachers is the best way to grow yourself in this field. I know that I am a visual learner and having teachers to show me allows me to learn quicker and reflect better on how I can implement technology into the classroom more efficently.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteI am also concerned with guiding students to a safe and ethical use of the internet. With my 12th graders, we work on a lesson plan on these topics. This is a link that we have found helpful for developing and discussing students' opinions and ideas http://webliminal.com/Lrn-web09.html
Miriam
Jason, I've used Twitter to network with other teachers in my field. If you need any help in using it check out my user profile at hogues71 on Twitter.com.
ReplyDeleteI want to thank everyone for the comments and suggestions. It seems like we are all on the same page of giving students the tools to surf the internet safely. I checked out the website that Miriam suggested and I saw a lot of great information. Some of the content might have been a little overwhelming for my younger kids but I saw that it really covered a myriad of legal and ethical issues that are important. I'm going to continue to collect mentors and colleagues that I can work with as a support group. I also will look into using twitter to make some of those connections happen. Thanks again and I hope everyone is enjoying the rest of the weekend.
ReplyDeleteJason
Jason, collaborating with other teachers (tech savvy or not) is a good way to learn and share from other professionals. If you can, I would also suggest attending local technology conferences if your school is willing to send you to them. Attending conferences is another way to build a network of teachers. Like Steve mentioned, Twitter is also another way to start your network of teachers. I follow a colleague of mine who also follows other teachers. I have found some useful tips on Twitter. Best of luck in achieving your goals.
ReplyDeleteI teach second grade and am contemplating doing a very simple online assignment. Our district holds a tight reign. They just approved wiki work. I will have to start there. You are very fortunate.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Mark