Thursday, April 26, 2012

Field Experience Major Assessment

Part A Essay Question: Who are your students and what content and/or processes are you teaching? Share the overarching goals and standards of what you want your students to achieve and how you plan to help them achieve with high levels of success. Describe your own content and pedagogical expertise in relation to the subject matter and standards, share, environmental/cultural factors important for the reader to know prior to beginning the field experience activity. I have chosen to work with all of my fourth grade students. The content that I will be teaching them is understanding global economics. The goal of this unit is to teach the students what economics is and how important it is in our lives. I want them to understand various terms used in economics such as, goods and services, entrepreneurship, specialization, interdependence, trade, markets. I also want them to be able to apply their learning in the end of the unit project. Throughout this unit I will incorporate all levels of Bloom's taxonomy and meet the needs of all of my diverse learners and learning styles by using various types of activities and implementing technology.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

GAME Plan Reflection

With EDUC 6713 coming to a close, I want to reflect on the GAME plan that I have developed during this course. I also want to reflect upon my new learning from this course and how it has encouraged me to integrate even more technology into my classroom.

"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, 2010). Throughout the past seven weeks, I have been able to develop and carry out a GAME plan that has encouraged me to step up to the plate and become a leader within my school. I have realized that in order to become a more effective teacher and a leader among my colleagues, I have to discover what my weaknesses are and seek out solutions for improving those weaknesses. One of those weaknesses became the focus for my first GAME plan goal, creating more effective assessments, both formative and summative. I have had access to numerous resources in my school for carrying out this part of my GAME plan. I have also learned throughout this course that they are many ways to use technology to create both formative and summative assessments. From classroom response systems to blogs and wikis to digital storytelling, creating assessments using technology can give us a great deal of information about our students and their learning, and it also encourages the use of the 21st Century Skills. When reflecting on my first goal and the progress I have made, I must say that I am on the right track and am learning a great deal. Therefore, there has been no need to revise or change this plan as of yet.

For my other goal, which is about becoming a leader of technology integration in the classroom, I also feel that I am well on my way to accomplishing this goal and do not feel the the need to revise or change this goal either. Technology is something that I am truly passionate about and I am a leader by nature, so it is only natural that I would want to become a leader of technology within my school. This course has opened my eyes to many new things that I will be able to share with my colleagues. They see my excitement when I talk about using technology into the classroom and they see that I am not afraid to take risks with my lessons. They see me using the PBL approach and how the kids are collaborating and communicating with one another and creating exciting multi-media presentations. Because of this, many of my colleagues have started coming to me for advice or to get ideas of how they could bring more technology into their lessons. This in turn has created more collaboration among us and we are communicating more so than we have ever done. So for me, setting these goals and striving to reach them has not only reignited the passion in me, it has spread amongst my colleagues and I am hoping that it will eventually spread amongst the entire school. It is because of this Masters program and this course, that I have strived to incorporate some type of technology into my classroom every day. I can't wait for the day when we have a one-to-one student/computer ratio and it is coming. That is why it is so important to teach the students how to develop their own GAME plan with goals that they can work towards and how to learn on their own. This is what self-directed learning is all about!

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Crystal Moyer

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

Making progress with any goal is essential. However, reaching goals take time and dedication. As with other goals I have set for myself in my life, I tend to get impatient and want results right now, but I know that is not possible. That is currently how I am feeing about my GAME plan. Even though I am working towards my goal, I won't be satisfied until I get there. For my first goal, which is to create more effective assessments, I have all of the resources I need and this week's resources provided great information regarding the different types of assessments (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). However, even though I have all of the resources I need, I think it is still going to take time and practice to be able to create what I consider effective assessments. I am constantly seeking my colleagues advice and input on tests that i have created and I am also signed up for an in service on creating assessments. With the information gained this week about the different types of assessment formats and the discussion posts regarding these formats, I have learned that it is good to have a balance of all four types of assessments in the classroom and some assessments are better than others at certain times and for certain content. Having all four types of assessments in my classroom, I am able to meet the needs of all of my learners and provide the opportunity for every student to be successful.

For my second goal, which is to become a leader of technology in my school, I have taken what I would consider the first step and joined the technology committee. Just a month ago our technology coordinator created the technology committee and asked for any volunteers who wanted to join, and I signed up. Another way I feel that I am working on this goal is by offering my colleagues assistance with incorporating more technology into their classrooms. I even put an email out suggesting some very good educational websites. I am not afraid to take risks using technology within my classroom and am willing to try new things with my students, even when they are new to me too! In fact just last week, as a school, we were doing a compare and contrast activity with the original and new version of the Lorax, for Right to Read week, and I took the students to the tech lab and we created Venn Diagrams together for the first time using Microsoft Word. It went well and the students did great following along with me. We were the only class that used technology to complete this activity. I have made it my mission to try to incorporate some sort of technology into the classroom every day, if possible. I believe with this attitude and dedication, my colleagues will embrace this same attitude and hopefully look up to me as a leader.

Right now, I am happy with the progress I am making , even though I get impatient, and do not feel that any modifications to my action plan are needed. I am excited and dedicated to making my goals a reality and once I feel I have reached my goals, I will develop new ones to strive towards. We as educators should never stop growing professionally and should always be looking for ways to improve!

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.

Crystal Moyer

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Carrying out my GAME Plan

Last week I created a GAME plan and this week I am going to discuss the resources and information I will need in order to carry out this plan. My GAME plan consists of two different goals that I am working towards, in order to become more confident and proficient in integrating technology into my classroom instruction.

My first goal is to learn how to create more effective formative and summative assessments and use the data to inform my teaching. Some resources I will need include professional development classes on creating effective assessments, PD 360 videos on assessments (an online professional development program our school uses), colleagues who share their views and ideas on creating assessments, and scholarly research on creating effective assessments. I will also use released OAA test questions and questions from a program called LCAP, that was developed by our county's Educational Service Center. Due to the fact that Ohio has revised all of the academic content standards, we have begun creating new pacing guides in our building and have started working with our colleagues on creating our assessments for these new standards. I have also signed up to attend a training at the ESC on creating formative and summarize assessments. My next step will be to watch the PD 360 videos and search for articles on assessment creation.

My second goal is to become a leader of technology integration in my school district. My most useful resource for this goal will be my school's tech coordinator? I will also use my colleagues who are strong in technology integration. This Masters program has given me many different resources to use as well. So besides taking the first steps and enrolling in this Masters program, I also have signed up to be on a technology committee that was just developed at our school.

With these actions, I am on my way to gaining more confidence and proficiency in obtaining the goals of my GAME plan.


Crystal Moyer

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The GAME plan

Have you ever heard of the GAME plan in education? Me either, until my recent Masters class. The GAME plan stands for creating G-goals, A-actions for achieving those goals, M-monitoring your progress, and E-evaluating or extending your learning (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). So in order to be able to use this strategy with my students, it is necessary for me to experience and practice using the GAME plan myself. I have decided to create a GAME plan using two Technology standards from the "ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T)", which can be found here: http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx.

GAME Plan #1

Standard 2:
Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Indicator d:
Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching

G-(goal):
I want to learn how to create more effective formative and summative assessments and use the data to inform my teaching.

A-(action):
1.  I will attend professional development on assessments that is being offered my county's Educational Service Center and watch professional development videos from PD360 (an online program our school offers to educators).
2.  I will research information on formative and summative assessments and how to create them effectively.
3.  I will work with my peers to create formative and summative assessments.

M-(monitor):
To monitor my progress, I will share my assessments, that I will have created, with my peers and administrator, to get their feedback.

E-(evaluate):
I will be able to evaluate my progress by using the data from the assessments, after they have been given to the students, to decide if they were effective assessments. I will also evaluate whether the assessment data has been able to help me plan where to go next in my lesson plans.

GAME Plan #2

Standard 5:
Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Indicator b:

Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community
building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

G-(goal):
I want to become a leader of technology integration in my school district.

A-(action):
1.  I will join a technology committee (that has just been formed) at my school to get together to discuss technology issues and ideas.
2.  I will finish this Masters program with the knowledge needed to become a leader within my school.
3.  I will offer support to my colleagues and be a leader in integrating technology into the classroom.

M-(monitor):
I will monitor my progress by meeting with my technology coordinator and the technology committee to discuss my progress and get feedback. I will also document my uses of technology in the classroom and how the lessons went.

E-(evaluate):
 I will evaluate my progress by getting feedback from the students, my principal, technology coordinator, and technology committee about my lessons and use of technology within the classroom. I will extend my learning by continuing to search for other technological resources to use in my classroom and by collaborating with colleagues.

So wish me luck as I venture out on my journey for professional growth!

References:

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.



Crystal Moyer










Sunday, October 23, 2011

Final Blog Post

During week one of this course, we were asked to describe our own personal learning theory. Now that we are at the end of this course, we have been asked to review our personal learning theory and decide if we feel that our learning theory needs modified or changed as a result of our learning through this course. After rereading my original personal learning theory, I don't feel that I have really changed my view about it, except for the fact that I would like to focus more of my attention on the constructivist/constructionist theory and try to incorporate more activities based on this theory, into my classroom. The reason being is that, as we have learned through these past seven weeks, and as Dr. Michael Orey would put it, "Students learn best when they are engaged and active in creating a product" (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b). This theory also supports Paivio's Dual coding hypothesis, which is one of the four fundamental components of the Cognitive Learning Theory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011a). Also, when students are able make or build things (artifacts) it is fun and exciting for them and provides a positive learning experience. Not to mention, it increases motivation and they are more engaged and willing to take more control over their own learning. When you add the use of educational technology, the interest level, motivation, and engagement of the students increase as well. It is for these reasons, that I have decided to focus my attention on the Constructivist/Constructionist theory, while continuing the use of pieces of the other three learning theories.

With the knowledge of the educational technologies that I have gained throughout this course, I feel that I am ready to implement some of them right away. I have used some technology in the classroom, but now, I can do so more often with the confidence that it will make a dramatic difference in my instructional practices. Two of the tools that we have talked about, that I am most excited about incorporating into my classroom is, Powerpoint and Voicethread. Both of these programs are user friendly and will provide the appropriate level of difficulty for my fourth grade students. With these two programs the students will be creating an artifact that they are proud of and can share with others and because they are creating something using text and visual imagery, they are both very powerful tools to use in the classroom. Having used and practiced with both of these programs myself, along with some of the other programs we have learned about, I have added these educational experiences to my own personal repertoire of instructional skills and broadened my knowledge level of the various types technological tools available, which I can share with my students and help to prepare them with the 21st Century Skills they will need to succeed in the world today.

I have decided to create a couple of long term goals, to create some changes in my instructional practice regarding technology integration. One of those goals is to make sure that I am incorporating some sort of technology into my lessons every week. This could be anything from a simple video clip, to an interactive whiteboard activity, to a Powerpoint presentation or the creation of a class wiki. It doesn't really matter what technology tool I am using as long as it is engaging and enriching experience. The other goal of mine is, to try a new technology tool that I haven't used, that I have learned about through this class, at least once this year with my students. Then, my hope is that next year, I can add a couple more tools that I have found or will learn about through the rest of this Masters program, until I have built a large collection of tools that I can use to meet the needs of all of my diverse learners.

In order to work on achieving these goals, I will need a strategy to help me achieve them. The first thing I will need to do is, make sure that the technology is available for us to use every week. I only have a few computers in my room, so I will need to set aside one day a week to schedule the computer lab. I prefer to have it be the same day everyweek, in order to develop a routine for the students and myself, however, this may not always be possible. The other thing that I need to do is be very strategic in planning my lessons for the week, to ensure that I have integrated some type of technology into them. Every week,the Intervention Specialist and my fourth grade team meet to share our plans and ideas for the upcoming week. So I will share with them, my ideas for implementing a technology tool or lesson for that next week and ask for feedback, comments, or suggestions. Doing this every week, helps keep me accountable for making sure that I am striving for achieving my goals. Meeting every week helps create a great support system for each other and helps us to encourage one another throughout the year, especially when times get tough!!


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

Crystal Moyer  

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Social Learning Theories in Practice

Our classrooms are evolving and 21st Century Skills are becoming a must in the classroom. One of the ways to meet the demands of the 21st Century is to provide our students with more opportunities to use Web 2.0 or the Read/Write Web. With Web 2.0 the students are able to collaborate and share information online (Pitler et al, 2007). This is a perfect resource for supporting the "Cooperative Learning" instructional strategy. Cooperative learning focuses on having students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning (Pitler et al, 2007). Our students need to be able to learn and work cooperatively with their peers. With the use of many different Web 2.0 programs collaboration and cooperative learning amongst students is made simple and will help prepare our students for the ever increasing, fast-paced, virtual world.

Some great programs that can be used to encourage cooperative learning are blogs, wikis, keypals, webquests, web site creation, shared calendars, shared bookmarking, simulation games, skype, and voicethread, just to name a few (Pitler et al, 2007). As you can see, it is easy to incorporate technology into this instructional strategy. With these programs, the students are able to build artifacts that can be shared with others and that is the basis of all Social Learning Theories. In cooperative learning, the students are able to work together with More Knowledgeable Others (MKO) to achieve goals that might otherwise be unattainable if working independently. This is also a characteristic of Social Learning Theories.

The Social Learning Theory is another one of the learning theories that teachers should embrace and apply in their classroom, along with all of the other learning theories. I feel that as educators, it is important that we use all of the different theories and instructional strategies in our teaching practices to help our students develop balanced and well-rounded learning experiences.    


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

Crystal Moyer