I feel pretty good in that this week I have taken some time to speak with my director of technology with regard to setting up a walled classroom environment for the students in my classroom to establish personal and acceptable mathematical blogs and RSS feeders so that they can monitor each others blogs. We're trying to set up a place on the district server that is secure and accessible from home. I know that there are public sites that are devoted to such practices, but I am trying to keep the interactions that my students initially partake within the walls of the district. In this way, we may begin to create a dialogue with regard to writing prompts and problem solving techniques.
Further, I am working to establish funding so that my class might have a voice thread account. I found this tool to be exceptionally helpful last year and would like to establish a dedicated space for saving of my student's voice threads.
I'm still looking for sites that really narrow down project based learning with regard to seventh grade standards. I really believe that there must exist ideas that I can use to springboard my creativity. I continue to add to my delicious bookmarks and accumulate items, but I am constantly looking for other shared spaces where I might seek 7th grade mathematics style projects. Please feel free to share!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Assessments within the Game Plan
It’s difficult to pretend that we are implementing a game plan in the middle of the summer, but as far as anticipatory preparation, there are some things that I have begun to consider this week. Most of my focus is currently centered around assessment, and as I work with the other 7th grade math teachers in my district, I have been challenged to create the multiple choice portion of our unit assessments. I am using a program called Exam View Pro, that enables us to have the tests stored on an in-house server for student accessibility through their laptops. After the assessment, teachers receive an automated e mail with regard to student performance.
I also frequently use the active votes that accompany my Promethian board. These student devices allow me to create instantaneous “Forced Response” questions to formatively assess my students’ progress during every class day.
The greatest area where I struggle for valid assessments is in the area of project assessments. As a beginning teacher over 20 years ago, it was very simple to create numerous projects in order to occupy and instruct my students. This led to a very high level of motivation and learning as would be expected in a project based classroom. As I have matured as a teacher, I have become considerably more focused with regard to my teaching objectives. I have come to realize that subsequent teachers in the progression of mathematics depend upon my reaching the finish line with regard to the objectives that support the standards to which I am charged. I am really looking forward to a set of national standards so that groups of teachers or textbook companies will assist in the creation of project based learning activities that specifically target GLE’s while tapping into students’ natural motivation and curiosity. I am interested to learn if there are some of these programs already in existence that would meet the needs of seventh grade mathematics students. I’m not one to follow someone else’s plan step by step, but I sure appreciate a guide in the proper direction! Thanks in advance for any help that you can give me.
I also frequently use the active votes that accompany my Promethian board. These student devices allow me to create instantaneous “Forced Response” questions to formatively assess my students’ progress during every class day.
The greatest area where I struggle for valid assessments is in the area of project assessments. As a beginning teacher over 20 years ago, it was very simple to create numerous projects in order to occupy and instruct my students. This led to a very high level of motivation and learning as would be expected in a project based classroom. As I have matured as a teacher, I have become considerably more focused with regard to my teaching objectives. I have come to realize that subsequent teachers in the progression of mathematics depend upon my reaching the finish line with regard to the objectives that support the standards to which I am charged. I am really looking forward to a set of national standards so that groups of teachers or textbook companies will assist in the creation of project based learning activities that specifically target GLE’s while tapping into students’ natural motivation and curiosity. I am interested to learn if there are some of these programs already in existence that would meet the needs of seventh grade mathematics students. I’m not one to follow someone else’s plan step by step, but I sure appreciate a guide in the proper direction! Thanks in advance for any help that you can give me.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Resources for Implementing the Game Plan
I feel that there are two essential needs for my game plan's success. The first is an accessible accountability checklist for my students and their web work and the second is a means by which to organize the different resources that I find to implement in my classroom.
In order to create the checklist, a paper checklist is the first step in order to flowchart the ideas that I have for student accountability. However, in order to best meet the student's needs and to implement technology, I feel that it would be essential that this checklist be incorporated into an on-line format. I'm not sure what format that I would choose at this time, but I would like something that the students could easily fill out and then submit. It should be something of a simple nature with buttons to check and fields to fill out. I am very open to suggestions as to resources that I might employ to create such a re-usable document.
Secondly, in order to organize the resources that I intend to borrow from in order to enhance my classroom instruction, I have already begun to add tags to my delicious library. Using these bookmarking "files" I am able to compile resources as I find them. Later, I am easily able to re-access these files as I need them.
In order to create the checklist, a paper checklist is the first step in order to flowchart the ideas that I have for student accountability. However, in order to best meet the student's needs and to implement technology, I feel that it would be essential that this checklist be incorporated into an on-line format. I'm not sure what format that I would choose at this time, but I would like something that the students could easily fill out and then submit. It should be something of a simple nature with buttons to check and fields to fill out. I am very open to suggestions as to resources that I might employ to create such a re-usable document.
Secondly, in order to organize the resources that I intend to borrow from in order to enhance my classroom instruction, I have already begun to add tags to my delicious library. Using these bookmarking "files" I am able to compile resources as I find them. Later, I am easily able to re-access these files as I need them.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Game Plan
Nerdliness comes very easily to me. I’m constantly listening to tech podcasts, purchasing the latest gadgets and really blazing the way along the lines of technology. I consider myself to be a front-line user, a recovering hacker and a strong example of what can be done with technology. I push software applications to the limit while frequently finding new and different ways to exploit their benefits towards educational presentation. One step into my classroom will find a kid at my Promethian board, while others vote with their active votes. My laptop will be open on my podium controlling my presentation computer through screen sharing. My iPad may or may not be in use to control the screen, but my iPhone will surely be in control. Intermittent music will be playing through my computer which is linked to the stereo. Each student will probably have a laptop open and be following along while I stand behind them in order to monitor and direct. Fortunately, the Social Studies teacher on my team, the Evil Mr. Seibert, runs his class very much the same way and my students are constantly immersed in high expectation, technological development of curricular ideas.
I have no issues in keeping up with technology as it is my hobby. I share this passion with my imaginary enemy and partner in crime Mr. Seibert. He and I, as well as the building IT pretty much lead the district charge towards development.
It is appropriate to have goals with regard to our onslaught towards digital evolution. Our goals for the current time frame center around NETS standards #2 and #4. Mr. Seibert and I have to constantly remind ourselves of ethics involved in the fair use of materials. The speed at which we move and the ease with which we borrow must be kept in check such as to assure proper credit to creative entities. It is essential that our students whiteness and understand this approach as we hope that they will become even faster and more digitally agile than we are.
Further, as we push the edge of the walled garden, it is a clear responsibility and goal to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments. My friend and I constantly share ideas that we implement in our very different curricular environments and we often borrow technological approaches from each other. We are the creators. I think that we would benefit much from borrowing ideas from others. It is, therefore, a fair goal to attempt to reach out to seek truly inspirational learning and assessment activities from other sources.
In order to attain these two goals, I intend to implement a few simple steps. With regard to digital citizenship, a simple checklist poster on the wall of my room should keep me on track. As I move through digital sources at the speed of light I will take time to make sure that my students see me slow down to check validity and authorship while providing credit where credit is due. I cannot expect my students to perform with digital integrity if I do not hold myself to the same standard. A simple measure of my development along these lines will be an observation of my students’ similar accountability.
As far as the use of other sources for technological implementation, it is a simple goal to seek out one outside source per grading period with which to challenge both my openness and my students’ boundaries. Other teachers have a great deal to offer both collaboratively and publicly on sites such as Promethian Planet and other sharing sites.
Monitoring will be simple in that I will be able to asses what works as far as my teaching style and my students’ performance. I will continue to make use of our class wiki for student reflection and collaboration.
Ultimately, I will attempt to step outside of my comfort zone of feeling like I’m the only one who can create anything while trusting and relying on the creativity of others to assist my teaching style.
I have no issues in keeping up with technology as it is my hobby. I share this passion with my imaginary enemy and partner in crime Mr. Seibert. He and I, as well as the building IT pretty much lead the district charge towards development.
It is appropriate to have goals with regard to our onslaught towards digital evolution. Our goals for the current time frame center around NETS standards #2 and #4. Mr. Seibert and I have to constantly remind ourselves of ethics involved in the fair use of materials. The speed at which we move and the ease with which we borrow must be kept in check such as to assure proper credit to creative entities. It is essential that our students whiteness and understand this approach as we hope that they will become even faster and more digitally agile than we are.
Further, as we push the edge of the walled garden, it is a clear responsibility and goal to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments. My friend and I constantly share ideas that we implement in our very different curricular environments and we often borrow technological approaches from each other. We are the creators. I think that we would benefit much from borrowing ideas from others. It is, therefore, a fair goal to attempt to reach out to seek truly inspirational learning and assessment activities from other sources.
In order to attain these two goals, I intend to implement a few simple steps. With regard to digital citizenship, a simple checklist poster on the wall of my room should keep me on track. As I move through digital sources at the speed of light I will take time to make sure that my students see me slow down to check validity and authorship while providing credit where credit is due. I cannot expect my students to perform with digital integrity if I do not hold myself to the same standard. A simple measure of my development along these lines will be an observation of my students’ similar accountability.
As far as the use of other sources for technological implementation, it is a simple goal to seek out one outside source per grading period with which to challenge both my openness and my students’ boundaries. Other teachers have a great deal to offer both collaboratively and publicly on sites such as Promethian Planet and other sharing sites.
Monitoring will be simple in that I will be able to asses what works as far as my teaching style and my students’ performance. I will continue to make use of our class wiki for student reflection and collaboration.
Ultimately, I will attempt to step outside of my comfort zone of feeling like I’m the only one who can create anything while trusting and relying on the creativity of others to assist my teaching style.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
