Online Learning in K-12 Schools

Universal Design for Learners

Final Blog Post for my Game Plan

I feel my game plan will be affective for myself and my students. I am excited for my students to have the ability to work on real-world problems in conjunction with real-world engineers; what a great opportunity. Integrating Technology Across the Content Area has provided me with new tools and ideas to incorporate into my lesson plans. These ideas include Problem-Based Learning (PBL), online collaboration, and digital storytelling. With these ideas in mind students will be introduced to NETS-S standards where they will have the ability to master these standards through PBL, online collaboration, and digital storytelling. I feel my plan will be very affective and I will remain to focus on it with no immediate changes.

Using my GAME Plan Process with Students

A quick recap: My game plan will allow me to stay current with National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS•S). The two NETS•S standards that I would like to focus on are Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity and Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.

The way that I will use my game plan with my students is I will incorporate these standards into my lessons. I am fortunate enough to have real-world engineers be part of a committee I have for my engineering academy. I will use these engineers as references so I can have my students participate and solve real-world problems. Also, the students will have the ability to use these real-world engineers as mentors for any questions or concerns they may have on a given project or activity. I feel if I continue to have my students use cutting edge technology and expand my horizon on different technology and techniques that my students will continue to stay creative and eager to learn.

On the other side of the coin, I have to be willing to engage in professional growth. By me receiving training every summer and staying up-to-date with my curriculum I will be able to teach my students the most current technologies and skills being used in industry. Also, the real-world engineers will allow me to achieve this goal. I know that I cannot keep using my curriculum year after year because it “works”. I need to stay up-to-date so my students are well prepared for college and the real-world. One exciting attribute that I bring to the table is I teach at a number of Universities during the summer. This allows me to not only teach my students these new and exciting concepts, but other teachers that are becoming a part of the engineering curriculum.

Revising My GAME Plan

So far i have learned that VoiceThreads will allow users to upload a large file. I ran a test the other day and was able to upload a large image without any problems. I still need to have a "dry-run" before I expect my students to use VoiceThreads effectively. I have received feedback from other teachers that they performed a "dry-run" with their students and the students loved it. This is something that I am considering, plus, this will give students an idea of what the software is and what it can do.

So far I have learned that having a network community to interact with helps a great deal. Any questions or concerns I may have, I have the ability to ask people online and receive a response quickly. Thank you to the inventor of computers and online networking! I feel my approaches I have taking to meet my game plan have worked. I do not believe that I would change anything that I have done. The NETS-T standards are something that I incorporate into my engineering curriculum daily.

Evaluating My GAME Plan Progress

Not much has changed in my ability to reach my game plan goal. One thing that I did learn, thanks to Amy, is VoiceThreads did not crash on her at all while using them. I plan on still performing a dry run with another teacher just to double check this and to make sure that VoiceThreads is the best form of communication between students. When students (and real world engineers) communicate with each other they are posting sketches, detailed drawings, and 3D models of their product for each other to review and comment on. Another concern that has risen for me is if VoiceThreads have a max size file that can be uploaded to their site. I know that the 3D models that students make can be very large in size.

My wife and I have introduced our first baby boy to the world and when I return to school, in full stride, I will be setting up a VoiceThread with another teacher to check these concerns I have.

Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

So far things are looking good for my game plan. The only thing I need to do is brush-up on my VoiceThread skills. I feel for VoiceThreads to work for my engineering class I will need to complete a "dry run" with another teacher. I feel if we stay in contact on a daily basis for a couple weeks I will be able to work out all the kinks. My big concern will be if the VoiceThread site ever crashes and if so, how often.

I stay in contact with fellow engineering teachers and real-world engineers on a weekly, if not daily, basis. I have a hand-full of real-world engineers that are on a committee that I have. It is nice to know that students have a valid resource to rely on if questions should arise. I am a master teacher for the curriculum I teach which means I need to be up-to-date with curriculum revisions and new software being adding. During the summers I teach the engineering curriculum to entry level teachers. I teach at different universities which entails me to be a mentor throughout the year for the new teachers. This allows me to see what is working for these teachers and what I can learn from them.