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.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Carrying Out My GAME Plan
In order for me to carry out my game plan I need to prepare myself with resources. The resources that will help me with my game plan include computers, various software’s, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) colleagues, real-world engineers, and my school website. Computers are used in my classroom on a daily basis. Students use computers to complete everything from online research to cutting-edge software. Every year I get together with my PLTW colleagues to revise or add information to the curriculum. This allows us to stay up-to-date with industry and engineering colleges. Also, I have the ability throughout the year to post and reply to post on a forum that PLTW teachers have access to. The real-world engineers will help me stay up-to-date with real-world problems along with adding support for students who may have questions or concerns on their projects throughout the year. I post information, lectures, notes, links, and have discussions on my school website with students enrolled in my classes. Additional information that I will need to acquire is the best and proper way to effectively use VoiceThreads. VoiceThreads will play a key role in students being able to virtually work with other students on a project.
I have been fortunate enough to have every one of these steps completed, with the exception of VoiceThreads, to carry out my game plan. I have enough computers in my lab for every student, up-to-date software installed on each computer, ability to communicate with my colleagues, access to real-world engineers, and my school website is completed. I am in the process of furthering my education on the use of VoiceThreads. VoiceThreads will come into play around the middle of the third nine weeks of school.
I have been fortunate enough to have every one of these steps completed, with the exception of VoiceThreads, to carry out my game plan. I have enough computers in my lab for every student, up-to-date software installed on each computer, ability to communicate with my colleagues, access to real-world engineers, and my school website is completed. I am in the process of furthering my education on the use of VoiceThreads. VoiceThreads will come into play around the middle of the third nine weeks of school.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Developing Your Personal GAME Plan
As a technology education major and an engineering teacher, I perform all five of the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS•S) on a daily basis. In order for me to stay current with these standards I need to create a game plan. In reference to the game plan; Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) state, “The GAME plan enables you to customize your approach to learning tasks, to develop relevant skills that are important to you, and prepares you for lifelong relationships” (p. 4). 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.
Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity states, teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. My goal to strengthening my proficiency in this standard is to engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. The actions I will take to meet these goals will include me gathering information from real-world engineers to get up to date real-world problems for the students to solve, collaborating with other engineering teachers and the use of VoiceThreads during the virtual design project. I will monitor my actions throughout the year. If I am not receiving enough information I will search out new means of resources to reach my goals. I will evaluate my game plan by communicating with the students. I will receive their feedback on the real-world activities and projects we complete throughout the year.
Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership states, Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. My goal to strengthening my proficiency in this standard is to remain up to date in the engineering curriculum. I receive training each year to stay up to date with the engineering curriculums that I am trained in. This allows me to ask any questions I may have and learn new cutting edge technology to incorporate in the classroom. I will monitor my actions throughout the year. I have the ability to participate in a forum online where I can ask questions and receive feedback from other engineering teachers. I will evaluate my game plan by seeing what did and did not work for my teaching of the curriculum. I will reflect on the different strategies I used and make improvements where needed.
Resources:
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.
Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity states, teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. My goal to strengthening my proficiency in this standard is to engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. The actions I will take to meet these goals will include me gathering information from real-world engineers to get up to date real-world problems for the students to solve, collaborating with other engineering teachers and the use of VoiceThreads during the virtual design project. I will monitor my actions throughout the year. If I am not receiving enough information I will search out new means of resources to reach my goals. I will evaluate my game plan by communicating with the students. I will receive their feedback on the real-world activities and projects we complete throughout the year.
Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership states, Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. My goal to strengthening my proficiency in this standard is to remain up to date in the engineering curriculum. I receive training each year to stay up to date with the engineering curriculums that I am trained in. This allows me to ask any questions I may have and learn new cutting edge technology to incorporate in the classroom. I will monitor my actions throughout the year. I have the ability to participate in a forum online where I can ask questions and receive feedback from other engineering teachers. I will evaluate my game plan by seeing what did and did not work for my teaching of the curriculum. I will reflect on the different strategies I used and make improvements where needed.
Resources:
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.
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