Monitoring the GAME Plan

My GAME plan is running smoothly to some degree. We have encountered a handful of issues, but I have been discussing what has been happening with other teachers in my department. I believe I have discovered some ways to cope with certain issues and replace others.

There are two modifications that I just realized I will need to make this week. The first pertains to student blogging. Blogs for individuals, such as those we create for Walden, are excellent tools for students to use in developing their own voice. The major issue, however, is time management for me. If I use the format that I originally intended, which was modeled after the classes I have been taking in this program, I will have over one hundred separate blogs to visit. If I add the component we use in this course, which is to have students submit a separate file with their posts and responses, I will create a huge rift with my students. Many are not to that level responsibility and maturity yet, and I believe much of the work with the blogs would not be done well if done at all. I must also take some of the blame. Teachers must prepare the technology, make sure the correct resources are available, and are working properly (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). I did not do this, and instead relied on what I thought I knew from my experience last year. Therefore, I have decided to create a single blog for each of my three senior classes. I have gathered each student's school Gmail address, and I will send them all invitations to the blog. Doing this, I can have the writing prompt as the initial post on the blog, and their responses can be placed in the comment section. This will allow for a number of things to occur. Students will be able to see what others are writing which can help clarify the purpose, open up new possibilities for understanding through collaborative thinking, and develop conversation on the topic we are engaging.

The second modification is very similar to the first, yet it pertains to wikis. I believe we would have had more success with the group wikis in the classroom, but I would have still had at least a dozen different projects to evaluate. If I am to address both individual and group learning, it will be difficult to judge at this time as I am still wrapping my mind around this process. As my understanding evolves, I can broaden the scope of future projects. For now, one wiki per class will allow for student creativity and collaboration without developing a difficult monitoring situation for me. The pieces of the wiki can still be divided among smaller groups, each with their own group leader. These could be the students with editing rights to the blog. This would be even more powerful in that these group leaders could also be a group, perhaps made of students that on the higher end of the ability spectrum. If there are students who are ahead of the game, then adding in a layer of responsibility that will push their thinking can account for that differentiation piece that will be important to keep them engaged.

All the information and resources are at my fingertips. The biggest struggle has been using the technology tools. Each student has been assigned a Netbook, but our corporation micromanages web access to the point that we are never sure what we will be able to do from day to day. For example, YouTube is available to all on some days, only teachers with their school account on others, and there are even days when it is blocked completely. Our LightSpeed software, which is the Internet security software we have pre-installed on all computers in the corporation, is excellent when used correctly, but if people are not careful, it could hinder access to the point that students no longer want anything to do with the provided technology due to absolute frustration. I do have options, and the first one that I intend to look into is developing a list of need sites for my class. I have been told that if I do this, I should be able to make sure that the sites we need will not be blocked at any point.

The biggest lesson I have learned: Nothing is as simple as it originally seems, and the worst thing I can do as a teacher is start out with a big idea and not break it down into manageable pieces. I have some amazing ideas sometimes. But I have to make them manageable or they are merely unachieved dreams. In the future, I have much to do to improve. It is important that expectations are clear from day one, all objectives are stated along with the evaluation methods, and students need to be actively involved in the development of their learning (Han & Bhattacharya, 2001). I have the tendency to think things are obvious, and I omit things that are necessary. In addition to tackling the issues with technology, I must be more intentional. If I am, I believe I will find greater levels of success and so will my students.

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.

Han, S., and Bhattacharya, K. (2001). Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved September 29, 2012, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt

Making the GAME Plan Happen

In order to carry out my GAME plan, there are several items that I must bring together.  This can be time consuming, but fortunately, I have worked with Lord of the Flies before and have a fair understanding of what it will take to accomplish that task. 

As we are working with the themes and symbolism within the novel, it seems prudent to incorporate informational texts that provide depth to understanding of how people function within society and thus potentially creating meaningful connections with characters in the novel.  While I love the novel, I recognize that many people, including teachers, have difficulty relating to the work and finding a way to enjoy the reading.  Luckily, others feel the way I do and have compiled resources that can help students make solid connections and reflect on the world in which they live.  One such source is from the New York Times Learning Network.  Even though this novel falls on many lists of “least enjoyable to teach”, the use of such real world material can make all the difference in creating a positive experience (Ojalvo & Doyne, 2010).  Aside from this resource, I have engaged in conversation with my school’s sociology and psychology teacher, and he has offered to aid me in creating a social experiment to further student understanding.  We have not determined what this will look like, but it is a very promising idea. 

I have already gathered both paperback and digital copies of the book, as well as made the audio book available to my students.  It is important that students read the book, but I recognized that the analytical and evaluative skills that can be developed through complex thought process outweighs turning the pages.  For this reason, I have also provided access to the SparkNotes for Lord of the Flies so that students who are struggling with the reading will still be able to follow the story progression and contemplate the real world context.  Providing students with multiple avenues for accomplishing tasks supports their affective networks, bringing forth feelings and emotions that help them look at, as Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer call it, the “why” of learning (2009).  The availability of technology, specifically student Netbooks, creates a flexible situation where Universal Design for Learning is more probable to find success (CAST, 2012).

Students have been able to create their blogs and develop, at the very least, sufficient understanding to complete blogging tasks.  As I explained to my students, writing techniques have been taught to them since they were in grade school, and these were important lessons.  However, the writing can become formulaic and appears more to be an assumption of what the student believes the teacher wants to hear rather than a true expression of the student understanding.  Voice is lost, and blogging has the potential to bring that back.  If I add another level for higher level students by requiring them to comment on other student blogs, I can create the potential for expanded thinking and discussion.  I have not been able to speak with our professional development coordinator, but I need to gather information on how to develop a meaningful way to use the feature. 

In order to grasp some of the concepts, we have also been taking notes and discussing the dystopian concept.  All notes are available online through our ANGEL website though students were encouraged to rework the notes to make them more meaningful for their own understanding.  I used real world examples of utopian concepts that did not work, as well as dystopian themed books, movies, and video games.  At this point, the general concept seems to be understood by my students.  The next step is establishing that connection to theme and symbolism so that we can get to the meat of the work. 

I have yet to determine how the wiki and video project will look.  This is the one piece that I cannot wrap my mind around for senior level students.  My commercial project went well for some students and was a bust for others, so I feel I need to tighten my hold on student responsibility without removing choice.  I will be talking to other ELA teachers within my building, but I am concerned that it may not result in any clarification.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to create a wiki project that incorporates video that somehow relates themes and symbolism within a novel to the real world, I would love to hear your ideas.

 

References

CAST (2012). The framework for UDL: Three principles. What is universal design for learning? Retrieved September 19, 2012 from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter4_3.cfm

 

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.

Ojalvo, H., &  Doyne, S. (2012, September).  Teaching  The Lord of the Flies with The New York Times. [Web Log Post].  Retrieved  from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/teaching-the-lord-of-the-flies-with-the-new-york-times

The GAME Plan

There is such a variety of ideas with the NETS-T indicators that at first I found it difficult to select what direction I wanted to go.  After some thought, these are the two that stood out the most for me at this moment in my career:

1b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

1d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

My seniors are getting ready to begin working with Lord of the Flies.  Through this piece, we will be discussing the utopian/dystopian concept, social constructs, and the novels relationship to the real world through its symbolism. 

The Goal I have in place for this unit is rooted in maintaining individual responsibility while providing collaborative opportunities to learn and create.   Creating work for individual students is fine in and of itself, but collaborative skills are extremely important to the development of understanding within the material we are covering.  The challenge here is to make both individual and group work meaningful without setting some students up for failure or creating a situation where only certain students are contributing.   

The Action plan I have in place involves the use of three technologies:  blogs, wikis, and video.  Through blogging, students will be able to offer their individual perspectives on the novel and real world stories we encounter over the course of the unit.  They will be able to share perspectives and pose questions.  Classmates will be able to read, evaluate, and engage each other within the blogs.  Wikis and video will be used for collaborative pieces throughout the unit, most especially when students are presented with a scenario and required to develop a plan to accomplish certain tasks.

Monitoring student work will be managed through the various tools.  As students will be posting their individual work on their blogs, I will be able to evaluate that work, as well as their classmates’ responses, whether those are questions, add-ons, or critiques.  We will be using Wikispaces.com to develop our wiki projects, and the greatest part about this tool is that it logs who contributes to the wikis, when they contributed, and shows each revision over time.  This provides insight into some of the thought process behind the creation of the wiki and holds each member accountable for completing his or her piece of the project.  In addition to the accountability piece, Wikispaces also has a communication tool for students to leave notes for each other and does not require students to be together to complete the project.  I will have access to this as well and will be able to get a clearer vision of what groups are trying to accomplish.  As the video component will be partnered with the wiki project, monitoring this should be simple too.

Evaluating the students and the effectiveness of this plan will be just as easy as monitoring student progress.  Using the rubric(s) created for each component, I will be able to see how students have progressed, and if things go well, I will be able to incorporate collaborative pieces that go beyond our classroom walls.

References

ISTE, I.S. (2012). Nets for Teachers. Retrieved September 12, 2012 from:
http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2