Spotlight on Emerging Technology

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Reflection

This course has taught me many things about differentiating instruction and using the universal design for learning in my classroom. Also, I have learned that technology is an important aspect of implementing these two strategies in any classroom. This course has helped me make adjustments to my instructional practice through the use of technology to customize instruction for each of my students.
One way I plan to customize instruction through the use of technology is to have multiple intelligence activities using technology to cater to each of my students. Having multiple intelligence activities engages students and makes the learning process interesting and fun for the students (Smith & Throne 2007). I will do this by presenting the information using various forms of media. I will use pictures, videos, and interactive software to appeal to the learning styles of my students so that they are more likely to retain the information that they need to meet the standards of the lessons and units.
Another way I will use technology to customize my instruction is by having different forms of assessment for students to choose from when demonstrating their knowledge of the material. I will have four or five options that students can choose from that all use different forms of technology that appeal to different learning styles. This way my students can decide which activity they are more comfortable with and will be more able to demonstrate the knowledge of the standards. This should make my students more comfortable with the learning process and eliminate test anxiety.
Customizing my instruction using technology has been greatly enhanced by this course. Many examples and strategies have been presented in this course have given me confidence and that these strategies work and that it will not be such a daunting task as I had once feared. If I take advantage that has been presented to me I should have not problems reaching all of my students and successfully customizing my instruction using technology to meet the needs of all of my students and their various learning styles.

Jonathan Garrett


Resources
Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms. Belmont, CA: International Society for Technology in Education.
Retrieved from Education Research Complete database

Reflection

The GAME plan I followed throught the course was to improve my knowloedge of new technologies through professional development opportunites and to begin to teach other teachers at my school how to use this technology and in implement it in their classrooms. I have found some professional development opportunities but not as many as I had wanted to. For this part I will keep working to find more whenever I can. I have been implementing technologies that I am already familiar with in my classroom that I have learned from this class. The part of the GAME plan where I help teachers implement new technologies in their classrooms is going well. I had the opportunity in early October to conduct a workshop during a teacher planning day where I showed teachers how to use wikis in their classroo. I was very pleased with the reaction I recieved.

The new learning I that resulted in following my GAME plan was that I learned some new technologies that I can use in my classroom with my students and myself. This will greatly affect my lessons in the future and should engage my students and make them active learners. Also, I learned that most teachers do not use these new technologies in their classrooms because they are unfimilar with the technology. Once teachers know how to use the new technology they have no issues with implenenting them in the classroom. I also learned that most teachers do want to learn about these new technologies. It seemed that when they learned them in a familiar environment they were more at ease.

Now that I have finished this course I will continue to integrate new technologies in my classroom. This course has given me so many new ideas to use that I now have more lessons that are engaging and benificial to my students. Making my technology unit plan really helped me see how much better my classroom can be and that there is an engaging lesson using technology for every subject and unit.

Jonathan Garrett

GAME Plan with my Students

Using the GAME plan with my students can be very effective. I plan on implementing the GAME plan in my classroom to meet the NETS for my students. I will start by always having a goal that I expect my students to reach. If I set goals for my students they will know exactly where they should be when the lesson is finished. This gives them something to reach for. I will help them determine a plan of action when learning the material and using technology to do this. The GAME plan will also allow my students to realize what methods are more helpful for them in the learning process by monitoring their progress toward the goals using technology to keep track of their progress. Lastly I will provide ways of evaluation that require the use of technology. This will help my students realize what they have accomplished while at the same time utilize technology skills that meet the NETS for students.

Jonathan Garrett

GAME Plan III

My GAME Plan is progressing but is moving slower than I would like. So far I have learned some new technologies that I can use in my classroom and I am becoming more proficient in technologies that I already use. At the moment I do not think I need to set new learning goals for myself. I will extend what I have learned so far by finding new ways to apply it in my classroom and garnering support form other teachers who are interested in using what I have learned in their classrooms. To improve my learning I will use the same tactics that I have use because it seems to be working well for me. So far I am pleased with my GAME Plan and hope all continues to go well.

Jonathan Garrett

GAME Plan Progress II

The actions I have taken have helped me along on reaching my GAME plan goals. I have talked to our server adminstrator to get certain websites unblocked. This has not happened yet but I am hopegul that it will happen soon. Also, we have a professional learning day at our school on Friday and I have a professional learning session where teachers can come and inquire about what I have learned in this class and other new technologies I will learn in the future. I find out how many teachers have signed up for this session on Thursday. I hope it is at least 10.

I have gotten a little information about new technologies that I can use in my classroom. Most of them have come from this class but I am set to attend a conference about new technologies in the early spring. I am still trying to find ways to reach my fellow teachers to turn them on the new technologies.

I have a lot left to learn about my goals. But the only questions that I have are ones that I have at the beginning. Where can I find new technologies and what is the best way to reach out to my collegues?

I do not believe that I need to adjust my paln at this point. I just need to keep working to find resources and trying to persuade my collegues to use new technologies in their classrooms.

Jonathan Garrett

GAME Plan Progress

My progress thus far with my GAME Plan is going well. I have begun to find technology experts to learn technology and how I can implement it in my classroom. Additionally, once I learn the technology, I have garnered interest from a few other teachers who would also like to implement new technologies in their classrooms.

Currently, I am finding difficulty because many websites are blocked or banned at school. When at home, I'm finding some but want to find more but am seeking better results. As of now, my plan seems solid and attainable. For the moment, no changes are necessary. I seem to be getting good feedback from other teachers and hopefully I will be able to deliver in the near future. I have learned that finding new educational technologies can be challenging and some teachers are extremely non-receptive to learning new technologies to implement in their classroom. Hopefully, I will be able to overcome these barriers and totally implement my GAME Plan. A new question that has arisen is what is the most efficient way to find new avenues of technological support and what is the best way to approach teachers who are weary of new technology and implementing it in their classroom.

Jonathan Garrett