Many educators, like me, are able to master content and basic pedagogy. However, what makes a true educator is one that is able to include and integrate technology appropriately into the content. Business educators should also be able to simulate business activity as closely as possible so as to produce authentic instruction to their students. As an administrator, on the other hand, my greatest gain would be to have all my teachers integrate technology into their content areas. I hope to create a learning environment that develops 21st century citizens that model best practices.
I reflected on the National Education Standards for Teacher
(NETS-T) and decided that I needed to improve proficiency
in the following standards:
1. Facilitate and
Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
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.
b. Engage students
in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital
tools and resources
5. Engage in
Professional Growth and Leadership
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.
b. Exhibit leadership
by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared
decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and
technology skills of others
The following is my GAME plan:
My
Goal
Work on improving my proficiency in the (NETS-T)
standards 1b and 5b as noted above.
Set
Action
Develop lessons that simulate authentic problems. I would develop conditions that allow my
students to use digital tools and resources to dissect those problems and come
up with authentic solutions.
My second plan of action would be to provide needed support to my
staff so as to develop an environment that inspires a community that supports
technology skill, development and use.
Monitor
(a)
Collaborate with a colleague to dissect and
discuss lessons developed and implemented to ensure that they achieve their
intended purpose.
(b) Create
a checklist of actions that would monitor and indicate the extent to which
teachers are integrating technology in the classroom.
Evaluate
and Extend Learning
(a)
Develop a journal to record the progress of
my students so as to test their ability to authentically deal with real-world
problems using digital tools as simulated by business activity.
(b) Examine
teacher’s lesson plans and assessment instruments to assess the extent to which
technology in used in instruction and their effectiveness. Also, evaluate the checklist developed to monitor
teacher’s use of technology.
So, colleagues, what do you think? How could I improve my action plan? I am looking forward to your responses.
References
International Society for Technology in
Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T).
Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers
Hi Jonah,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and find the goals you chose highlight that a school administrator has the same goals as any teacher in providing students with new and creative learning environments.
Inspiring creativity in our students needs to be fed from our own creative inspirations, which is why your first goal links directly to your second goal. Professional development is so very important because it stresses the critical step of feeding our own creativity with ideas and experiences, which we can then apply in our classrooms to inspire innovation in our students. As Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer (2009) discuss, the speed at which technologies are changing means that we need to continually alter the digital tools used in the classroom to make sure they are up to date and to prepare students for an ever evolving work place. And teaching our students many ways how to learn will equip them more successfully for their future than just teaching them what to learn.
It sounds as if you are making all the right decisions to ensure your school’s learning environment embraces collaborative efforts between all staff, which will surely result in the achievement of your goals.
Thanks for sharing,
Alexi
Reference:
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
Hi Alexi
DeleteI really try to improve the teaching learning environment at my school. It is my sincere hope that my students will enjoy the best education with the latest technology tools that our system can provide. However, I have to ensure that my goals are similar to that of teachers, parents and Ministry of Education officials. I hope that professional development on one hand and building a peer collaborative team and support system would go a long way in helping me achieve my goal.
It is important that we focus on teaching students how to learn as opposed to teaching them specific skills that would become obsolete before they leave school (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p.23). I hope that my GAME plan would help me to achieve this basic objective.
Thanks for responding to my plan and thanks for your support.
E Jonah Greene
Reference:
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
Ezra,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your game plan, I felt I should go back and add to mine! I love the organization of creating a checklist. What a fantastic way of keeping track and monitoring your actions. Also, collaborating with colleagues is always a great way to get ideas about lesson plans. Maybe they tried something in the past that could help you. Maybe something they did in the past didn’t work and this could also help you! Back to your organization, your evaluation portion about keeping a journal is another wonderful idea. I believe your game plan is great and ready to be implemented!
Mandie
Thank you Mandie for your kind words and support. All the best also with your plan.
DeleteE Jonah Greene
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Ezra,
ReplyDeleteSimulation is a very important tool that provides simplifies versions of phenomena, environments, or processes that allow students to interact with, or manipulate variables and observe the effects of those manipulations (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). I believe that this is an effective tool to use (action) to reach your goals. I like the way you monitor your progress. It is a great idea to have collaboration with your colleagues and find some ways in order to reach your goals. I also like your idea to have a checklist of action just to make sure who among your teachers are integrating technology in the classroom. That is what my principal’s concern. She wants us to use the newly purchased technology in our classroom to the fullest. When she checks our lesson plans and does classroom observation, she wants to see if there is technology integration in our lessons.
How often do you check your teacher’s lesson plan? Do you have classroom observation just to make sure that your teachers are integrating technology in their lessons?
Ruel
Reference
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
Hi Ruel, thanks for commenting on my GAME Plan. I check every teacher's lesson plan at least once per term. There are 65 teachers on my staff. I also see each teacher at least once per year in the classroom. Those individuals that need additional support, I will see them more than once. All new teachers are assigned a teacher mentor. It is a big commitment that I have made and it has worked to encourage persons to plan and achieve their objectives. Each department head (HOD) must see a full lesson for each teacher at least three times per year and lesson plans are checked once per week by HOD's. It works and there is good cooperation between teachers. Teachers also work in teams and plan their lessons together. I have an exceptional team of teachers. They do make an attempt to use technology in their classrooms despite the fact that we do not have many resources. Classroom observations are not punitive in nature and I try to highlight the positive as often as I can, but do not ignore the issues to be worked on. Teachers are comfortable with me in their classroom and students are accustom to seeing me listening in on lessons. It has become a school culture for other persons to sit in on lessons.
DeleteE Jonah Greene
Hi Ezra,
ReplyDeleteYou have mentioned the use of a journal to record the progress of your students. Because I have so many things going on in my art room at the same time having my trusty notepad to jot bits of this and that down is a necessity for monitoring those interactions that get lost in the shuffle if not recorded immediately. I have found a new technology that increases the potential in this type of documentation. One of my Christmas presents was an Echo smart pen. It provides not only the means for recording notes on the fly, it provides the technology by which to transfer the notes and comments directly from the note pad into digital folders or to the Cloud for later usage. It has become a very versatile and indispensible tool for meeting the needs of in process formative evaluation, and reflective practice
Jim.
http://linnetstech.blogspot.com/
Hi Jim, I just checked out the Echo smart pen. I never heard of it before. It sounds like a very interesting tool. I like the fact that it has audio attached but do not like the idea of having to purchase special paper. How expensive are the apps for the pen? I could definitely see how this could be a very valuable tool in your classroom. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteEzra