GAME Plan for Indicator 4a
Goal: To model and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology.
Action: I will make sure I cite sources in my instructional materials (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011a). I will use various resources to promote discussions and activities with my students about online safety. I will provide my students with links on our class website to images I know that they can use legally in their work (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).
Monitor: While students are working in the computer lab, I will be closely observing and questioning my students about where they got their information and images. I will expect to see them citing sources within their digital products to give credit to those who influenced their work (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b). I can also observe what sites students are accessing when online to ensure they are appropriate. Lastly, I can give informal assessments about cyber safety and copyright issues that we have discussed previously in class.
Evaluate: I can evaluate if I achieved my goal by the behaviors and products of my students. If they start to cite their sources without prompting and if they safely research online I will know that I achieved my goal. I can extend my learning on this topic by learning more about the fair use policy and Creative Commons so I know what myself and my students are allowed to use legally online (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).
GAME Plan for Indicator 5a
Goal: To participate in a local learning community to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
Action: My district has a technology committee that includes at least one teacher or administrator from every school. However, I want students to openly discuss how they would like to be taught (Prensky, 2008). I plan to invite students of different ages and technology abilities to participate in the district technology meeting. If that is not possible, I will hold just a school forum where parents are invited as well. This opportunity will allow students that freedom to share what and how they learn best with technology as we no longer can decide for them but need to decide along with them (Prensky, 2005). The staff can take their ideas and suggestions to determine the direction our school and district should go with technology integration to improve student learning.
Monitor: Once certain ideas and suggestions have been accepted by the district committee, various technologies will become available (perhaps only pilot programs) and select trainings will be offered for teachers. Administrators or technology committee members will need to monitor how teachers are using the technology put into place. I would suggest that educators record notes on how implementation with their students went and that these findings are then shared at future meetings. Also videotaping these instructional changes could prove beneficial as well.
Evaluate: One way to evaluate this is to look at how students are performing in the classroom due to the new technology and instructional strategies that have become implemented. To have accurate findings, teachers must be willing to implement the new technology strategies and share their new data and observations with their colleagues. I can extend this topic by considering having students on other school or district committees.
By implementing both GAME plans, I can gain confidence in my ability to integrate technology into the classroom. The achievement of both goals above improves student learning as well as promotes best practices for teachers.
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.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program 10: Informational Literacy: Ethical practices [DVD]. Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program 12: Safe and ethical practices [DVD]. Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40–45.
Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the natives. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 8–13.
I also feel weak in the area of legal and ethical use of websites and images on the Internet. I never know what is allowed or is not allowed when using images or downloads from sites. I would find it hard to teach this skill to students as I am not comfortable with the rules myself. The ideas you have suggested seem to be very well though out. Teaching young students to cite sources and provide references will be very beneficial to them in the future. One of the hardest things for me with completing this masters program is correctly citing sources. I wish I had been taught and required to cite sources when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of having students participate in the technology committee discussions is wonderful. I am not familiar with a similar committee in my district. It sounds like a technology committee would be very helpful in creating and incorporating beneficial technology lessons. Students input would help make learning more meaningful and effective.
I am quite amazed that so many students have trouble correctly giving credit where credit is due. One reason I think is the ease and speed of locating information. Once they have it and they are finished using it, then they forget to get the required citation information. One thing I think could be helpful is to come up with a simple procedure for obtaining and storing the different information used. It could be as easy as copy and paste the citation information to a Word document for ease of reference and to allow a student to easily return to a site or other resource for confirmation of any questions that might arise.
ReplyDeleteChrista,
ReplyDeleteIt can be difficult to teach safe and ethical use of technology. I began using technology a lot more with ym third graders this year and I collaborated with our school's technology coach to create and teach a lesson on how to safely use the Internet as well as find valid web sites. We also taught them why they need to cite the resources they used and how to do so when completing a project. The lesson went very well and they did a pretty good job on their first research project. I really enjoyed using technology and having them use the Internet for research and I look forward to doing more since it went so well the first time.
One thing I find challenging is always modeling proper use of technology. For example, I use the computer and Internet on a daily basis with my students, but I don't always explain what I am doing and cite or give creadit to the web sites we are using. I get so caught up in the lesson and the skills I am teaching at that moment that technology just becomes a learning tool and I neglet to explain to cite. I really need to pay more attention to that so I can be a good model for my students and help them to become expert technology users.
We did show a great BrainPop video on Cyber Safety. The kids loved it and it had an excellent interactive quiz at the end. You should check it out. www.brainpop.com
-Jessica, Grade 3, NJ
Christa,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your GAME plan. It is very detailed and seems well thought out. I know that your students will benefit greatly from being introduced at such an early age on how to cite the sources tey gain information from in the classroom. I teach sixth grade and it seems like they still have great difficulty with this. This is a skill, myself, have to teach my students more thoroughly. I plan on doing that during our next unit on informational text.
Thanks for sharing!
Dianna