Continuation of the GAME Plan

Progress towards meeting the goals of my GAME plan is going slowly. My goals were to improve my confidence in technology skills and improve communication with parents through the use of various tools on my website- a blog, pod casts, and a unit calendar, plus any tools that are available to me that I am not aware of. Some issues, roadblocks, and questions arisen that I want to discuss.

Are you finding the information and resources you need?
For reasons unknown, "Tech Thursday" have been postponed. Without these tech sessions, I am unable to find out how to use some of the tools necessary to fulfill my game plan. I do not know how to link a blog or pod casts to my web page- we have a "program" specifically for this use, but I have not been able to figure it out on my own. I have turned to some of my tech-savvy colleagues, but they have not been unable to help. I know we are suppose to be getting a new program that will make all of this easier, but an ETA is also unknown. I believe the program is Microsoft Live. Has anyone heard of this?

Do you need to modify your action plan?
At this point, I do think I need to modify the GAME PLAN to address the lack of technical support at this time. I may need to put the communication with parents through technology on hold until we get access to this new program. However, I can continue posting my unit calendar to my website.

What have you learned so far?
So far, I have learned that I am not always able to figure out technology. I am usually pretty good at figuring things out- like our electronic lesson plan program or our new online gradebook. I am able to do this through trial and error. I am not afraid to click on links to see what they do or where they send me! I even figured out how to link the calendar from the lesson planner to my web page! However, I have been unsuccessful in figuring out the blog and podcasts. It is frustrating!

What new questions have arisen?
I had my "back-to-school" night last week and sadly attendance was not good. I informed that parents that did attend of my website and what I plan to do (a monthly unit calendar and a blog). They seemed interested. I am wondering what is the best way to get the information to that parents who did not attend. We have parent conferences next week. I can give out the information to any parents who show up then. From there, I may need to call home. It is always good to make positive contact with parents.

After some discussion last week, I questioned how often I want to post to the blog on my teacher web page. I was thinking that once a month might be good, or after we finish a unit (which usually takes about 3 weeks). I can discussion the next unit in the same blog. If parents or students want to comment, they are welcome to do so.

This GAME Plan has been a learning process, that is for sure!!

Linda

The GAME Plan, Part II

Well.... it has been one week since I formulated my GAME plan that involves using my school web page to enhance my own technology skills and communication with parents. In order to meet my goals, I need to attend the technology workshops (aka Tech Thursdays) led by the people in the technology department. At these workshops, I can use their expertise to assist me in making my goals become reality- making my web page an actual resource for parents and students; not just a site that is never visited. Since last week, I have updated my page on my own (there was not a workshop last week; nor will there be one this week, unfortunately). I have discovered that I can create a calendar on my electronic lesson plan program and post it to my web page. Therefore, I am currently working on a basic plan for the month of October. I will need to wait for another "Tech Thursday" Workshop in order to find out how to put a blog on my page. I have tried talking to some of my more tech-savvy peers, but no one has worked with blogs in this way yet. We are suppose to be getting a new program soon that is rumored to be more user-friendly in the are of blogs, podcasts, and other tech tools. I may need to wait until this program becomes live before starting a blog on my web page.

I am not entirely sure yet how often I want to post to my blog or what I want the content to be. I am wondering if a weekly blog may be too much. Or might it be too little? Do I post in the beginning of the week, explaining what I plan on accomplishing and any upcoming assignments? Or should I post at the end of the week, and summarize what was accomplished? These are details I want to work out before the blog goes live.

Tomorrow night is my "Back-To-School night and I will inform parents of my plan for the website. Wish me luck!

The GAME Plan

The best outcome of this specialization at Walden so far has been the confidence it has given me to break out of my “digital immigrant” shell and embrace the technology and digital tools that are available to me- both in my personal and professional life. I have experimented with some digital tools, but have not yet fully embraced them- in either aspect of my life. It is time to keep moving forward.

My district has a program that allows teachers to have personal web pages plus use blogs, podcasts, and file sharing. Up to this point, I have made a poor effort at using my web page as a communication tool. I kept it simple- background information about me and the class I teach. I have only made minor changes to it each year. I want to change that. I think my web page can be a great way to keep parents informed of what is happening in the classroom.

My goals are: (1) to communicate relevant information and ideas to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats; and (2) demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. More specifically, I want to use my web page the blog as a communication tool between my students and parents. I would like to post a calendar with assignments and due dates. I want to use a blog as a way to explain what has been happening in class (i.e.- skills taught, stories read, writing topics). Eventually, I hope to use what I learn with my students in the classroom.

The action I will take to achieve this goal is attend “Tech Thursdays”. These are workshops hosted by my technology department. The focus is on the digital tools we have available and how to utilize them in our classrooms. We bring our laptops and learn firsthand how to set up and use the various programs and tools- such as our web pages, blogs, file sharing, and podcasts. Attending these workshops will allow me to better understand how to set up my web page and utilize the tools in the manner I wish.

I will monitor my progress by analyzing what I have completed at the end of each tech session. Is my blog set up? Do I know how to post to it? Is my calendar set up? If I do not feel comfortable working on my own or have completed something to my liking, then I will know I have to attend another session.

I will evaluate my success at the end of the semester in January. I will ask myself: did I keep up with weekly blog postings? Did I keep an updated calendar of assignments? Did parents access my webpage and use it to keep informed? The answers to these questions will determine how I proceed- if the answer to any of these questions is “no”, then I will have to make adjustments. If all goes well, I can go forward with my plan to use blogs or other digital tools in my classroom where I can transfer my knowledge and experience to my students.

I'm back

I took sometime off from the blog. While I see the potential for its use in an educational setting, I am not much of a "social blogger"- I have not felt the need to keep up with it outside of Walden. During this next course, I hope you will find my comments interesting and I welcome any suggestions, critiques, or praise you have!

Talk to you soon!