I have encountered some difficulties in progressing with my GAME plan. Students in a number of my classes have related to my that they do not have access to computers, e-mail addresses or their own cell phones outside of school. Students have difficulty coming up with a plan when they are unfamiliar with the technology. While the "I can" statements we are focusing our plans on are the state standards written in student friendly terms, many students are unfamiliar with these standards and find little relevance in their own education. I may be achieving "curriculum alignment" as defined in Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach but I am not creating relevance to the students.
My second concern is with a lack of parent interest/participation to this point. I have received a few e-mail addresses from parents, but these are adults that are working very long hours or more than one job. The parents have said they would do what they could, but introducing another item (even a fast technology) into their already overloaded schedules has proven less than fruitful.
I have been successful in tracking the use of our laptop cart for the building. Teachers are starting to create their own Delicious.com accounts to ease students into locating teacher reference sites quickly and accessing the sites used in class at home or at the public library.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
More Adventures in Ed Tech with ESL learners
12 years ago
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Hi Susan!
ReplyDeleteDelicious is one of my favorite resources on Web 2.0! I introduced it to my high school students last year and they were ecstatic to be able to use their personal favorites everywhere they went. A wonderful resource for our own professional development and content area resources, students benefit from researching and tracking their own progress in every venue.
I have also met surprising resistance from parents in terms of increasing accessibility to technological resources in the home and/or outside of school hours. I am noticing that the families in my community see education (every aspect of it) as the responsibility of teachers in the school. This is a challenge because learning experiences are not as engaging without these connections between their communities and our lives.
I have been strongly encouraging and rewarding library use. The majority of my students live within walking distance of the public library. They email me from the library to tell me what they did or read. I give out "Manny Money" for activities as simple as reading a magazine or hanging out on social communication sites such as myspace. (Manny Money is our schoolwide incentive for doing the "right" thing. Students can buy goodies and supplies from the school store.) Johnson and Freedman (2005) recommend that teachers make connections with students regarding topics other than school work and grades. This allows students to voice concerns, or simply gives me hints as to the things they like to do.
Hang in there, you're doing great!
-Tara Lynn
Educ 6713
8th Grade LA
Reference
Johnson, H., & Freedman, L. (2005). Developing critical awareness at the middle level: Using texts as tools for critique and pleasure. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
I completely hear what your are saying about parental support. “According to a 2008 survey by Common Sense Media, the vast majority of American parents, do not believe that the Internet helps teach their children to communicate or work with others (Long, 2009, p. 27).” They are the biggest obstacle that many parents face. Perhaps sharing with them some of the research that we have been shown through our coursework will help. Additionally, students without e-mail accounts could be easily set up with them. There are a few programs out there that offer student safe e-mails so if parents fear access to unnecessary material, this should ease their minds. The downside, of course, is that most of these require some sort of subscription fee. Perhaps you could look into a campus discout? On the other hand, maybe the district could be talked into creating student e-mail accounts. As far as monitoring access to equipment, it looks like you have a nice start on there. The most important thing is to not get discouraged. When technology usage and tracking becomes more of the norm, it is likely that the anxiety others feel will be reduced, so keep at it. As long as you continue to pursue change it will take place. Good luck!
ReplyDelete--Krystin
Long, C. (2009, Oct. - Nov.). Beyond the stacks. NEA Today, Vol. 8, No. 2, 26-27.
I know it can be difficult to integrate new ideas into the classroom, so don't give up! Try to take notes and reflect upon what is working and what is not working so that way you can build upon your experiences for next year. This is my fourth year of teaching and not everything goes exactly as planned the first time around. However, the good news is that whenever I have an idea or a lesson plan that does not go as well as I had hoped, I am able to reflect upon it and try again with modifications some other time in the future.
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear your GAME plan is not going as originally planned. As you mentioned, it can be very frustrating when you are not receiving the type of support from your students’ families that you need to get the most out of your GAME plan. At the beginning of each school year, I always send home a beginning of the year packet for students to look through and fill out with their families. One of the forms I include asks for parents contact information (i.e. phone numbers, address, email address, etc.). I am not sure which level you work with, but I have had a lot of response at the fourth grade level. Maybe you could try to send out a general letter explaining your current Masters Program course and request support through family emails and contact information?
Kevin Richstad
Susan,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through your blog posting last week, it appears you are still experiencing a lot of the same issues and frustrations. As you mentioned, even though today’s technology and internet resources provide a quick and efficient way to connect with families, parents seem to be even more hectic and busy than ever. I usually rely on emails to contact families rather than trying to reach them by phone. I am fortunate to work at a school that has lots of support and parent contact.
As far as your students’ issues with not knowing how to use the technology, that is where we as pioneers in this ITC program are so critical. As an elementary instructor, I am hoping I can help my students establish essential technology skills at the elementary level so they are prepared to be successful when they enter the high school level.