My Final Reflection
When I developed my GAME plan for this course, I was a frustrated music teacher desperately wanting to integrate technology in my classroom and not sure how it was possible beyond the one simple computer game my students are currently using. I was convinced there was no easy answer.
My original goal was to increase my competency level on NETS-T standards 1 and 2; Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity and design and develop digital-aged learning and assessment. To monitor this goal, my intent was to replace at least one instructional practice with a technology based tool in each class by the end of the current nine weeks. While this was a lofty goal, it gave me a little kick to actually get going and find something, anything, that I could use in my music classroom.
How would I rate my GAME plan now? I didn’t meet my goal of replacing one teaching strategy with technology by the end of the nine weeks. But I did find a wealth of technology, most of it free or something I already possessed, that I can use. I also developed one digital-aged lesson that I successfully used in my piano lab.
The biggest thing I have learned is what I stated in my last blog post, that technology needs to enhance my instruction, not replace it. For example, I used my Zoom H2 digital recorder to let the beginning band hear the advanced band play their same songs and it raised the beginning bands desire to do better. In piano lab, we put away the book and I let my students be creative with their keyboards to develop a soundtrack for a simple one minute stick figure movie I created using Power Point and Movie Maker. The creativity they played with when they were bored found a place in a lesson. And finally, as a result of the content unit plan created over the last few weeks, my choir classes will research, collaborate and present their findings all in preparation to completely produce their final performance for the year. Enhancement, not replacement.
Technology is a powerful tool and when used wisely, students in the 21st century will get a 21st century education. As I sit at the beginning of a two week Christmas break, I am actually looking forward to next semester and many of the technology tools such as collaboration and digital storytelling, I can integrate into my instruction. I am frustrated no more! OK, maybe just a little, but at least I’m headed in the right direction now.
http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS
Showing posts with label NETS-T. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NETS-T. Show all posts
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Enhance, not replace! That is the key...
My originals goals were to research techniques and technology that can be used to replace a current teaching strategy in my music classes. While I don’t think I will ever be able to use technology to replace the element of everyday rehearsal, what I can do is use technology to enhance it. Maybe that has been the goal of this class all along. Either way, my apprehension of finding that golden bridge to take my music classes to the 21st century has started to ease.
I think the biggest progress I have made so far on my GAME plan actually came as I started to develop my Unit Plan for our Application assignments. I am working to develop a plan that will allow my students to use digital aged learning to guide the music rehearsal and final performance that will take place in the spring semester. Students will conduct online research (with the perfect web site I discovered by accident.) They will collaborate to share research with their fellow choir-mates in the very next hour. And finally, they will use online presentation tools to present their final designs. This will have most of the benefits of online collaboration that Vicki Davis spoke about in this weeks’ DVD program from asynchronous teamwork to multiple contributors to a final product. (Laureate, 2009) It will be these student designs that will shape and guide the rehearsal side of choir for the rest of the semester. So, students will be conducting digital-aged learning and using a lot of personal and group creativity to guide this project. To be honest, this entire project was birthed out of the frustration I had with one choir class just not wanting to put forth any effort while the other class can hardly be contained. By giving them the controls that will shape their performance, my hope is there will be greater personal buy-in and thus greater involvement. Their final performance will be one they designed, created and produced. I will merely be the facilitator.
I do realize, as I posted in my discussion this week, the challenge for this type of teaching strategy is the time that will be involved in teaching my students how to do all this work. The technology must first be taught in order to do the work required to use it. So that will take time. It is time I will have to balance very carefully so the technology does not overshadow the end performance.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
I think the biggest progress I have made so far on my GAME plan actually came as I started to develop my Unit Plan for our Application assignments. I am working to develop a plan that will allow my students to use digital aged learning to guide the music rehearsal and final performance that will take place in the spring semester. Students will conduct online research (with the perfect web site I discovered by accident.) They will collaborate to share research with their fellow choir-mates in the very next hour. And finally, they will use online presentation tools to present their final designs. This will have most of the benefits of online collaboration that Vicki Davis spoke about in this weeks’ DVD program from asynchronous teamwork to multiple contributors to a final product. (Laureate, 2009) It will be these student designs that will shape and guide the rehearsal side of choir for the rest of the semester. So, students will be conducting digital-aged learning and using a lot of personal and group creativity to guide this project. To be honest, this entire project was birthed out of the frustration I had with one choir class just not wanting to put forth any effort while the other class can hardly be contained. By giving them the controls that will shape their performance, my hope is there will be greater personal buy-in and thus greater involvement. Their final performance will be one they designed, created and produced. I will merely be the facilitator.
I do realize, as I posted in my discussion this week, the challenge for this type of teaching strategy is the time that will be involved in teaching my students how to do all this work. The technology must first be taught in order to do the work required to use it. So that will take time. It is time I will have to balance very carefully so the technology does not overshadow the end performance.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
My Technology GAME PLan
The International Society for Technology in Education provides five standards for technology use by staff and students in the classroom today. Content standards are designed to give educators direction on the knowledge and skill levels students need to master. (Prensky, 2008) These technology standards are no different.
These standards are: 1) Facilitate student creativity, 2) Design digital-aged learning experiences, 3) Model digital-aged learning, 4) Promote digital citizenship and 5) Engage in professional growth. (http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf )
As a music teacher, technology is a slow addition to my classroom. Not because I am hesitant, but because I am trying to find the right combination of content and how it can be enhanced with the technology resources available to me. The core classes I teach are performance based classes which require music rehearsal. Giving my students a digital-aged assignment more often than not, requires music rehearsal to stop. Add to that the lack of technology based music resources available to me; it is a challenge to give my students a digital-aged experience as suggested by the ISTE standards.
But my classroom challenges are not be confused with what I should know as an educator. With that in mind, when I reviewed these standards, I did find my knowledge and skill levels were lacking. Here is my GAME Plan. (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009)
Goal: My goal is to increase my competency level on standards 1 and 2; Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity and design and develop digital-aged learning and assessment.
Action: The first action I will take to meet this goal will be to examine my day to day rehearsals and content instruction to determine where technology can replace current tools and strategies. The second action will be to take inventory of the resources available such as computer labs, internet access and presentation and music programs like Power Point and Music Ace. The final action I will take will be to confer with other middle school music teachers in my district to determine their use of technology in their classroom. With these lists in hand, I can begin to develop lesson plans using my available resources.
Monitor: To monitor my progress I will try to replace one regular rehearsal or content instruction lesson with a digital-aged based lesson in choir and band by the end of the current nine weeks.
Evaluate: I will be able to evaluate the lesson taught in choir and band by comparing the differences with the same lesson taught before without the use of technology. This can be done by looking at student assessment, engagement and creativity levels.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.
These standards are: 1) Facilitate student creativity, 2) Design digital-aged learning experiences, 3) Model digital-aged learning, 4) Promote digital citizenship and 5) Engage in professional growth. (http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf )
As a music teacher, technology is a slow addition to my classroom. Not because I am hesitant, but because I am trying to find the right combination of content and how it can be enhanced with the technology resources available to me. The core classes I teach are performance based classes which require music rehearsal. Giving my students a digital-aged assignment more often than not, requires music rehearsal to stop. Add to that the lack of technology based music resources available to me; it is a challenge to give my students a digital-aged experience as suggested by the ISTE standards.
But my classroom challenges are not be confused with what I should know as an educator. With that in mind, when I reviewed these standards, I did find my knowledge and skill levels were lacking. Here is my GAME Plan. (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009)
Goal: My goal is to increase my competency level on standards 1 and 2; Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity and design and develop digital-aged learning and assessment.
Action: The first action I will take to meet this goal will be to examine my day to day rehearsals and content instruction to determine where technology can replace current tools and strategies. The second action will be to take inventory of the resources available such as computer labs, internet access and presentation and music programs like Power Point and Music Ace. The final action I will take will be to confer with other middle school music teachers in my district to determine their use of technology in their classroom. With these lists in hand, I can begin to develop lesson plans using my available resources.
Monitor: To monitor my progress I will try to replace one regular rehearsal or content instruction lesson with a digital-aged based lesson in choir and band by the end of the current nine weeks.
Evaluate: I will be able to evaluate the lesson taught in choir and band by comparing the differences with the same lesson taught before without the use of technology. This can be done by looking at student assessment, engagement and creativity levels.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.
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