After exploring the
NETS, my goal is to strengthen my
confidence and knowledge with the following indicators:
1b. Engage students in
exploring real world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools
and resources.
3c. Communicate
relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers
using, a variety of digital age media and formats.
5b. Exhibit leadership
by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating a shared
decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and
technology skills of others.
The actions that I will take for 1b are:
Ø I will make a list of available technologies and
resources in my district
Ø I will make a list of the technologies and
strategies that I feel comfortable with
Ø I will make a list of the technologies and
strategies that I need to do further research on
Ø I will conduct the necessary research to understand
all technologies available
The actions that I will take for 3c are:
(the reason I selected this indicator is because I do not communicate with
parents often)
Ø I will collect contact information for the students
Ø I will set up a class website for the two courses
that I teach and provide access to parents and students (and administrators if
they want access)
Ø I will maintain the website with up-to-date
assignments and information so parents and students are able to access
classwork at all times
The actions that I will take for 5b are:
Ø I will sign up for the leadership committee at my
school and attend their meetings
Ø I will attend the professional learning community
for technology at my school and see if they have additional resources
Ø I will do additional research on my own to see what
technologies I can integrate in my classroom and share with my peers at both
meetings.
I
will monitor my progress by noting how many of these things are being
completed. Some of my “actions” include
completing lists and joining committees.
I will make a master list of my actions and make sure that they all get
done. I will also be sure to integrate
technology into my assignments when it is beneficial to do so. I want to make sure that I am not using
technology just for the sake of having it, but because it added to the lesson.
I
will evaluate the effectiveness of my efforts by whether or not I have
established communication with the parents of my students, if I have joined the
committees, and if I am successfully integrating technology in authentic
assessments in my classroom. I will
extend my learning by continuing to research different technologies and methods
of teaching that make learning fun and engaging for my students.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteGreat goals! Does your school give you room on the district website for your class website? I have a class website where I upload assignments, list what we are doing, contact information as well as important dates. I tell students when they are upset, to check my website because they can find everything they need there.
Do you plan on emailing parents or calling them? I along with a few other teachers at my school use REMIND 101 which allows you to text parents from the Remind 101 site without taking their number or you taking theirs.
Good luck obtaining your goals,
Shannan McCreary
We used to have a district website where we could post a calendar, but we couldn't post assignments on it. I tried Remind 101, but parents were not receptive to the frequent communication and I received several opt out notices. I plan on giving parents access to the course after I create the website so they can be in contact with me at their leisure and then I will call and email them if there is a specific purpose only.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's so interesting that you can't post assignments on your website! In my school, we use Realtime, which has a "portal" where we're required to create a class homepage and post all of our assignments and grades. Students and parents can log on to the portal whenever they want and see an up to date list of all the assignments, due dates, and grades.
ReplyDeleteIn one respect, I like this program because it makes it very easy to communicate with parents; I don't need to find my own software or make any calls. I simply post everything on the portal.
On the other hand, I think that by posting everything, and communicating with parents so much, we're reducing our students' time management and organizational skills. My students don't have day planners or assignment pads, they don't know how to keep track of their own work or deadlines, etc. Everything is handed to them via the portal, and I think that's detrimental because that doesn't happen in college. Many of my students wiggle out of work by saying "the teacher forgot to put it on the portal", when the teacher mentioned it over and over in class. However, students aren't required to take responsibility for their own learning; it all falls on the teacher and how accurate his/her records are.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteYou have some great goals to increase your proficiency! I think it’s important to be honest about our communication with parents, and I like that you’ve addressed that. How often do you plan to communicate with parents? What do you plan to communicate? I try to let the parents of my students know when there are major due dates coming up on assignments, so that way each family is aware beforehand, so if I have to call about a missing grade, there has been some previous contact that is for every parent, not just negative information that so often seems to be expressed from teachers to parents.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteYou have great goals, and action steps to accomplish those goals. If you can get your students and parents to use the website you are creating, I am sure it will be a great success and a wonderful way to communicate with your parents. Last year, I set up a site through my school district and was able to post homework helps via pod cast, notes, and a question answer corner. Students had a hard time using it at first but after a while the students started to use it and then it caught on. The hard part for me was to remember that I had to check the site multiple times in the evening just in case a student had posted questions. It wasn't a problem unless I was doing other things in the evening with outside school things. It was a good experience in the end.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteI think you have great goals to work on! Standard 1 is goal that we both share. Incorporating real world lessons into the classroom is very important. I teach drafting, so the ability to offer engaging real world projects is easy. I tend to find that students are engaged more when they can relate to the topic. At my school, we have a class website. My co-worker and I tend to use it as a student project showcase and a way to promote the courses. As an elective teacher, we have to promote our classes and get students into our seats on top of making it an awesome but challenging real world class.