Now What?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpkecYVRt_E

Game On! What do I do now?

          I re-read my GAME plan, and I came up with a few things I never thought of earlier.  I basically want my students to go into the Chinese city we visit (Yangshuo) and come out with the ability to help fix something that they found wrong with it. Really?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgUFlvclYyA

            Now, I believe that this is too broad; 

Mr. Pike:  “Hey guys, just grab your cameras and go video tape something that you think could be improved or helped in the city.”  

Students: "OoooKay?"

            I really like my GAME plan, of trying to institute some change, but I think that I need to narrow the focus. So I decided to look into the city myself; the resource I need is information.  What are some issues that are happening within Yangshuo, and what can I use to capture and display this?

           So, how am I to guide my students if I don't have the know how?  Laureate Education Inc. (2009) said that when using technology to customize instruction, we must have knowledge of what we are using.

            I found that there is a rising problem of over-tourism in the small city. Millions of people visit every year, and it is starting to leave a negative impact on the natural beauty of the area.  Perhaps I could have a lesson on this before we go their, to open their eyes to this growing problem.  Another lesson could be done on the value of eco-tourism, and the soft impacts it has on the environment.  Now my students would be armed with some background knowledge of the harmful effects of too many people, and some examples of tourism that is healthy and sustainable. With this knowledge, they could now begin the trip with a narrowed focus of what to look for, and what could possibly be done to improve the situation.

            Next step, making sure they are all comfortable using a camera. All of the students possess a smart phone, be it a Samsung or iPhone, and these all have cameras that will capture pictures and video.  My students will now be armed with an education of what to look for, and how to capture it.  

            Finally, the students will need to present their findings using a multi-media tool; PowerPoint, iMovie,  Vodcast or perhaps a Keynote presentation. 

            I feel that giving my students a narrower focus will produce less muddled outcomes.  They will have an idea of what to look for, how to capture it and how to share their discoveries with others in the class.  Once we have this complete, we can start to focus on some solutions to the problem.

            

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use.    Mason: Centage Learning.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009).Meeting Students Needs With Technology. Baltimore, MD: Author

GAME ON!

GAME ON!  I’ve shouted these words countless times throughout my life. Admittedly, it’s always been in the context of sports or athletics. Never have I said them trying to connect a self-directed learning technique (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2010) and national education teacher standards.  I guess there’s a first for everything.

I perused the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located on the International Society for Technology in Education website, looking for standards and indicators that I would like to improve on.  One thing I’ve learned in the last 15 months is that I should always be looking to improve on my teaching skills and knowledge.

As I teach Physical Education now, and have been out of the classroom for the last two years, I found that I am a little rusty on a few of the standards, and took it to heart a little after reading that ‘effective teachers model and apply the NETS-S as they design, implement, and assess learning experiences for students’ (ISTE, 2012).  I do none of these things!  Like I said, I used to be in the classroom. So I decided to connect the standards and indicators to what I have done, and set goals to what I would do if I had a classroom now. 

Throughout my somewhat teaching career, I feel that I have basically covered a couple of the standards, but would really like to improve on the others.  I have designed and developed digital learning experiences and assessments, promoted and modeled digital citizenship and engaged in professional growth and leadership (this program!) comfortably (ISTE, 2012).  Alas, there are two standards that I would like to set goals for.  I chose these, because I can cover these standards from the position I have now.  I do other things in the school besides teach gym, and believe that the goals I will set will not only help me, but my educational community as well.

I am a trip leader for my schools Education Outside the Classroom annual ventures.  We take students to rural places in China, to give them a taste of life outside the city and without the comforts they are used to.  Because of this, I would like to set a goal for the following standard and performance indicator; I want to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity by engaging my students in exploring real world issues and solving these problems using digital tool and resources.

How will I accomplish this?  I introduced my students to podcasting on our last trip, and it went over wonderfully.  For the next time, I will get my students to bring a digital recording device.  I want them to capture anything that they believe is a social issue on the trip; poverty, hunger, lack of education; I will keep the parameters pretty loose.  I want them to bring these images and videos back with us, so that we can brainstorm ways to help improve them.

I will monitor and evaluate my learning by following through with a solution.  I feel their isn’t much point to just taking video’s of social issues, if I’m not going to do anything with the footage.  Trying to come up with a solution will enable me to monitor what I am doing; did I find the information I needed, are my students understanding? Do I need to modify my approach, or change how I explained this to the students? (Cenammo, Ross & Ertmer, 2010)  Finally, I can evaluate my learning and that of my students by reflecting on if I should change anything for the next time or seeing if my lesson worked; were the students able to articulate the real world issues they saw with their digital resources?

A second standard I would like to improve on would be modeling digital age work and learning (ISTE, 2012).  I have been able to acquire so much knowledge this past year, and because I don’t have my own class, I feel I am unable to collaborate with students, peers, and parents using digital tools and resources.

A goal for me is to increase collaboration and information sharing through a blog. I want to start an athletics blog that I can communicate information with parents and students, so that it’s convenient for them, but allows me to use some of my expertise. 

My action plan will be to evaluate and assess what information I think I need to share, and comparing that with the information that our parents will need.  I am close with a few parents from school, so I feel comfortable in asking them what type of information they would like to see published on an athletics blog, this will allow me to streamline what I publish.

Actually creating the blog will help me monitor and evaluate the success of my idea.  Do I need to modify my action plan?  Is the correct information being displayed in a way that parents and students can understand?

In all honesty, reading the standards and performance indicators has made me realize that I miss the classroom. Teaching physical education covers standards, obviously, but a very different set in comparison to the classroom. I am grateful that I can extend my learning to cover the ISTE NETS-T standards, and hope that I can increase my proficiency in this area.

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Game on Logo. Digital Image. IMG game spot. May 15^th, 2013. http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/gsau_images/Forum%20posts/GameOn_280x228px.jpg

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (2012). National education standards for teachers.  Retrieved on May 15, 2013 from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2