Carrying Out My Game Plan

            I have two topics that I plan to focus on in my classroom.  First is “to design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.”  (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008)  The second is to “participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.”  (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008)  By creating a game plan, I am able to set goals, make a plan of action, monitor my progress, and then finally evaluate my goals.   

            For my first focus, there are plenty of resources that I can use in order to link real world applications to Algebra and Geometry.  I have started searching for images of different topics related to certain sections in both classes.  I am able to just cut and paste them into my lectures.  I have also searched you-tube for video segments related to real world math, but this seems to be more challenging.  I think incorporating video clips into my lectures will be more beneficial and engaging for the students, compared to just images, but I will have to take what I can get, until I have more time to spend searching.  As far as designing lessons that include technology, I have started using the Smart Exchange for Interactive White Boards for lessons that match my topics in Algebra and Geometry.  I have found several lessons that I can use but would change certain aspects of them.  Most of these have different pieces of technology that allows the students to be active participants which helps them become more engaged.  I will also seek my colleagues in my district and here at Walden University for ideas and lessons for using technology in the classroom. 

            For my second focus, I can only begin to imagine how much information I will gain once I join the technology PLC’s within my district next school year.  The first PLC is strictly on the use of Interactive White Boards and the second is on using I-Pads in the classroom.  Working with my colleagues will allow for many resources to be shared and gained in order to improve my students learning.  I did begin to look into different professional development classes that I can take or have my district pay for me to take, to learn about different emerging and engaging technologies for the classroom.  I did find on the Smart Exchange website an entire section of trainings.  I have written down those that appeal to me and plan on contacting my principal to see what he thinks of paying for me to take the trainings, and then I will be able to share what I learn with my school and even with my colleagues here at Walden University.  According to Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer, 2008, there are many ways that technology can be used to promote creative thinking skills among students in my classroom, but simply using technology will not accomplish this goal, (p.79) which is why it is so important to collaborate with others to determine technology that actually improves students learning.

            I believe I am on the right track so far with my game plan and can only hope that I can continue to strive to make myself a better educator which in turn will make my students more successful.  If anyone knows of any websites that offer technology related math lessons, I would definitely be interested in checking them out and passing on any information along that I can find.

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

SMART Technologies ULC. (2012).  SMART Exchange.  Retrieved July 16, 2013 from, http://exchange.smarttech.com