One of my first lessons incorporating technology, a wiki page, flopped horribly. There was problem after problem that ranged from technical to bad management issues. I jumped prematurely into a lesson that would have been much more powerful had I been more proficient but I was eager because all the messages I was getting from Walden agreed with Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer (2009): technology would make my instruction better, engage my students and prepare them for their future job market. I didn't know enough at the time to do it well but I didn't know it or even have a good clue about where to start to change it before just jumping in. I am afraid my plan mostly involves standard one of the ISTE Net's ("Teachers use what they already knew AND technology to advance student 21st Century learning" http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx) but we all have to start somewhere.
Last time I had the students create their own separate wikis. This time I am going to have one wiki from which all groups create a page or series of pages; also I will have my students work in groups of two per computer instead of one per. That will not only help to foster the collaborative nature of the learning but also circumvent the common technical problems that we run into in the lab. When all else fails I can have them switch computers. Another way that I will improve that lesson will be to learn more and become more comfortable with the technology I want them to use. Peggy Ertmer (Laureate Education, Inc. 2010) asserts that knowledge of technology and how to teach my content using that technology is of primary importance. I have to spend time on wiki sites and figure out how thingswork. This is why I will be spending my Labor Day doing just that. (Happy Veteran's day by the way!).
As for reflecting and evaluating my work I am not sure because there are not any other people in mybuilding that I have a feasible amount of time to work with. Maybe I should take some time off my masters' studies! That sounds really good to me right now! I could spend a bunch of time developing my Game plan and then come back and evaluate with my cohort group! Learning takes time and it seems I have none at this time! Any suggestion?
Reference:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P (2009). Technology Intergration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Excutive Producer). (2010). Program 3: Enriching content learning experiences with technology. Part 1. [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD
Hi Jenn,
ReplyDeleteI really like your design on this new blog. Talk to you soon,
Kristy
Jennifer
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about jumping into to using different types of technologies without learning much about them because it will help our students learn better. I think that you are evaluating your work already. You have learned from you first trial at using wikis what worked and did not work. From the information you gathered about how the lesson when you adjusted the lesson for the next time.
Laurie Bayer
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteThank you! I guess you are right. I knew I didn't know enough but I also knew I would not get anywhere without trying, putting that pressure on myself to get over that first hump. I just feel bad for the first group of students that had to put up with my inexperience!
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ReplyDeleteJennifer -
ReplyDeleteIncorporating technology into the classroom can be frustrating when the technology does not work correctly. Also, as teachers, we are so used to being experts in our content and what we are teaching, it definitely brings us away from our comfort zone when we are trying to use a technology tool that we don't feel 100% knowledgeble on. You definitely have to build up your confidence level when incorporating technology. Being transparent and honest with your class helps tremendously. I have found that students love teaching me various technology application tips. Often they will incorporate a piece of technology into their presentations that I am unfamiliar with. I will in turn have them teach me and often run workshops for the rest of the class on incorporating certain technologies into the classroom. This builds their confidence and gives them ownership of their project. Not to mention it helps me out tremendously.
I have found that my students are much quicker at learning new technologies than I am. The sooner that I excepted it, the smoother my class ran and my students appreciated it as well. They love sharing with me and the class, new things they discovered. Taking the technology one step at a time definitely helps (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). One of the first steps, and in some cases one of the most difficult steps is giving up control and allowing the students to take control. Begin by sharing what you know about the technology tool with the class. Then share with them where you want to go with the technology, how you plan to incorporate it into you project or lesson, how you plan to use it as a tool. Then give your students time to explore the technology and make it happen. Again, it will give them owenership and will be much more involved in learning the content that you are trying to teach in your lesson.
Kathleen Cagle
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Excutive Producer). (2010). Program 3: Enriching content learning experiences with technology. Part 1. [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore,MD
Kathleen,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feedback. You know, I kind of started off with the assumption that the students did/would know more than I but NONE of them knew how to create and run a wiki. They had only read wiki pages. I ended up having to teach them the ins and outs of how to set up and build on a wiki page and virtually no content was acquired. My expectations were not met because we spent our time figuring out the software and hardware instead of using it like the tool it was supposed to be. It may have been better to not start out with a wiki page! I now know enough of the basics that the how-to portion will go much more smoothly. I am confident! :)
I like your approach though and I think that at this point it will work beautifully. They do learn these things much more quickly than we do and they will enjoy teaching me new things!
Jenn,
ReplyDeleteI think you should be able to look at the GAME plan little by little. Time makes work stronger. The longer you look at the GAME plan and perfect it, the easier it will be to fix your mistakes. I don't think you need to take time out of your Master's to work on this. If you plan to work on it on LABOR day, then plan to work a little each week, and then work on it over the summer. :-)
Ashley Carlson
Thanks Ash, I might just power on through. Just have till April right? I am feeling the lack of time with my little boy though too. I feel like I can't do all three justice (job, masters and son). When it comes down to it, I will let my boy win. =.)
ReplyDeleteJennifer -
ReplyDeleteTime was definitely not wasted. I know it probably seemed frustrating at the time, but you and your students are probably more fluent with wiki's having gone through that experience, then had it gone without the need of any troubleshooting. And you're right, the next time you introduce wiki's you will be able to see some of the hiccups before they occur. It is definitely a learning process for all.
Hang in there and don't give up!!!