This has been both a productive and frustrating week regarding my game plan. I am making progress in the classroom. In my accounting class, students are now posting to a discussion board for the first time. It was very helpful for me to see which concepts from the last few days are still confusing for them. It will definitely help me in terms of remediation. Likewise the students saw that what they are struggling to understand is the same as some fellow classmates. It is also improving the teamwork in class. We also continued with concept mapping today. All on their own they discovered how to work collaboratively on one, and how to invite other students to view theirs. They asked me to do another map in the future where they work collaboratively with someone on the other side of the classroom. The concept mapping has increased their motivation and understanding of the content. A number have said they plan to use it in other courses.
My frustration comes in trying to find other teachers to observe and model when it comes to teaching concept mapping and wikis. Since I have found none in my building, I decided to try and create my own teacher Web 2.0 support group. I asked the principal for time during the next staff meeting to show the concept maps my students created and our Walden wiki. I will be inviting staff to meet briefly with me after the meeting and then, one day a month after school to learn about these tools. After a few meetings I hope to get a teacher wiki up and running to help us learn from each other. Between now and then, I will continue to hone my Web 2.0 skills and introduce them to my students. Once I have accomplished that, I am on to learning I Google and all the tools available through Google. I am pleased with the progress I have made on my GAME plan so far. I am learning that by trying out the Web 2.0 tools myself and becoming comfortable with them, I am more confident teaching them to my students.
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3 comments:
Diane,
I like how you are so willing to try and incorporate new things into the classroom. You are finding that the students are enjoying the experiences and technologies that they are learning. It also has allowed you to have porofessional and technological growth because of your willingness to try something new. I liked your point that through the discussion board, you are receive instand feedback about what the students understand and what they need a little more clarity with, but also for the students to see that the struggles they are having are struggles that others are having too. By allowing students to work on a project like this, you are giving them the tools they need to succeed in life especially as many probably are getting ready to attend college. Excellent ideas and reflection on the best practices and really learning and growing from the assignment.
Hi Diane-
You wrote a nice reflection. It's good that your students are benefiting from the new tools you have shown them. Discussion boards are a great way for students to collaborate and share ideas. I tried to start a discussion on a discussion board in a group for teachers I joined on facebook.
From the way you have been moving so far, I think you will be successful in completing your goals. You have some great ideas for getting other teachers together and it takes courage to step up and try to make things happen. Other teachers will appreciate your efforts in showing what you have done to help them learn new tools that they can use with their students.
Diane,
I understand your frustration when it comes to modeling other teachers. I know when I first started teaching, and developing lessons for my classes I modeled off of the best teachers in my school. One thing I can recommend is possibly searching through blogs and social networking sites for teachers that may have completed lessons similar to the one you are trying to implement. Hopefully they will have a video posted from the class of the lesson they taught.
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