Carrying Out Your GAME Plan

     As I reflect on my G.A.M.E plan, I am now finding that I need to strengthen my confidence and proficiency as I explore strategies for seamlessly integrating technology into my content area instruction.  The National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) as follow are the standards, resources, and information I will need to carry out my action plan as well as my intended learning strategy that I want to integrate into my curriculum:

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environment (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).

     According to Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, “we need to use authentic learning is to promote students’ deep understanding of subject-matter content through the process of doing”, and by quote what I take is being hands on and tactile with the process of using technology, much like a sculptor is with their sculpture (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). To adjust my curriculum so that fits the above standard I will need to work with my colleagues to ensure that my students facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  I plan on working with our district technology coordinator and computer teacher to learn how my students can create a weblog that is easy to understand, use and obtain for my students and in my classroom.  I have my own blog that students can visit, and by adding this link to my course syllabus, that I hand out to the students at the beginning of each rotation, this will give them access to some of the expectations that I seek from them in my class.  I want to model this so that students can see for themselves what they can do by using technology.  By modeling the use of technology for my students I want them see that by putting yourself out there with the use of technology it can become a great resource for exhibiting something your passionate about (as in my case art).  I need to explore the options I have by displaying my talent and I need to work on my blog on a more educational, personal, and artistic level (not just to use it for my Walden assignments), so that I can model the work that I expect from my students.  As of right now I am exploring the idea of adding to my blog my art explorations from my 2013 summer for when school resumes for students to see what Miss Wallace has done over the past two and half months. 

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.

a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).

     With the above standard by the ISTE, I look forward to implementing this into my curriculum.  Many times when students are creating an artwork, they want to use the work of others without giving them credit.  I do not mind if students use ideas from another source, but the problem that I have is they do not give credit when credit is due.  For example, when a seventh grade student brings me a drawing, and as an art teacher, I can tell that the student has traced most of what was drawn.  I think that a frequent amount of students have not been educated about the legal and ethical use of not only digital information, but also information in general.  I want to look into resources that I can use in my teaching that will instruct students the proper ways to respect copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  As of now, I do not know what students’ are learning in English class regarding copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.  I need to meet with the English teachers in the building to explore their method of citing materials that way we are all on the same page.  In addition, it would be a good idea to talk with the computer teacher in asking what ideas they have in preventing this to occur when it comes to online resources.  In last week’s blog post, a classmate from Walden Steven Stein suggested that I look at a website called EasyBib.com.  This maybe something that I can present to other teachers in my building to cut down on plagiarism and helping students understand the ethical use of work by others.

     If anyone reading this blog has, any ideas to aid in my implementation of the NETS-T standards feel free to post in the comments section.  I would love to hear outside sources ideas of how they might go about implementing these standards into a classroom or any other resources that maybe available. 

References

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

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