To carry out my GAME plan I will need many resources. One important resource is access to college classes and workshops that teach and encourage regular use of cutting edge technological tools. To truly integrate 21st Century skills it is necessary to have regular access to computer equipment and the internet. A great way to share internet sites with pertinent information is social bookmarking with sites like Delicious where you can share bookmarks and tag them for easy access when searching. Along the same lines of shared bookmarking is developing a network of colleagues (both near and far) to share ideas and information with. Most of the really great stuff I’ve been introduced to has come to me via this route. Another important resource is the administrators in my building. Developing relationships with the people in these positions is important. When they know you are interested and willing to participate they will think of you when opportunities arise for workshops and training. The biggest resource that I wish I had and do not is computer access in my classroom for my students.
Additional information that I will need is knowledge of web sites and blogs frequented by teachers who have similar goals as I do. Where can I find others to build working and learning relationships with? Also, I would like to learn about grant possibilities and how to effectively write grants to get technology into my classroom in a ratio of one computer with internet access to one student who needs to use it to participate in activities that promote deeper engagement and learning.
Steps I have taken so far include taking classes at Walden to increase my skill level and awareness. I have let my administrators know I am willing to be a proactive member of the team. I am gaining experience using blogs in both my personal and professional life. I have set up a Delicious account to have access to sites my colleagues feel are relevant and helpful. Hopefully this is a solid place to start!
Hi Molly,
ReplyDeleteYou are getting off to a great start to your Game Plan. I agree that our masters courses and additional workshops are so important resources to include and are extremely valuable in assisting us to stay current with the advances in techniology. Your strategy to apply socuial bookmarking in your plan is also a wonderful outlet in locating additional information as you stated.
What types of resources have you been able to locate through your administration or your colleagues? I know many schools provide professional development classes for technology. Does your school offer these types of resources for the faculty?
I was impressed with your plan to research more about applying for technology grants. In so many districts you finfd a scarce amount of computers and technology tools needed to teach the essential 21st century fluency skills students will be required to demonstrate in their future endeavors. I can't wait to read more about your progress in the upcoming weeks. Good luck!
Thanks,
Lynda
Lynda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response! I find my administrators are willing to send me to training classes and provide a sub on those days because they know I will USE it and SHARE it. They want to be supportive but I know their hands are tied finacially. It is a sad state of affairs. I would really like to get enough computers that my students could develop 21st Century skills! Very few of them have access at home and these are skills that are not "extras" in today's market. I hope to find grant sources and learn to effectively apply. When I am able to get into the computer lab (we have about 30 for 1700 students to share) they are excited and engaged. Many are just learning how to use PowerPoint and this blows my mind! I would love to give them the opportunity to share using voicethreads, wikis, and blogs!
Molly,
ReplyDeleteDelicious is a great way to start sharing resources. It is also valuable as a tool just for you. I don't know what I would do without delicious. I can access all my bookmarked sites no matter where I am. My username is s_lowmiller. I have a few sites tagged as collaboration that might be useful for your goal to develop a network of colleagues. rphares1 is Robin Phares's delicious name. She is in our class, and if you haven't interacted with her yet, she is very helpful and kind. Once you set up your account, would you email me your username to add to my network?
Molly,
ReplyDeleteI shared my web site with you on my blog. I wanted to put it here also, in case you don't look back at mine.
http://marlingtonlocal.org/cms/index.php?page=mrs-lowmiller-2
Molly,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that it is necessary to have computer and internet access in order to be able to teach the 21st Century skills in our classrooms, and Delicious is a nice resource if used among teachers in one department or even from different schools. In a professional development meeting in my school, I introduced using Delicious to my colleagues in the Math department. They said many times that we need to share resources; however, no one supported my idea.
I share with you the need to learn about grant possibilities, I hear so much about the great opportunities out there but I really do not know how to write grants to get a smart board and TI-inspire graphing calculators which I truly like to use in my classroom.
Best regards,
Joseph Wisa
Shannon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the suggestions! I will connect with you on Delicious and look forward to checking out your website. Thanks Again!
Molly
Joe,
ReplyDeleteI see that a lot in my building. We have 170 staff and faculty so we are pretty big. There are always people who want to complain but then never get active about making changes.
I'll be sure to let you in on any information or resources I come across regarding grant writing.
Thanks for your post!