Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Carrying Out My "GAME" plan

Looking at my GAME plan and the goals that I have set for myself there are a couple of resources that I will need in order to carry out my plan. I will need a SMART board, a set of SMART responses, and access to the internet to get others ideas. I will need to collaborate with other teachers in my department to see what they are doing so that I can get some ideas from others.

Additional information that will be required for me to carry out this part of my plan is to acquire the knowledge that is necessary for me to convey the important topics to my students. I would also have to see how familiar the students are with the up and coming technology. If students are not that aware of the technology I would have to teach them how to use the technology.

The one step that I have been able to take at this point is being able to use the SMART response clickers in my classroom. I love being able to have the technology right at my finger tips. It is a little work getting all the assessments ready for the students to take, but it is well worth it once it is time to get the results. The students love the instant feedback that they receive when they take the assessment in the class and the students have told me that they feel that they do so much better when they are using the clickers. It is the same material that I would give them with paper and pencil. They are just able to use the technology instead of the old time paper and pencil.

7 comments:

  1. Desiree,

    Sounds like these SMART Response systems are the "next big thing" for classrooms. I have had several comments from people that have been using them in their plans.

    I can't wait to get up and running with these.

    Tiffany

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  2. I always become envious when I read posts such as yours. We don't have s*&!. I apologize for the fowl innuendo, but I needed to for emphasis. The clickers are something that a friend of mine in a different district has and raves about. Just to make sure they are the same, is it where something plugs into the USB port of your computer and each student is given a clicker to use. Their responses are given in real time through this universal device plugged into the main computer and displayed via a projector or smart board? If so, I am praying that one day, our administrators will get a clue and start spending some money.

    If I were to think of a criticism or something that may be of concern, here is one...Assuming that each student does enter in their answers as I described above, are their answers (right & wrong) displayed? If so, is this a privacy issue? Have you had a problem with students ridiculing one another for being "dumb" or what not? Just a thought. I know that we have had a few teachers get disciplined because of similar scenarios and violating privacy rights by displaying students' grades.

    Kevin Curtis
    Kevin.

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  3. I'm so excited for you! I just got a set of clickers this year and I can't believe what a difference they make. My students are more engaged during the lesson that will have a clicker assessment. It is a huge benefit to know immediately what each students recieved. It is a little time consuming but not having to grade as many papers makes up for the initial time. :)
    Enjoy!
    Dawn Bell

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  4. Kevin-

    The clickers have two options, you can display student data or keep the information private. I have used both, depending on what we are working on currently. My students took a 'test' Friday using clickers and they could not even see the screen. They were given the test on paper and just clicked in their answers so that the computer would 'catch' the scores. I however could see who was finishing and the scores that they received. You can also turn on the responses so they can see a graph of how their classmates answered without names attached.

    Melissa

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  5. Wow, I am certainly envious of this bit of gadgetry. It definately takes a lot of pressure away from the students. Yet, how can you encorporate the use of essay responces on your tests with this item?

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  6. I love my SMART response clickers. The students are more engaged in the assessment process and we are able to view our choices and talk about them immediately. This really helps when we are practicing standardized testing strategies. If there is an answer that tripped up several students, we are able to go back and analyze the information immediately. I think this is a great technology to use!

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  7. Melissa,

    Thanks for the update. Seeing that I don't have such technology, I have no clue how best to effectively integrate it. Sounds like those clickers aren't too difficult to operate and yet they don't seem to be too expensive. Any clue on how much they are? Thanks again.

    Kevin

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