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Reaching and Engaging All Learners through Technology

As I look back at this course and all that I have learned I see that one size does not fit all and that because I am a specific type of learner that not all of my students learn in that same way. It also made me evaluate the way that I teach. As a teacher if I am able to identify the way that I learn and the way that all my students learn then I will be able to be a more effective teacher. This class has also showed me that I am not alone in implementing differentiated instruction in my classroom. There are things that I do in my class that I do in my class that just come naturally to me and it is differentiating the instruction to all the learners. Yet there are still areas that I can improve in. Before when I would see that education needs to be more differentiated I kind of fought against it. I did not know that there were so many resources out there on the internet or that I was doing many of the tactics in my class already. Differentiated instruction was not so clear; actually it was kind of muddy. Now that I am at the end of this class I look back at all the resources there are and all the knowledge that I have gained I am actually more comfortable with implementing more things into my class.

Adjustments that I am making in my class is providing the students with guided notes that they are able to get all the information that they need on the topic that I am teaching. I started this process halfway through this class and the students have been responding positively. The thing that I did last year at the end of the year when I knew that I was going to be having the same kids was grouped the kids in the classes that I was going to be teaching by their ability. This has helped with teaching because I knew what the ability of the students was and I was able to pair them up so that those students that were higher would be able to excel. I have seen that this has worked pretty well this year.

Reflection

As I look back at this course and reflect on my GAME plan I think that it fell into place and I feel like I will be able to incorporate more technology into my classroom. There are many things that I will take from this class and use in my classroom. There are also many things that I did not know existed and I am glad to have had the opportunity to be in this class and learn about all the advances there are in technology. I was fortunate to be able to use the SMART Response technology in my classroom and that helped me and my students advance in technology. The students were able to gain instant feedback on what they know and don’t know. It also allowed me to know where the students were lacking and what I needed to cover more in my class. The technology that I would like to take from this class into my own class is digital story telling. I think that it is a great way for the students to be able to express themselves.

Week 7 GAME Plan Continued

In order for the students that I teach to understand that technology is important in all that they do I will need to model how important it is to them all the time. I am loving being able to use the SMART response clickers in my classroom. I think that they are a great tool and the kids love to be able to use them. I am a little scared that I will not know what to do when I am not able to use them on a daily basis. I use the clickers at least three days a week and at times it is every day. Not all the teachers in the building use them now so that is great for me because I get to use them all the time, but when all the teachers in the building start using them then I will have to give them up. I am not looking forward to that. I love the technology that is at my finger tips. Just sometimes when there is only a limited amount available to use I think that is limits me and the things that I am capable of doing.

GAME Plan- Week 6

I am still in the same place that I was in looking over my GAME plan. I think that I have a pretty good understanding on how I am going to do my lesson plan and I think that it Is coming together pretty well. The goals that I have I think are coming together. I know that there are teachers that I teach with that are not proficient with the SMART Response clickers and I have been helping them to understand how to use and implement them into their classes. I hope that I will still be able to help those that are struggling and then also grow as an individual in my own knowledge of the technology.

GAME Plan Evaluation

My game plan so far has been effective. My first goal was to model digital-age work and learning to the students. I feel that I am doing well with this because I have been able to use the clickers in my classroom that will help the students in to gain knowledge in the ever changing world. The other goal that I have set forth is to engage in professional growth and leadership. Well I feel like this will all come into effect when I am able to talk about the clickers and how they are used in the classroom on our delayed start on Thursday. I hope that the teachers in my building will be open to the new technology that I will be presenting along with a person from the district. I have had great success in using the clickers and getting the students engaged in the lessons that I hope that I will be able to show all the possibilities there are with the clickers. They are a great way to get the students excited about learning about math and applying technology.

Progress of my GAME Plan

I am excited that I have the materials and resources that I will need to carry out my game plan. Being able to use the SMART response clickers is a great luxury that I am blessed to have. They are a great asset to my class. The tests that I have given the students on the clickers have been very successful. The clickers are awesome to use. The other goal that I have in my game plan is to be able to use the internet. The problem that I think will come up is the ability to use the computer lab at my school. It was hard in the first couple months to get into the computer lab because there was a team in there every day for two months. I think that the clickers will help with all the data that I have to collect and help with the students getting instant feedback. It breaks up the same old same old of the pencil and paper method of teaching. I think that my game plan is starting to come together with the clickers, SMART board, and internet access.