Introduction of Moodle!

A recent assignment in my final masters class has been to learn about and then produce a presentation about learing managements systems for use in schools.  Here is a link to click on to view my presentation! 

http://www.slideshare.net/ShayneBonogofsky/introduction-to-moodle-5347402

Reflection

During this past course of Reaching and Engaging All Learners through Technology, I have learned so many new exciting ways of looking at ideas that I can take back to my classroom. Universal Design is the design philosophy of making our spaces work for all people. For an example a building might have a ramp off to the side of a set of steps to make it easier for people in wheelchairs or people with strollers or deliveries to manage the entrance. Taking time to make my classroom lessons more universal in design has also been beneficial. I thought that differentiated instruction was make twenty different lessons for twenty different students but the true is that a lesson can be tweaked here and there simply be implementing a piece of technology or grouping students by interest level or learning style.

With a new school year starting in only days, I can’t wait to get back in to my classroom and try some of these new ideas I have learned about. Right off the bat, I will be opening a dialogue with my students, parents, other teachers in my building to let them know what DI is and how it will look in my classroom. Often times in reading we have an assessment on a novel or book we may have just finished. Assessments this time will include having students work individually or perhaps group students according to their learning style. Using interactive white boards, the internet, iPods, even cell phones, can help students adapt to what is being taught and to help students further learning more about how they learn…and that is a long life skill we can all take with us!

Take Action!

Wow! I can’t believe another class has come to a close…where do these eight weeks go? As I journeyed through technology and content areas and GAME plans and NETS-T with my colleagues and our good Dr. Xu, I have learned a lot…mostly it’s always best to be ‘real’ with our students; more on this ‘being real’ in a minute.

My GAME plan included goals of being a good digital citizen for me and my students. Another goal is to incorporate more technology in to my classes, not just to add a tech component but to make lessons and learning and understanding become more real, more alive.

Back to getting real…I tried several lessons using me new found tips and tricks and during one particular lesson I could get nothing to work. NOTHING! My Smart board turned dumb, the computer needed to be re-booted and I left their writing journals in my car. This was the part where I just started laughing…my 8th graders saw through it all! I told them about my classes, about being a good digital citizen and then we read one of my favorite books, Who Moved My Cheese, because my cheese had definitely been moved.

Through it all I am excited; excited to try old lessons in a new way, a fresh way, hoping that students will relate better and deeper to the teachings.

Remember…set your goals, take action, monitor your plan and evaluate. But most important…take action!

Just Do It!

The GAME plan is a great organizer that helps us set goals, take action, monitor and evaluate the plan. So many times in life we do a great job at the ‘dreaming’ part…we set goals, design the plan, make the map and then never act on it. I once remember my grandmother telling me, “You’ve said your prayers, now act on them!”

As teachers in the lives of our students, maybe the powerful way to share the GAME plan process is to teach them the pieces but then show them how to act on those pieces…to take the next step, to put the plan in action, to make it happen! And so…what have I learned…teach the kids to set the goals and then…to just to it!

Jump in, the waters fine!

School is out and another summer is here. I am a little nervous not having my students to be my guinea pigs; for me to try out new stuff on. But I move on and continue to refine the GAME plan. I am really excited to try some micro blogging with my students. One of my goals was to model good digital citizenship for my students and showing them how to effectively use programs like Twitter will be useful.

Here’s the deal, I am going to have to do some digging to really learning how to use some of this social networking effectively in the classroom and for my content area. We have learned about some good resources in our lessons this week but I think the best way for me to learn is to just jump in and test the water so….her goes!

Game Plan Week 5

Reflecting on my progress with my game plan, implementing more development of digital age learning experiences and also modeling solid digital citizenship using problem-based instruction is moving along. I guess I have been focusing so much on the technology side that I am not thinking about instruction in regards to my content area…reading. Taking time to reflect on questions that I offer my students to do their final assessment projects is important. Giving them meaty questions that they can really get their teeth in to will not only makes our novels come alive, but students will discover the beauty of ‘living’ with a book for a week or two. I visited with a couple of veteran teachers in my building to help craft good questions.

Helping students to discover the importance of being a good reader is my job. Helping them find the beauty in reading is a passion. Assisting them to demonstrate comprehension of their reading via technology is just a plain fun thing to be a part of! Here’s to your summer reading!

Game Plan Progress

As I continue to work on my GAME plan, I am thinking about how to more effectively incorporate NETS-T goals in to the lessons. The method of instruction I am looking at is problem-based instruction, implementing more development of digital age learning experiences and also modeling solid digital citizenship.

I have learned a great deal this last week about being more effective with assessment. Using project-based assessments will work best for the middle school population I work with. Getting students to buy in to what we are doing is easier with ‘real world’ style assessments. It is exciting to think about keeping learning fresh for my students and showing them that assessment does not have to be memorizing facts and figures but can be more hands on and applicable to their lives.