To strengthen my proficiency in customizing learning experiences for students with diverse learning abilities, I am slowly adding to my “technology toolbox.” Discussions with my colleagues have proven somewhat beneficial, though very few teachers in my school use the amount of technology that I do, so new ideas are hard to come by. The Internet has been invaluable in this process for this very reason.
I don’t feel I need to modify my action plan, though I do think I need to find the time to focus myself on finding new tools that I have yet to try. Time has been my biggest obstacle.
I have learned that the time spent taking individual students’ strengths, weaknesses, and interests into considerations yields very large dividends. I recently offered my students a choice for a part of a long-term project they are working on – they were allowed to type a traditional journal entry about some research they had completed, or they could create a podcast, which did not involve the writing portion. Several students chose the podcast option and they were infinitely more engaged in the process than they would have been otherwise. Several of them even re-researched the material to improve the information they had for their podcast.
I don’t necessarily have any new questions, but I do have an idea for a related arts class that I would like to present to my administration. I think we need an “Internet Class” of some type; something that teaches our students how to use the Internet for academic purposes. The amount of time it takes to try and explain the difference between a search engine and an actual webpage alone to 7th-graders is unbelievable! I think they really need have time dedicated to this, especially with how much our society relies on the Internet today!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Deana....what a GREAT idea!!! You are indeed right in the amount of time it takes to actually show students how to search effectively and properly. I know it takes me at least two-three days with my students depending on their grade level. Many students are so quick to take everything on the Internet as "face value" that they do not understand how inaccurate many sites can be. In addition to the class, plagiarism needs to be a lesson, along with paraphrasing. I have seen in past years that many of our students lack those valuable concepts.
ReplyDeleteGood Job!! Let me know how it goes. I would love to share your idea with my administration as well.
-Farena
Deana,
ReplyDeleteI like how you give students options to express themselves in different ways. That is something that I need to start doing with my assessments. Keep up with the technology in your school and hopefully teachers will feed off of you!!
Bryan
Deana,
ReplyDeleteI agree students need to be taught many computer skills to help them be successful not only in the classroom but also in the future workplace. Farena is accurate about instruction on plagiarism, paraphrasing and the reliability of websites.
Some districts believe students need to be taught these skills in the classrooms that are asking students to use the technology. I disagree since the content areas have so many standards to address. They do not have the time to teach the needed skills. In NCLB it states that all students leaving the 8th grade need to be computer literate. There are two flaws with this mandate: 1.No definition of computer literate or the skills needed. 2. The mandate has not been monitored or enforced.
Farena,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kudos! You are 100% correct that plagiarism definitely needs to be addressed in a more effective way. I was SHOCKED when I read/listened to my students posts. According to our district policy, just about all of them should have received referrals for their work, but I honestly think they are just clueless. I know our ELA teachers are working on this during their research unit, but I think that needs to happen much earlier and much more often.
Deana