Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

As I think about ways to use technology in an elementary PE setting I come up with more and more ideas. I think that as I orginally thought about this, I was getting too complecated. I don't think that it needs to be that complex. Even using pedometers for students to monitor effort levels is a great way of integrating technology into the gym. I don't know that I need to modify my action plan but I do think that I need to refine it. I need for my action plan to become more directed at the outcome that I want technology to have on my students in my classes. I've learned that students want to use technology. It is a great way to gain our students attention, and hold that attention. If I can use technology to gain my students interest I think that in the long run that it will help my studnets to learn more and become more interested in our content areas. This is an ever changing process, it is dynamic. It never really done, it keeps changing and evolving though the learning process.

Carrying Out Your Game Plan

There are many resources that will we will use to help carry out my game plan. I think that colleagues can help almost better than any other resource. They know what we go through as Physical Educators and they also have many great ideas. As an elementary PE teacher I don’t get a chance to see a lot of other PE teachers teach. I know that collaborating with other teachers can help me to become a better teacher. This week’s resource spoke a lot about how our students all learn in a different way. I think that it is important for us to have differentiated instruction. I also think that we need to provide our students with interventions and enrichments. I believe that I am taking steps toward becoming a more effective teacher.

Personal Game Plan

I think that it is important for us as teachers to instill the importance of technology in lives of our students. They need to know how to use technology and they also need to see us use technology. We cannot tell our students that technology is important and then now use it ourselves. One NETS-T goals that will help with that process is “Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.” This goal lends itself toward showing our students just how important technology is and can be to their future. Students will need to see me use technology in my daily life and also in class. This goal will also help me too collaborate with of teachers and educators. I think that it is important that I stay in communication with other educators, whether those educators teach in my same content area or not. Another NET goal I will strive for is “Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.” I think that it is important that if I teach my students technology that I also assess them with technology. There is a ton of great technologies out there to help me with those assessments. I also know that students learn in a variety of ways, which is why it is important for me to use a variety of technologies to teach them. Some of our students are kinesthetic learners while others are visual learners. I will continually look back at these NETS-T standards to monitor my progress with the goals I have set for myself.

Reflective Essay

In a reflective essay to post on your blog, respond to the following:

• Describe the most striking revelation you had about the teaching of new literacy skills to your students as a result of this course.

I think the thing that struck me the most, is actually knowing what it is to be computer literate. There is a ton of information for our students to know in order to know the "new literacy skills." They must be able to find reliable information on the web and be able to know the difference between a reliable site and one that is less than reliable. Students must also know how to navigate a website to find the information they are searching for. Students today must have a larger skill base from which to call upon.

• Describe how the knowledge and experience gained in this course will influence your teaching practices going forward.

There is a ton of useful information I learned in this course. Some of the things I will take and use in my class are; internet based projects, using reliable websites, and helping my students to become computer and internet literate. There is a wealth of information out there for our students to use, our students need to be able to get to that information.

• Identify at least one professional development goal you would like to pursue that builds upon your learning in this course and develops your own information literacy or technology skills. Describe the steps you will take to accomplish this goal.

I am lucky enough that our district offers many technology based classes. I plan on taking as many as possible to help me get a better understanding of how to use technology to improve my teaching. Our students are growing up in a world of technology and we as teachers need to keep up with it as well.

Reflection

I think that there are many different ways that our students learn. There is not one learning theory that is better than the next. As a PE teacher I want my students to get in a lot of practice when we introduce a new skill. In order for my students to be successful they need to do the skill correctly over and over again. I would however like to introduce some new learning theories into my class.
I really like the idea of having my students chart in a spread sheet how the can improve their fitness levels. I think that it gives immediate feedback and is another way other than me telling them that they are doing a good job or could work harder. The other thing I would like to do with my students is to use a blog. I would use the blog to have students discuss activities they do outside of school.
Two goals I have for my classroom are to; continue to integrate technology and for myself to continue to new about new technologies. I think that there are a lot of cool things that I can do in my class that uses technology and also helps my students to better learn the subject matter. For myself, I will continue to take classes that teach about new technologies.

Voice Thread

This is the link to my voice thread.

http://voicethread.com/share/786915/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

I think that it is important for us as teachers to teach our students how to be able to work with other students. I believe that the learning is so much greater when our work with others. I think that it is important that when we have our students work together they do it in small groups (2-3) rather than large groups. I think that using smaller groups help to get all students involved and have a voice. Another thing that we also need to do as teachers is to use groups from time to time, it shouldn't be used all the time. Students do need to still be able to work independently. I think that when our students work together to solve a problem or work on a project each students brings a knowledge to the problem that the others may not have. By doing this I think our student learn more than by just working by themselves.