The two goals that I would like to set based on the indicators
from NETS-T include:
(1) To promote and model digital citizenship and
responsibility
(2) To design and develop digital-age learning
experiences and assessments
The actions I would like to take to achieve these goals are:
(1) to ensure that as a teacher-librarian, I need to keep abreast with current
trends in digital technology in so far as literacy development is concerned.
(2) to develop a keen interest in the various kinds of educational resources
that Japanese teachers use in different institutions.
I will monitor my progress by recording anything innovative whether by
digital images or by documenting descriptions from my observations and or interviews with various resource personnel.
I plan to evaluate and extend my learning by cross-referencing with other teachers, and librarians in Jamaica and Japan to synthesize how I can recreate my future classroom or learning center with great influence from digital technology.
Reference
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Kerry-Ann,
ReplyDeleteI like the standards you have chosen to work with. As I read over the second one, “To design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments,” I wonder exactly what that would look like in my classroom and in your role. It would be nice to have a list of examples beyond the obvious. I think one of our goals over the next few weeks should be to create practical examples and easy ways to implement these standards into our current curriculum and content goals.
I am also interested to learn how applying these goals will be different for a teacher-librarian than for me, a fifth-grade teacher. In addition, you may have different cultural challenges than I may have. I look forward to collaborating with you as we learn and grow through this class.
April Grabanski
5th Grade Teacher
As a teacher-librarian, I would be expected to source various genres of digital resources that would facilitate varying interests and reading levels. I would also need to establish reading programs that will not only address the entertainment aspect but also the academic growth of the learners. Therefore, I would need to focus on improving the literacy needs of struggling readers with the cooperation from the students, parents and class teachers. I would use different digital software, educational games, videos, animation among other fun ways to at least give students the confidence to improve their attitude towards reading and their literacy performance. Having a library is not about having the technology but giving students equal opportunities to learn how to independently utilize them to maximize their progress. Students would be asked to create their own versions of a text, make a video by utilizing characters from the text to depict their understanding of the themes and or the progression of the text or story. Students could blog about what they read, or share their opinions about the stance author or poets take based on specific assignments given. As students utilize all the resources of the library with incentives to keep them interested as they compete among their peers, teachers can only document the entire progress of the readers and make value judgements based on these results.
ReplyDeleteTeacher-librarians will always be at a great advantage to source relevant resources, to assist teachers with their planning and to collaborate with them to readily make available such resources to supply students with what they need. Since technology seems to be the buzz word for research, we cannot overlook the fact that physical libraries have their place too. Therefore, teachers with library skills need to become competent at using various technologies for the purposes of teaching or reinforcing 21st Century skills such as the ability to improve the understanding of a concept, or the ability to ask good questions. While class teacher might not have the time to source a vast collection of authentic resources for students for a particular class, the librarian on the other hand has the responsibility to ensure this task is done to meet the demands of the entire school. However, the challenge for librarians is to make the library different and stimulating as students can easily opt for the Internet and other such choices.
Thanks for your post and hope we can continue learning from each other along the way.
K. Kerr
Kerry-Ann:
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, your web page is awesome! Wow! Your GAME plan is certainly well-structured and concrete. Your goals are very clear. I was not too certain how I wanted to set up my goals - If I wanted them to be more focused on student achievement or my own. Your background and your current teaching experiences, which combine a cross cultural contribution really offer a unique and valuable teaching and learning experience. We often hear how much students in Japan are quite advanced with regards to technology. How much technology do you use in the classroom. Good luck with your strategies for implementing more technology into your classroom.
Diane,
Grade 9, Global History
Kerry-Ann,
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a detailed response to my post. I am amazed at all you do. Since I am in a small charter school with a new K-5 program, we do not even have a library. Your description of your job made me wish I had you around to ask for help. It sounds like you would be an invaluable resource. Keep up the good work!
April Grabanski
Thanks Diane and April for your compliments. There is not much evidence of the use of technology in some schools as it relates to classroom use. I heard there will be changes to the teaching of English in junior high schools by spring; I hope using technology is part of the planning.
ReplyDeleteCarrying Out Your Game Plan
ReplyDeleteTo date, I have only had the opportunity to use the digital camera to take pictures of items at school that would be used to teach a lesson on “Whose ~ is this?” Also, I was able to incorporate audio messages of Japanese teachers speaking English in the above mentioned lesson. Believe it or not, the students did not expect the here their principal or their home economics teacher speak English. In fact, they seemed more intrigued with being able to identify the teacher than anything else. At this school, the English department is yet to incorporate the use of the Internet or videos let alone to incorporate instructional software to facilitate learning. So the assumption that many people have that most Japanese classrooms are fully furnished with sophisticated technology, is only a myth. However, some institutions are way advanced in its effort to be technologically advanced. Naturally, educators can continue to be innovative in the classroom as it is not the technology that will make our students successful but our students are responsible for their success with teachers’ assistance.
The resources I will need to support my game plan would include digital camera, video, colleagues at work and at Walden, online resources, and CD player. I would like to learn more about how to incorporate technology into the classroom to facilitate all learners. As I improvise I could take creative idea and modify them to maintain the same level of challenge for students but using the simplified version. Learning is not static so I should be flexible to explore how to facilitate learning by using new educational games that are highly stimulating with varying levels of difficulties.
It is my hope that my colleagues at work can accommodate some of the new learning styles that would require the use of technology to enable students to enjoy the same satisfaction as if they were outside of class. I would like to know more about how to incorporate technology in my lessons with disabled students. I wish I were responsible for my English classes then, I would have had more leverage to spark more discussions among students by using a variety of resources to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility.
K. Kerr