A review of my NETS-T goals...
1a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
5c. evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.
Things are going very well with my first goal right now. I have recently been switching roles in my classroom. I have installed Promethean's Inspire as well as SMART's Notebook on all the desktops in my classroom. I have been showing students how to use the programs as guiding them on tutorials. A project that they are all working on in groups is going to require them to create their own SMART or Inspire lesson with questions for students to answer using their student response systems. I am moving along great and I do not plan on abandoning this goal. I actually don't think there is anything that needs to be modified either, since I have been pretty successful.
My second goal, as of late, has been coming along much better than I could have anticipated. Call it fate or luck, but a fellow colleague and I are currently "on tour." For the grant that we participate in, we have been involved so far in presenting to administrators at teachers that came on a walk through as well as a workshop that was hosted just today. We are also "booked" to present at another workshop on the 16th of this month as well as a Saturday in March. You can say our record sales are through the roof! All jokes aside, it feels great to present something that I am so passionate about. We show demonstrations and write tutorials about student response systems and encourage teachers to use them or to think about them for their schools. Maybe my underlying questions is am I supporting student learning? Although the workshops are not directly with children, I am promoting and encouraging fellow teachers about the benefits it will have in their classrooms and their students. It is something that I work with everyday in school with my students, so I see the results. And they're good... real good.
I guess there is nothing I really want to change just yet. I feel that things are going so well and that I am on a roll. I really want to see where it takes me.
Matthew,
ReplyDeleteI have also had my students working with Smart notebook, creating presentations that involve the entire class. The students love the opportunity to create a product and enjoy having their classmates participate in their presentations.
I think the workshop you are presenting sounds very interesting. I wish that our district offered similar workshops, to show teachers all that technology can offer and the wonderful outcomes that come from it!
Liz
Matthew,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your successful tour season! I think you are definitely supporting student learning by sharing your expertise with fellow teachers.
Have you created or worked with a student response system whereby the students answer questions via cell phone? It seems like a combination of microblogging and student response systems. Just curious.
Christina
Liz,
ReplyDeleteWell, since I've been "on tour" for the past few weeks, I am sure I can throw in one more show if your school wants to book me. It would be a trip since I am coming from NYC. I am sure there are plenty of opportunities for you to have some workshops. I know for sure that SMART holds them at schools. I believe if you visit their Teq website, you will be able to find information.
Matt
Christina,
ReplyDeleteI added something to my website called wiffiti. What it is is basically a graffiti wall where students can text you responses. They use them at stadiums, sports arenas, concert halls, even Times Square. I'll sometimes post a question or let them post one themselves. It's pretty interesting. Other than that, I have not really incorporated cell phones. They are actually banned from school, and believe it or not, not a lot of my students have them.
Matt