The two NETS-T that I have decided to focus on are:
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity and 4. Promote and
Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility.
I focused on these because I feel like this is something that I always
need to work on and that seems the most relevant to me at this time.
My GAME plan for my first NETS-T, Facilitate and
Inspire Student Learning, is as follows:
Goals: An
issue that has just now really come to my attention is the use of children
soldiers, especially in Uganda. There was just recently a video posted, http://www.kony2012.com (if you have not
seen this, please watch!) that explains this more in detail. I want my students
to learn more about this and contact their state representative to help make a
change.
Action:
As a class we just watched this video and many of my students want to take
action and make a change. I want to help them with this. I am going to have my
students research and find out who our state senators and representatives are
and e-mail them about Joseph Kony. I want them to ask for action to be taken
and for our, the United States’, continued effort in trying to capture Kony.
Monitor:
I will monitor this by having each student print out the letter that they wrote
to the senator/representative (they will first have to type the letter in Word)
and also any responses they have received.
We will keep a binder with all of these in it to show our progress.
Evaluate/Extend:
To evaluate this I will have each student reflect on what they learned from
this experience. I want them to start off explaining where they were at in the
beginning of this (mentally) and where they have come since then. What have they learned and what is their next
step, next issue they want to fight for.
Again, this will be similar to a KWL
My GAME plan for my second NETS-T, Promote and
Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility, is as follows:
Goals: Form
a blog for my students to write on. Each week a different group will discuss a
different topic and get feedback from the public. This assignment will focus on
persuasive writing and citing their facts.
Action:
My students will be put into groups of no more than three and they must choose
a current, controversial topic and write a blog informing and persuading the
audience to agree with their side. They must submit their topic to the blog by
noon on Monday and it will remain active until Sunday evening. As a group they will write up a couple
paragraphs informing and persuading the audience, making sure to internal cite
their sources and to also have a works cited at the end of their blog. They must use two reliable resources to
support their opinions. Each group member will be required to respond and write
a comment on the blog at least twice.
Monitor:
This will take some time to monitor. At
first I am going to use our school’s website which uses School Fusion. This
allows me to set up a blog and also monitor the comments that are made. Each
participant has a code name (only I can see their real name) and that seems to
help people express themselves more. At
first I will open it up to all of the high school and then maybe move it to the
public at large. I will also e-mail
staff members and have one or two anonymously sign one and comment about the
blogs. I feel that this will help to keep the dialogue/blog going.
Evaluate/Extend:
After the group is finished with their blog they will be required to
reflect on the experience. I will have them fill out a KWL pertaining to the
use of a blog and their experience. This response will be due the Monday after
their blog closes. I do not want to give them too much time after their blog is
finished because I want their experience to be fresh in their mind.
References
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
References
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI like you GAME plan about Kony 2012. It is a great idea to teach students how to voice their opinion and who to voice it to so it can be heard and maybe make a difference. Another great point is that this is an authentic learning and to the students there is a real purpose to write. Your Game plan “engages, and supports your students’ interests and motivation” (cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p.40). This could lead to amazing and interesting final products and enhance students’ learning.
To extend your action, you could have students create a video where they would read a passage of their letter, add music and visuals on the background. Then you could share the video to the school and staff and the community.
Your second GAME plan is interesting as well. I like the creation of a blog. Your post is generating ideas. I would like to create one, but I teach level one French and students cannot really express their thoughts that well yet. Now I think about it, I could have students pick a topic and look into French and/or Canadian culture and compare and contrast it to the American culture. Students would be able to write in English, and create discussion.
I see you teach high school. I teach middle school and I have them working in groups. Even thou they assign role to make their “work equitable and productive” (cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p.90), I notice some groups do not get along, which affect their work. Furthermore, they are friends first so they will cover for each other, if some students decide not to do their work. It is difficult to keep track of who is doing what for real. This said, I was wondering how you would check individual input in the discussion?
Maybe you could have students working in groups differently. Each group could pick a current controversial topic, and each individual would have to research and write a paragraph or two. Then you could have the members of the group reading each other work and discuss, and/or argue with each other perspective. This way each students will be engaged and will have to produce something based on their research and their beliefs. Finally, other groups could look at the whole discussion and decide who was the most convincing.
Reference:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Helene James
French 7th & 8th
Helene-
DeleteI really like your idea about using a video, and in fact many of my students are planning on participating in the “Cover the Night” which was mentioned in the Kony2012 video and I think I may mention to them tomorrow to take video of what they are doing. I am really excited about that! Thank you so much for the great idea!
JenZ
Hi Jennifer, I was excited to read your blog post as I have been following Joseph Kony and the use of children soldiers for quite some time. Needless, to say, I have watched the video and find it truly inspiring to see the overwhelming response it has been given. I like the NETS-T strategy that you chose about Inspiring Student Learning. I am passionate about inspiring student learning and I can definitely see where your choice in subject matter for inspiration is a powerful tool. The atrocities that this man has committed against children and adults alike are enough to inspire anybody with a heart to stand up and do something.
ReplyDeleteHaving your students write a letter to their state representative is a powerful learning experience that encompasses many skills of prose. I can readily see how an assignment like this could enhance content learning in the area of Language Arts. Might I also suggest that there are also numerous other options that your students could do as well, which involve technology. The video was created by an organization called the Invisible Children found at http://www.invisiblechildren.com . Not only will this website serve as a source of information, but it also contains links to compose e-mails to various policy makers and cultural icons. You could also have your students compose e-mails to various persons which emphasize audience awareness as well as proper e-mail etiquette, thus promoting digital citizenship, which is your next goal. This website also demonstrates in real-time the tracking of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) atrocities, complete with a downloadable application for your cellphone. I know your students will like this.
In addition, if your students are so inclined, they can buy the action kit, complete with identification bracelet, whose identification number can be plugged in to the Invisible Children website, allowing students to geotag their flow of information. Now, how is that for inspiring? Students get to see the power of communication at work on a world level and be one of the key players.
As I have watched the video and shared it on Facebook with all my friends, as have most people who have seen the video, it is astounding and inspiring, to say the least, to watch the power of social media in action. It would be quite the learning experience for students if they actually followed the blog posts on this website, as there have been many points of opposition directed at this organization. It might prove interesting to examine writing styles on the blog posts, noticing elements of style, expression, and language choices, and the affects that they have on the reader and the credibility of the writer.
I have one more suggestion, as you can tell I am passionate about this subject, you should analyze the video with your students: paying attention to the use of organizational structure, color, font, symbols, logical appeals, emotional appeals, expression of ideas, music, symbols etc. I am sure your students would find this inspiring, relevant, creative, and authentic. Let me know where and how this goes for you as I would interested in knowing. Good luck! Jennifer
Jennifer
DeleteI have looked more at the Invisible Children’s website and I really like the idea of my students writing to the policy makers. One thing that I noticed is that the links that are provided for the policy makers and celebrities is just linked to a Twitter account. I was hoping that it was connected to an actual e-mail but it is not. I have since looked up and shown my students the e-mail addresses of our state senators and representatives. I think we will use those to e-mail.
JenZ
We read in our class text how important it is to make the learning relevant to our students. I think your idea is an excellent way to accomplish this. The students will be motivated to use the technology and have it be a class assignment. In the process they will become more proficient in blog use. In addition, they will have to remain up to date on current events. They will also be forced to think the issue over critically and take a stand. It will be an excellent way to have students practice and perfect ELA skills. First, they will have to form and opinion. Next they will have to research and back it up with facts from references. Finally, they will have to effectively communicate their ideas in writing in order to persuade others. This is in my opinion an excellent use of a blog. Young students may be more accustomed to reading blogs about celebrities. Some of these may publish unconfirmed fact or gossip. This assignment will teach students that they should make sure they have thoroughly researched their topics before writing about them. This idea is really great! I just wonder how you will find the time to monitor the blog. I have a hard enough time keeping up with posting the assignments on the school website.
ReplyDeleteKaren
Karen-
DeleteI have used our school blog before and it just e-mails me at my school address when I need to confirm a blog post. It can get overwhelming, but I did it last spring and I was able to keep up with it. The assignment was not as big as this, but we'll see! It may be a crazy spring!
JenZ