Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

As I continue taking actions toward achieving my goal of truly using my SMART board for what it is intended I have made a decision on what to do with the fetal pig dissection and have been working toward using handheld devices to play a jeopardy game projected on the board.

For the fetal pig dissection, I have decided that during class, the students will need to use their time researching the different parts of the pig and their functions. Once they have completed that task and filled out the packet that accompanies the task, they will then be able to use the laptop computers to start practicing the dissection using the computer program. They will use their class time to practice and they will then be assessed by coming in at a scheduled time to show their proficiency on the SMART board. I decided to require them to do it outside of class time so that they would be encouraged to do the actual dissection during class.

I found out that the social studies department in our school has hand held devices that will indicate which student "buzzed in" first. I plan to use the devices to play a game of Jeopardy. The students will read the answer off of the board and then state the question if they are the one who buzzed in first. This will hopefully add a competitive and fun atmosphere to an otherwise boring set of questions.

As I continue on this journey, I have found that the resources that I need are available, but it takes some digging. There are many very knowledgeable teachers in our building, but I have found that I often get caught up in the business of everyday teaching and do not take the time to tap into the great amount of knowledge that is out there. This project has helped me to do just that. Using the SMART board as it is intended is a never ending project. There are always more or other things that can be done so I hope to continue to search and implement these ideas. I have learned mostly how better to navigate the software that comes with the board, but I still need a lot of practice. I constantly come up with questions about how to accomplish tasks or how better to do them. It is great to have other teachers that can answer questions. I just wish that there was more time in the day that we could collaborate.

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

As I continue to play with my SMART board and attempt to improve my skills and techniques I realize that I have it mounted too low. When originally asked where I wanted the board, I wanted it to be low enough so that all students could reach the top. I did this with the mentality that I wanted the students to be interacting with the board. I now realize that the counter in front of the board blocks parts of the screen, depending on where a student sits in the class. I am going to have the board raised 12 inches so that it can be better seen. To accommodate for shorter students, I am going to steal an idea from one of the videos that we watched for class. I saw a grade school student standing on a stool to reach the top of a smart board. It is low tech, but should help improve the students' ability to utilize the technology that I have in my room. I have also been playing around with some websites that will allow students to dissect a fetal pig using the SMART board if they refuse to dissect the actual specimen that we have in class. I am torn though, because I worry that more students will refuse to dissect the actual pig because they would rather not get their hands dirty and just do it using the technology. I look at it kind of like refusing to go on a field trip and choosing to take a virtual field trip to the same place. The technology offers opportunities if the real experience is not accessible, but I still think that the students will benefit from doing the actual dissection more than doing it in a virtual setting. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Developing My Personal GAME Plan

One of the NETS-T indicators that I would like to improve is to: address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources. I recently had a smart board installed in my classroom. Up until now I have not been using this board up to its potential. This summer I am scheduled to get training on how to use the board as an interactive tool. I have researched several interactive websites that will help me teach science concepts and use the board as it is intended.

Another indicator that I would like to improve is to: engage students in eploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. I am always looking for ways for students to be engaged in their own education instead of simply listening to me talk. It is my goal to add at least one activity to each class that engages the studetns without them learning content by reading from a textbook or listeninng to me talk. I think that it is crucial to have students use technology to help guide them through things that they need to learn.