Online Learning

http://prezi.com/n2xrhu68ldow/rcampus/

Link for prezi describing RCampus and the benefits.

Reflection Week 8

My GAME plan that I developed was to start a community podcast for my school. I have gotten quite a bit of useful feedback from my colleagues throughout this course. I am excited to get the project running.

I have gotten to explore many websites that have helped me become more familiar with podcasting. I am excited to build upon my knowledge of podcasting. This has been a great learning experience, and I can't wait to have my students begin this project. I hope that I will get the community more involved in the school district with this project. I can't wait to see the results.

I don't know that I will have immediate adjustments to my instructional practices. I teach computer applications, so I utilize technology in my classrooms on a daily basis. However, throughout these courses at Walden, I have gotten ideas involving new technologies to incorporate into my lesson plans. I am excited to try these new technologies, but I believe that some of my ideas will take some time to explore. I do hope to get my GAME plan up and running soon; however, I am at the mercy of our technology supervisor. Hopefully we will have the community podcast up and running before the second half of the year begins.

Game Plan Week 7

In my project, I will have students collaborate with the community, staff, administration, students and parents to complete a podcasting project. My students will utilize the community blog and classroom blog to determine what subjects/topics people would like discussed in the community podcast. The podcasts would be linked on the school website for the community and school district to utilize. Students would be asked to be creative and innovative in completing the project. They would be responsible for creating original works and also collaborations. Secondly students would be responsible for organizing and analyzing information from many sources and ethically using that information in the podcast. Finally, students would be responsible for planning and managing the project to ensure a weekly podcast is uploaded to the school website

GAME Plan Week 6

I have gained a great deal of information throughout the last few weeks relating to podcasts. I still do not have a finished lesson plan for my classroom. I have many ideas, and I have received many useful comments from colleagues. However, I have not finalized a set lesson. I believe that I have all of the tools and information I need to finalize the project; however, I'm still unsure as to the content / information that I should have students create a podcast for. I would like to utilize the podcast to encompass all subjects not just random thoughts.

A goal that I have set for myself is to create a few more podcasts on my own and become more familiar with the process. I have created a few; however, I would like to be more familiar with the tool and the process.

Game Plan Week 5

I have been investigating many of the websites that colleagues have given me. I am excited to try some of these sites out. I have not had an opportunity to look at all of them, but I feel more confident in putting together a podcast lesson for my students.

Some of the questions that have come up this week are:
how can I make this lesson with podcasts meaning to the students?
how can I incorporate the podcast with the content that I would like the students to learn?
how can I collaborate with other teachers to utilize podcasts for a school wide project

I'm not sure that I am adjusting my game plan as of yet. I believe that I am on the right path. I do need to investigate further and determine how I want to proceed; however, I am more confident than I was previously. I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues to make this project a success. I believe that working with another teacher or teachers within the school will be a great experience for me, my colleagues and my students. I hope to utilize the podcast as tool for the school or even the community.

Game Plan Week 4

My GAME Plan is to introduce podcasting into my computer applications classes. So far, I have basically just been testing the waters to see what is blocked on our network and what is not. This year it seems that we have blocked more sites than we had previously done. This makes it extremely difficult to use certain programs and to get to sites that would be beneficial to the students.

I have mentioned the podcasting project to my students to get their reaction. They all seem really excited about the prospect of creating a podcast. I would love to hear about any programs that other teachers have been utilizing in order to have students complete podcasts. I really need to investigate further. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please let me know.

GAME Plan Week 3

In dealing with students with special needs, I believe that I will need the assistance of colleagues to help determine what technological tools would be beneficial to students with special needs. I am not familiar with some of the software / programs that were discussed in the resources. I have not utilized, for example, text to speech programs that may be utilized by those students who have difficulty reading. I am interested in these tools. This year, I have a few students who struggle with reading. I have assigned these students to read the Wall Street Journal and summarize a few articles. It seems some of my students are struggling with the daily assignment. I am trying to determine a way to tailor the assignment for these students. I have started discussing my concerns with the intervention specialist, and we are trying to determine a way for the student to complete the assignment. Have many of you come across this in your classes? If so, what suggestions do you have?