Thursday, March 25, 2010


So far the progress on my GAME Plan has been going very well. I have been able to come across workshops that are offered by my fellow colleagues on Saturdays for the teachers in our district. The great part is that it costs nothing and I have the opportunity to learn with my colleagues from my building and the other buildings as well. As I learn how to use new computer applications such as Windows movie maker, I make sure to implement it into my instruction. Currently my students are busy creating beautiful movies on different Latin American countries. Had I not learned about that program I would of had them do the usual power point or poster for this project. I have not felt the need to modify any part of my plan since I've been coming across good resources. My fellow colleagues at Walden have also shared tips and websites that I can use to accomplish my goals. Overall, I am on track and doing well. How is everyone else doing with their GAME Plans?

5 comments:

  1. I am happy to read that you are able to follow your goals just as how you planned.
    So far I had faced some challenges. I noticed that it is not as easy as I thought to get involved in the world of technology. First of all my main goal was for me to read or attend a proffesional development related to Teachnology.
    Well I have not found a good magazine or article that interestes me and about the proffesional development I already found an alternative. Which is to pair with a friend teacher and join the proffessional development commitee.
    Well I have to be positive and keep working on my goals.
    Do you have a good article in mind that you can recommend me?

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  2. Great idea using Movie Maker as an alternative to Power Points and hand-drawn posters. A great UDL idea for future assignments would be to give students the option of selecting from all three of the aforementioned. My previous school district offered free professional developments as well and I too have taken a Movie Maker workshop. It's not too difficult to use but I've been brushing up on it in hopes of using it with students soon. Thus far my greatest difficulty with my GAME Plan has been weeding through the plethora of information to fulfill my goals of communicating with colleagues globally and finding the best resources, applications, and programs that help students engage in authentic learning. Not a bad problem to have at all in this stage of the game.

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  3. Congrats on using Window's Moviemaker. I love that program. There are some great sites available for both assistance and final products/modeling:


    Teachers guide:
    http://www.microsoft.com/education/teachers/guides/windows_movie_maker.aspx

    Great model site:
    http://digitalbooktalk.com/

    I have also found, as you have, that student level of accomplishment and comfort vary greatly and increase with practice while using Moviemaker. My latest projects with Moviemaker have encouraged students to narrate projects, like a podcast (or vodcast). This requires them to write a script and collaborate with a partner to create a quality end product.

    I know your students are enjoying working with Windows Moviemaker. It is a great program (with some flaws) that is easy to use and allows students to create meaningful products in order to learn and demonstrate knowledge.

    Dan Lollis

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  4. I am glad to hear that you have found Windows Movie Maker to be a great tool for inspiring learning in your classroom. My students enjoy presentations using technology that provides tham with opportunities to include music, photos, or video. Multi-media projects are certainly a terrific idea for engaging students in using technology in then classroom. Do you post the movies or media on your class web page to share with parents? My students enjoy showing off their work. This is a great way to share with parents and allow students to show off their best work. It appears that that your lesson fits into the standard ISTE NETS-T Standard 2, that calls for students to be able to "develop, design, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources" (Cenamo, Ross, and Erterm, 2009, p. 162). Excellent post!

    Reference:

    Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach (Laureate Education custom edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

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  5. Hello Everyone!

    Thanks for all the comments and updates on your own GAME Plans. I must say using the Windows Movie Maker was a first for me but lots of fun. I hope to be able to find other forms of media my kids can enjoy, but this was a good start. Alisha, unfortunately I do not have a classroom website to post their work. I have saved all their work to an external hard drive so I can share their work with their parents when they come for conferences. Another teacher and I held an Academy Awards style show for them so they can select the best movie, graphics, producers and so on. Dan I like the idea of the podcast/vodcast for my kids, maybe I'll try that out next!Keila, I did make sure I gave them options for the project such as making a power point or a webpage using publisher but they all went for the movie and some did a movie and a powerpoint. When using UDL or UBD as its know in NJ, you're absolutely right about giving options to the students. They need to be able to demonstrate what they know and not all kids can do that through a movie or a power point. As for the any good articles on technology I must say I haven't come across too many, I really use what I learn in this program and I reach out to my colleagues and supervisors who know a lot about technology. I think its easier to learn from others than an article. Good Luck to all of you on your plans!

    Jennifer

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