It is exciting to find ways to actually implement the GAME plan (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009) I posted two weeks ago. I think my students next year will benefit from more opportunities to use technology for learning.

Three classmates—Katie, Tracey, and Jewel—have provided some very helpful guidance for getting started with videoconferencing. I would still like to eventually get my whole classroom involved in an exchange with another classroom, but pairing students up for individual conferences via Skype may be the best starting point. It is easier and less expensive. Later I may be able to add the technology for a full classroom videoconference, but I think we can accomplish some valuable exchanges in a one-on-one format too.

Another step forward came today when I talked with our district’s technology director. He told me that our Moodle program is running again; that was encouraging. I had used it for two class projects during last year’s summer school session, but it kept crashing when we tried to use it with the larger classes during the regular school year. That glitch seems to be fixed now, so I’m looking forward to using that technology again. Last summer we carried on class discussions and created pages about a novel using Moodle, and the students responded well.

The technology director also mentioned that he would like me to try out new software that will let us set up blogs, wikis, and email for the students within the school. They still won’t have access to external blogs or wikis, but we could at least communicate with other classes within our district, which would be a good way for the students to learn more about the technology.

I have also decided to keep up a class website next year. The district provides space on its server for any teachers who want to create websites, but it’s not as intuitive as some of the free websites I could subscribe to. However, it would be more convenient for parents and students to be able to just click on my link on the school’s website, rather than needing to keep track of my individual site. I could post a link from my page on the school’s site to a different site, but that seems a little cumbersome. I’d appreciate feedback on this from anyone who has experience with maintaining a classroom website.

One of my colleagues in my school is looking to implement technology in new ways, just as I am. It is helpful to get her feedback, along with that from my Walden colleagues. Two, three, or several dozen heads are better than one. Right now, I am envisioning my students talking to another class about themes and personal connections to novels that both classes have read. If anyone has tried this, I would be interested to hear more about what went well and what we should try to avoid.

References

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