Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Monitoring My GAME Plan


Keeping up with my goals has been a difficult process.  I have been trying to stick with the philosophy that I have read so many times over this course, technology needs to become a part of the curriculum and not just included for the sake of adding technology.

 
As with any goal, it is always a work in progress.  My goal of using more virtual tours and Skype sessions is starting to take shape.  I was able to have students take a tour of Yosemite National Park for our reading story.  So far, I have learned that it is very difficult to find exactly the type of tour I want.  Getting the right connection at school has also been a challenge.  In the next couple of weeks I will be using the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill website for virtual tours as my students start studying the southeast region.  As for the Skype sessions, it seems that most organizations want a fee so that will probably not be possible. However, I am looking for a classroom from the southeast region to communicate with via Skype.  (Kelly B., I sent you an e-mail!)

My global experience is coming along much slower.  I have not heard from my Russian teacher partner for ePals in a couple of weeks.  I tried to e-mail him two days ago but have not received a response back.  I may need to adjust my action plan.  If I do not hear from him soon, I will be looking for another class partner.  Due to this, I do not want to spend too much class time studying Russia if they will not be our partners.  I am wondering if any of my Walden colleagues are from another country or know another class that would be interested in using ePals?

References:

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill (2006). Macmillan/McGraw-Hill social studies-virtual field trips and state resources.  Retrieved from

3 comments:

  1. Hi Mrs. Webb,

    It looks like you are making systematic progress towards your goals. Perhaps you could use a virtual tour of Russia to offset the e-pals disappointment. This might be turned into a cross-curricular adventure by studying the climate (National Weather Station website), Math (average temperatures, population, etc.) Location (Geography on Google Earth), History (Napoleon's march to Moscow, the last Czar, the "Mad Monk' Rasputin, etc.). You might even include some economics by comparing how the disappearance of the middle class (causing the Russian revolution) has parallels in our country today. Graphing software and YouTube would lend technical support as would the vast resources of the Internet.

    Dennis

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  2. Dennis,
    Thanks for the suggestions. It is very disappointing I have not heard back from the Russian teacher. I am going to start looking for another country to partner with.

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  3. Hi Christina,

    In reading your post your thoughts definitely show that you are giving your goals a concerted effort. In noting how “technology needs to become a part of the curriculum and not just included for the sake of adding technology” (Webb, 2012) the resources being incorporated and the actions you are taking will undoubtedly be ones that will generate longer term success.

    In discussing virtual fieldtrips I too am endeavouring to utilize these types of activities more regularly with my students, as having the ability to experience materials firsthand will undoubtedly aid my students in personalizing their learning. However much like you, I am also having a challenging time finding ones which align nicely with my targeted concepts. Fortunately I have been able to tackle this challenge with assistance from my grade four colleagues who I have convinced to accompany me on my search –I am hoping that many minds will make for an easier and more successful outcome in relation to finding appropriate resources. Do you have school colleagues with whom you can collaborate? Perhaps they may have some leads that could help in your search for a matching virtual fieldtrip.

    Good luck with your search.

    Trevor

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