Personal Technology Plan

Also available at Personal Technology Plan Google Document

Personal Technology Plan

Allison Scovone

April 2012

Vision Statement
Technology is ever-changing.  Therefore, how it is used in the classroom is constantly evolving.  When technology was first used it was limited to presenting static content to the learners through the use overhead projectors.  It evolved to respond to the user and make content more dynamic (Nice overview of the Evolution of Classroom Technology is available here).  Technology can be used as a tool to engage students, increase learning, differentiate instruction, provide experiences that would otherwise be foreign to students, and more.  Technology is an integral part of our students’ lives.  They have grown up on it.  Therefore, it is important to utilize it to reach our students (DuFour, et al., 2010).

One of the major pitfalls of using technology in the classroom is all-too-often time.  Learning a new technology takes time.  Some technologies are quicker to learn than others and once learned can be a task more efficient.  However, others may take a long time to learn and even when mastered it requires considerable time to use (especially if you’re a perfectionist).  If you are having students use the technology, not only do you as a teacher have to learn how to use it, you then need to set time aside to teach students how to use it.  With the packed curriculum, this time may be something that is difficult to justify.

Another pitfall that can occur is teacher’s using technology without tying it to the curriculum.  Some teachers will decide to do an activity involving technology because they want to excite their students.  However, the activity may have little to do with the curriculum.  Therefore, it’s important to consider pedagogy and curriculum goals when deciding whether to utilize a technology (SRI International).

Current Use of Technology
I use technology as a tool to convey content to students, differentiate instruction, and gather ideas for my own teaching practice.  In my classroom, I utilize a computer-connected projector and document camera.  I use the projector for so many things.  Some examples include

• PowerPoint review games: for each unit in math, I create a brief PowerPoint review game that is set up like Jeopardy.  Students use Eggspert to “click in” and respond to the question.  The students love doing this.
• Project student work for others to see as an example or while students are sharing their work.
• Project stories that I’m reading aloud, particularly for author study, so that students can actually see the words that we are discussing (for example, onomatopoeias, dialogue, and ellipses).  
• Introduce authors for author study using iVideo projects.
• Project math workbook pages that we are working on together to help students better track what we are doing on the board in their own books.  
• Show videos from United Streaming to illustrate ideas.
• Model how to navigate websites or modules that students may use independently (see below)
• Use SplashTop with my phone to control my computer from across the room.

I also utilize technology to communicate with parents:

• I have a classroom website that includes links to parent resources, class newsletters, class pictures, and student work samples.
• Parents receive weekly digital newsletters updating them about what we will be doing in class that week.
• Email groups of parents to stay in contact and help organize events.
• SignUpGenius.com to keep track of daily snack sign-up and field trip volunteers or classroom donations.
• Google Calendar to keep track of class events and birthdays.

I have students utilize our classroom computers to interact with content as well:

• Students have engaged in StAIRs (Stand-Alone Instructional Resources) to review material that they struggled with and took a quiz while going through it to monitor their understanding.  
• Using websites like StorylineOnline, StoryPop, Speakaboos, Read-to-Me and more for listen-to-reading.  The advantage of these sites over traditional tape or CD recorded stories is that they highlight words as they are being read to help with 1:1 correspondence and vocabulary.

Technology is also a huge component in helping me gather teaching ideas.  I utilize Pinterest to gather and keep track of my ideas as well as using Blogger to keep track of my favorite teacher blogs.  

Technology Plan
The most important thing for me in using technology in the future is having students being the ones to use it to create things and collaborate.  I also want to apply for more funding opportunities to enhance the technology available in my classroom.

Time Frame	Technology Goal	Rationale and Necessary Skills
May 2012 – May 2014	Continue taking part in the Ann Arbor Apple Technology  Integration Series to learn about new ways to incorporate technology in the classroom.	I am completing my 1st year in the program.  The program is sponsored by Ann Arbor Public Schools and is run by a representative from Apple.  This program is currently a 3 year program (although it may be extended if interest remains).
May 2012	Students will create a digital story using a personal narrative that they have authored.  Students will create illustrations using KidPix (which they have been learning how to use in Media Center) and a digital story program.	Determine what technology will be the easiest for students (1st graders) to utilize for creating their stories.  Based on educator reviews, it seems that VoiceThread may the way to go.  Before having students use it, I want to play around with it first to get to know how to use it.  Then I will model it for students AND create a ScreenCast of the steps which students can refer to as they go through the process.
August 2012	Complete Donor’s Choose project to get an interactive whiteboard in my classroom.	The project was posted in March.  It expires in August.  Currently, the project is 1/3 of the way funded.  To reach the goal, I have enlisted parent’s help to get donations and provide them with match codes or free gift certificate opportunities.  If necessary, I will also enlist the help of local businesses who are interested in investing in education and/or technology.
September 2012	Having students collaborate with one another using a Learning Management System with an integrated discussion forum or blog.	I would like to start this at the start of the new school year.  I am going to be teaching a new grade level (4th) and I’m thinking this is something they can handle.  Over the summer, I will research and try out different LMSs including Moodle, EdModo, Chalksite, Ecto, SchoolRack, and Edu2.0.  I will look for ease of use from both the instructor and student point of views by making sample classes.  I will also consider time to learn the technology.   After determining the software, I will outline a plan for use of it in my classroom (how often students will be expected to use it, in what capacity, etc.)  This will partially depend on the tools available on the site as well as my students.  The next step will be to set-up my actual class and teach students how to use it by scaffolding them.
December 2012	Complete my Master’s in Teaching and Curriculum with a concentration in Educational Technology.	The purpose of this is to continue learning about ways technology can be used in the classroom, new technologies available, as well as how to integrate it within the curriculum.
September 2012 – Continuing	Have students participate in WebQuests, additional StAIRS, blogs, and creating digital stories	The purpose of this is to build students 21st-century skills.  Most teachers in my building do not have the students utilizing technology outside of word processing, and possibly, Keynote presentations.  Therefore, I want my students to start to see technology as a tool for collaboration and problem solving.
May 2012	Have class participate in Two-Way Interactive Connections in Education (TWICE) program for Where in Michigan?	The purpose of this program is to connect students across Michigan via videoconferencing who are learning about Michigan geography (a fourth grade Social Studies objective).  According to the website, “Prior to the video conference each classroom will create a presentation with clues about their city or town. The other classrooms, using maps, the Internet, textbooks, and other resources, will try to discover the location of each participating classroom.” This is an annual program that takes place in May.  Therefore, I will register for it early in the year and arrange to have videoconferencing equipment in my classroom for the dates needed (this can be arranged via our district technology department, the equipment has to be transported from one of the middle schools to our building).

Resources

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Barell, J., Darling-Hammond, L., Dede, C., Fisher, D., . . . Seif, E. (2010). 21st Century skills: Rethinking how students learn (J. Bellanca & R. Brandt, Eds.). Retrieved from http://www.solution-tree.com/products/21st-century-skills.html

Dunn, J. (2011, April 18). The evolution of classroom technology. Edudemic. Retrieved from http://edudemic.com/2011/04/classroom-technology/

Mooney, C. (2009, December 7). Ease of Use-Photostory vs.Voice Thread [Online forum message]. Retrieved from http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/ease-of-usephotostory-vsvoice?xg_source=activity

SRI International. (n.d.). Overview of Technology and Education Reform. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from U.S. Department of Education website: http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/overview.html

Two Way Interactive Connections in Education (TWICE) : Where in Michigan?  [Videoconference Program Description]. (2010, September 30). Retrieved April 23, 2012, from Two Way Interactive Connections in Education (TWICE) website: http://www.vccontentproviders.org/viewprogram.php?pid=958