Now What?

As I began working on my GAME plan this week, I encountered a problem that hasn't yet been resolved. When I tried to log on to my SchoolBlog account to download the instruction manual, I was greeted with a message that said, "The page you are trying to access is not available." The page provided an email address of someone to contact to whom I immediately sent a message. Unfortunately, I have not heard back from lsblog@epals.com.

So, I am left with the decision of how to proceed from here. Do I wait to hear back from someone at ePals or do I totally revamp my action plan? I was really looking forward to blogging with my students and knew this was a safe way to go about exposing my fourth graders to this Web 2.0 tool. When I searched the site, I didn't find anything related to SchoolBlog. I'm not sure if my site expired from infrequent use, if the program no longer exists or if I'm trying to get into it the wrong way.

What have I learned? Well, waiting until the last minute isn't the best idea when it comes to technology. Had I tried to download the pdf file earlier in the week (say Sunday night), I may have heard back from a representative from ePals by now and know how to proceed. I've also learned that I can't depend on a program such as this to always be there when I want it. New websites pop up every day and old websites/programs are taken down each day as well, possibly from lack of use, lack of funding or a million other possibilities. Maybe the ePals server is down (although I find it highly unlikely since the rest of the site worked without issues).

So, where do I go from here? Do I search for another “safe” blog site that my district will allow me to use, or do I set up a site on our school Moodle account and learn to use that? Although Moodle is available, I don’t find it to be “kid-friendly” for fourth graders (or inexperienced teachers) and would prefer to use something geared toward younger students. Therefore, my next step is to wait to hear from someone at ePals until Friday (11/26/10). If no one returns my email or SchoolBlog is no longer operational, I will need to change gears and learn how to use Moodle with my class instead. The only problem with Moodle is I’m not excited in the least bit about using it; therefore, I know it will be an issue for me to motivate myself to find the time to “learn” this technology tool. Does anyone know of any other “kid-safe/kidfriendly” blogs? Suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Implementing My GAME Plan

Now that I've identified a goal for myself, what's next? Last year I bugged our district technology director to allow us to use blogs in the classroom. Finally, after providing him with a few documents about ePals, I got the go ahead. So why has it taken me so long to dive in? I guess I've been a little reluctant to try it for fear that I won't know what I'm doing. Here's where my GAME plan comes into play!

The resources I'll need to carry out the plan include:

• The SchoolBlog User Guide at found at http://schoolblog.epals.com/sites/schoolblog.epals.com/themes/epals_schoolblog/ePALS_SchoolBlog_Guide.pdf
• A colleague to blog with me
• A username and password that were created by my Director of Technology
• The blog support team available at SchoolBlog

Additional information I'll need may include articles or web resources on how to best incorporate blogs in an elementary classroom. The Walden library may be of assistance for the articles. I can also do a Google search on elementary classroom blogs to see examples of how other teachers are using them in their schools. If anyone in our Walden class has had success with this technology, their experience would be be beneficial as well.

To be honest, I haven't started anything toward my GAME plan. The first step I will take this week is to download the pdf userguide and read at least one section on how to get started setting up accounts for my students.

My GAME Plan

After spending some time really reading the NETS-T standards, I've chosen to focus on two standards where I believe I need to enhance my knowledge and skills: (1) Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes and (2) Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership: evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.

I selected the first standard because I feel like so much of my day is teacher-directed and I want my students to take more ownership of their learning to engage their creativity. The second standard was selected to help keep me up-to-date with new technology that could help inspire student learning and creativity. Almost daily you can find a new development in technology and I need to continue to learn what I can even after this course and Master's program are completed.

GOAL: I want to be able to share our classroom learning with others in the world using the SchoolBlog program through ePals. This will allow my students to reflect on their learning by communicating with others about topics we are discussing in class. Students will begin to see that life outside of our four walls is eager to learn from them and discuss their work. My hope is that it will also be a way for parents to see more first-hand what we do during the day. Getting positive feedback or constructive criticism from others will go a long with in building self-esteem and assisting students in evaluating their work.

ACTIONS: To meet my goal, I will need to log on to the SchoolBlog website and either read information found in the help menu or watch a tutorial. I will then need to practice using the blog myself to learn how to post text, video, images and links. To accomplish this, I will elicit the help of a colleague who also has an interest in utilizing technology in the classroom. Once I become comfortable with the program, I will introduce it to my class as a whole group. We will then work together for several classes recording reflections of our learning in different subjects each week (almost like a weekly newspaper). I will send a letter home to parents explaining the activity and ask that they help us by responding to our posts. After students are comfortable using the blog as a whole class, small groups of students will be responsible for blogging about a particular subject each week, switching topics so everyone gets to write about each content area. Finally after several weeks, the students will begin blogging on their own and responding to other classmates and eventually other 4th grade classrooms across the district and maybe even around the world!

MONITOR: How will I know my action plan is meeting my goals? I will keep a journal for recording my thoughts and feelings about each week of blogging. I plan to include lists of things that went well and/or not so well. When things don't go as planned, I will ask a colleague or Walden classmate for advice and revise my action plan for the next time. I'll also provide students with a questionnaire or on-line survey to find out what things they believe are going well and areas where they need more assistance.

EVALUATE AND EXTEND: As I reflect on my journal at the end of the year, I will need to ask myself if I met my goal of incorporating the SchoolBlog program into my classroom. If I haven't, will I try a different program to use for blogging? Did the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? If my students and I determine the program was successful, how will I expand on it the following year? If it was indeed successful, sharing the information with my administration would be one place to begin. My district asks for teachers to present information for professional development during the summer. Maybe I would host a professional development day on Using SchoolBlog in the Classroom for other teachers. This would also incorporate my second goal of Engaging in Professional Growth and Leadership. It would be nice to eventually educate all 4th grade teachers in the district about this program so students can communicate and get to know each other before going to Middle School in 6th grade.

References:

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf