Implementation Plan

Ron Bowlan--Makers Space Implementation Plan

Reflection

Before attending this conference and class, I used technology in my classroom to merely administer lesson plans and perhaps, occasionally include students with simple tasks. I was also surprised that studies have found that over 70 percent of organizations use some form of social media for collaboration (Tomaszewski, 2012). This was a great venue for me to reflect on the best way to deliver lessons, not only using technology, but also engaging students in using the technology as well. I have listened to people talk about makers space for over a year now, thinking it was some method of using arts and crafts embedded in the daily lessons. My thoughts were that of time-consuming project after project, losing the pace on administering the entire curriculum for the school year. However, I learned that makers spaces are not about technology or project-based learning. Sure, it includes those methodologies, but makers space teaching methods are geared toward the students making connections by producing some end product that gives their learning value. The most important thing I learned is that we don’t have to choose between what to teach and what not to teach in order to have a makers space. As one colleague put it, sometimes we need to look at the objectives aligned with the standards and work backwards to determine the best way to deliver lessons. I think that is sound advice

A Reconstructed Vision with New Knowledge and Skills

I plan to take what I learned about the effective use of technology and actually use it to build collaborative tools within my classroom to support two-way communications between me and my students. Currently, I use Google Docs for simple tasks such as pen-pal letters, or perhaps a report or two throughout the year. I am ready to go Google Classroom all the way. I realize that nothing can replace face-to-face interaction, and I will carefully consider when that is appropriate. The technology provides a timely two-way feedback mechanism for me and my students on daily tasks. Furthermore, this will provide opportunities for students to come up with their own questions and seek answers for themselves. And, of course, I will continue some of the project-based learning that I do now. However, I plan to guide lessons more toward producing something that helps students connect to the learning goals. This is my makers space. I know it will be challenging for me at times, but rewarding for my students.

Teacher and Student Training

First of all, I have just started my training. This conference and class has put me on the right path, but I also realize that I have much more to learn. I have a good resource in my school in our librarian, Chris Stegall. She has been a wealth of knowledge in my transition to a makers space teacher. I will continue to collaborate with her to make sure I stay on track with my goals and objectives for my classroom. Additionally, I have started to follow a couple of proven teachers on Twitter to continue to bolster my repertoire of teaching skills and lesson plans.

My students will also need some guidance on the technology side, as most of them probably haven’t used some of the technology I plan to bring to the classroom. Again, much of the training will be delivered during their specials class with our librarian. She has dutifully stepped up to help administer the training to reduce time spent in the classroom on more simple tasks. This will provide more time for students to actually work on projects during class time rather than search their way around new technologies. I will also provide time to explore the technologies within reason. I believe it is important to let them learn to navigate so that when they are truly on their own at home or another venue away from the classroom they are still able to progress.

Timelines

            My goal is to get my Google Classroom up and running during the first 4 weeks of school. Over the next 4 weeks, I’d like to do some simple assignments to allow the student to get used to the technology. By the end of the first 9 weeks, my students should be able to receive and work on an assignment, including making adjustments as they receive feedback from me throughout the process. Over the next 9 weeks, I plan to increase their input into the assignments by broadening the scope of the projects to enable them to explore the subject matter in their own way. Hopefully, the assignments at this point will result in each student producing their own unique product as a result of a guided study.

Desired Outcome

I plan to use some of the activities we did at the conference with the circuitry, and update some of my previous project-based lessons to along with other lessons. By the end of the year, I expect my students to easily navigate the technology used in my classroom and to be able to take broad-reaching instructions and produce an appropriate product within the parameters of the desired outcome. I believe it is important to note that I must stay on top of the feedback portion of these assignments to keep things rolling in the right direction. Any feedback delay on my part means a delay for the entire project. Although these goals may be a bit progressive for me, I think I can stay focused and get it done. I am eagerly looking forward to this year’s endeavors.

Recent followings:

Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher.com

Chris Stegall, www.chris8466.wordpress.com

Nicole Fuerst @nfuerst2

Note: As I have stated in many of my blogs, Chris has been a wealth of knowledge in my journey to upgrade my classroom to a technologically sound environment for my students to learn.

References

Jason Tomaszewski, (2012) Education World. Study Suggests Benefits of Social Media in the Classroom, retrieved July 14, 2016 at http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/study-suggests-social-media-has-place-in-classrooms.shtml