GAME Plan Progress: Small Steps

The Web quest is moving forward bit by bit. I have checked the links on the QuestGarden Web quest I found, and all are working. The task as it stands includes writing responses in a web log; since my students do not have individual web logs, I need to decide how to manage that element. That could be as simple as having them create a Word document containing their responses and submitting it to my drop box when it is complete.

I want to modify the evaluation rubric somewhat. As it is currently written, it emphasizes the web log responses. I would prefer to make this more of a project-based based assessment as described by Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009). While the research and thought that goes into the final product will be part of the assessment, more weight will be placed on the final product and how well students synthesize information as they create a new representation of their learning.

The next step, then, will be to modify the rubric and decide where to house the quest.

A minor problem occurred with the FreePlayMusic site. Until this year, teachers and students had the same level of Internet access; any site that was blocked to a student was blocked to me as well. Now, I have to remember that just because I can access a site does not mean it will be available to students. I mentioned FreePlayMusic to my students the other day, and when one of them tried to open the site we realized it was blocked. I was lucky in that we weren’t ready to work with music at that point, so I had time to request the removal of the block. It was a reminder to me that I have to be more diligent in checking resources for student accessibility before we are about to use them.

I reviewed the articles on fair use that I found a few weeks ago (Starr, 2010). There is still a great deal of controversy and misunderstanding when it comes to copyright and fair use, especially when we are working with new technologies. A key idea to keep in mind is if someone’s use of copyrighted material interferes with the owner’s potential income, it is more likely to be problematic. Another important element (and this is one I will stress with my students) is that the user must give credit for any copyrighted materials used. Another, which I had not considered before, is that no more than two copies of the project may be made; one can be held by the creator, while the other can be stored in the school media center. I will continue to research this issue to discover whether there are further details that could impact our procedures as we work on class projects.

I am pleased with the progress I’ve made so far. I have not only identified two areas of technology that were weak points for me, but also have taken steps to build my knowledge and comfort. There is still progress to be made, but the process so far has reminded me that the first step is often the hardest.

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Starr, L. (2010, May 25). Education World. Copyrights and copying wrongs. Retrieved March 14, 2011 from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280a.shtml