I mentioned in last week’s blog that I use my Mimio board into my classroom often. Just this week, while discussing political and social issues in Africa, I used Google Earth to zoom in on several townships in South Africa. While doing so, I also use a split screen to show video of the rise and fall of Apartheid in the country. I was able to use my interactive board to stop and fast forward the video very easily, while never actually leaving the board. Not having to use a remote is wonderful. I was also able to draw over the video and map with the Mimio markers to point out different things as opposed to using a laser pointer or yard stick. I felt this lesson was a great step forward into my GAME plan.
However, I feel my GAME plan progress has slowed down. There is pressure from my administration for my students to perform at an exceptionally high level on our district’s end of the semester course test. My gifted students have to pull the weight of other students on my grade level that may not do as well, in order to make our scores look better. With that being said, I am now in a crunch to cover four weeks work of material in just two weeks—which is when the test will administered, and it is hindering my progress. I am concerned that I will not be able to meet my goal of integrating technology into the classroom every single day leading up to Winter Break. I believe I have the resources to integrate, but not the time. I feel it is very easy and convenient at the moment to use my traditional lessons, rather than create new ones or modify the old ones to integrate technology. Doing so will take time that I simply do not have at this moment in the academic calendar. I do not foresee this as a problem in the future, and eventually I will reach my goal.
On the a brighter note, this setback has shown me that some of the best developed plans may go awry due to circumstances that may be in or out of my own hands. The most important thing is to adapt and adjust, and continue to move forward, and to realize if I need to “modify my goals” (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009, p.5). This is the question that I will ponder over the next week or so. This time should give me an accurate measure of whether or not my original GAME plan goal is attainable.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
What's next? 
First, I would like to ask what a Mimio Board is? I have not heard this term before. It sounds like it is wonderful to use to be able to have a split screen available to show students. I enjoy using Splashtop Streamer so I am able to control my smart board with my iPad. It frees me up as I walk around the room presenting or assisting individual students as well as proximity control if needed.
Working with gifted students is frustrating when administration wants your students to carry others test scores. I can see why you feel that your plan has slowed down or stopped at the moment for you to accomplish the required content before your district assessment. Many times when teaching this happens from administration in my building as well. With so many new changes in education: CCSS, student growth, and teacher evaluation I wonder are we still manage to bring creativity into our classrooms for our students.
Bonnie,
Mimio software is just like Smartboard software, without the smartboard. It takes your whiteboard and makes it interactive. I also have a wireless slate that comes with it, that allows me to be mobile…at the same time that a student or students are at the whiteboard. The reason my principal chose to purchase Mimios as we call them, is simply out of cost. The Mimio software was 75% less than the Smartboards, and with over 100 classrooms in my school, it made sense.
Derico,
What a wonderful lesson! What a great resource to use! I would love to sit and watch your class. The interactive and real-time relevancy of what you are doing it fantastic. I recognize the pressure you are feeling from your administration and the need for your students to score well. Is there a way that you could “flip” your classroom? Could you create a video or screencast of what you are doing with your Mimio Board to show students at home, or could they focus on the traditional lesson at home so you could continue your integration of technology in school? I would hate for the students to miss out on either side. You have some great ideas, and I hope you can find time for them all. You and your students deserve it.
Erin
Erin,
Thanks for the comment. Yes, there is a way that I can record what I do in class on the Mimio software. The only bad part about it is it does not include sound. I have done this before, and uploaded it to my class website for students that were absent, and for parents that wanted to understand certain concepts. However, the glitch was that the computers my students and parents were using did not have Mimio software installed on them, and therefore could not access the file. That is the problem I am running into when trying to flip my classroom. Also, I still have just a few students that do not have access to the Internet at home. I think your idea of creating a screencast is a great one, and one that I am really considering doing at some point. Thanks for the suggestion!
I understand about the pressure of testing and time to fit technology in. As beneficial and authentic as technology can be, it does take time and the pressure from above can put a damper on the best laid plans. However, even though you have to shove four weeks of material into two weeks, the question appears if you feed it to them quickly and traditionally and hope they retain some or use technology to make it authentic even if you don’t cover everything. I think you are wise to reflect upon your plan and fit to your situation.