Gregory Gilmore

Professional Portfolio

ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators

 

Standard 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

 

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:

 

a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

Creative and innovative thinking should be regularly cultivated in the music classroom and library media center; using technology to support creativity in these areas should be a natural extension of performance, composition, music appreciation, literacy, and library research.  While teaching music, I provided my students the opportunity to learn music theory and composition with Music Ace and mix short sound loops using Sony ACID and online tools such as Aviary.com.  I used video performances and discussion boards to expand on the traditional activity of listening to music or studying the work of a performer in an Emily Bear listening lesson.  In this lesson, students are given a choice of videos to watch and then an opportunity to interact in an online discussion board.  The Collaborative Lesson Script and Assessment that I designed with a team of classmates uses creative writing to teach and assess the use of collaborative communication tools.  The assessment for this project employed discussion boards that allowed teams of participants to share their creative writing while reflecting on the project.  While in the library, I created a Google Lit Trip to supplement a book talk on a Mark Twain Award Nominee book.  This Google Lit Trip illustrated the geographical settings of the book and encouraged them to read the book as well as other books by the same author. Creativity has been fostered in music classrooms long before modern technology was available, but the tools I have recently used allow for enhanced experiences. What was previously only possible with dedicated sound and video equipment can now be produced in a fraction of the time with a desktop computer or tablet. Technology offers students immediate feedback and the opportunity to communicate with students and educators outside of their classroom or building; these opportunities clearly enrich the educational experience.

b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

In response to the popularity of downloading music both legally and illegally, I developed and implemented  lessons on digital music copyright and online piracy for my sixth grade general music students. My students initially thought they were experts on downloading music, but most students soon realized that they had not given much thought to the legitimacy of the content they were obtaining through the internet or from peers. After allowing them to explore the sites in the LiveBinder, we were able to hold an honest discussion that did not include a lecture on the perils of downloading digital content. As a result, many students came to accurate conclusions about the disadvantages and consequences of stealing music. In the library, I developed Custom Google Searches as part of a fourth grade research project on famous Missourians and a third grade research project on animals.  The Google Custom Search allowed the classroom teachers and me to choose the sites that would be searched, but provided enough returned search hits that students would have to make the decisions necessary to pick the best sources that would answer their research questions.  The Custom Searches also gave students the experience of using search techniques within an online search engine to narrow down their results.

c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarity student' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes,

While taking Learning with the Internet, I participated in a four-person team that created a Google Site containing resources for using VoiceThread in the classroom.  All aspects of this project required collaboration including the planning, research, and creation of the Google Site.  In addition, the focus of our project was VoiceThread, a collaborative Web 2.0 tool that allows students to communicate and reflect through audio and video without requiring typing to communicate.  The Newsy Lesson Plan I developed while taking Technology to Enhance Learning allows students to reflect on a Newsy video and BrainPop video in collaborative groups.  The Collaborative Lesson Script I designed during Designing Computer Support of Cooperative Learning with two other classmates requires students to use collaborative technologies to plan and complete the lesson, as well as reflect on their finished product. This degree offered me many opportunities to collaborate with my classmates. I learned from both positive and negative collaborative experiences that enhanced my ability to effectively plan for collaboration through online tools.

d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

While completing this degree, I had multiple opportunities to collaborate with my classmates as we planned, researched, wrote, and presented an assignment to the instructor and class.  The Collaborative Lesson Script that was created while taking CSCL is a collaborative lesson that was created in a collaborative environment.  This lesson demonstrates my experience in creating content collaboratively, as well as creating collaborative lessons for other learners.  Another collaborative project focusing on a collaborative technology is the VoiceThread resource guide.  Like the lesson script, this assignment was planned (Blackboard Discussion Boards) and presented (Google Docs) in collaborative environments.  By participating in Skype visits with authors, my library students have been exposed to online collaborative environments. My students read a book by the author, prepared questions, and asked the author these questions while visiting through Skype. Even though their exposure to the author was brief, my students gained valuable insight into the writing and publishing process and they were able to put a face with the name on the cover of the book. When students see that a real person is responsible for a creative content, they are more likely to respect the intellectual property of authors, song writers, and performers.