INNOVATION PLAN VIDEO
This is the video I created for my Innovation Plan. I am wanting to incorporate ePortfolios into my classroom of lower elementary students. Below you will find updates on what I have learned, what could be done better, and how I can apply what I have learned so far through research and observation.
Innovation Plan Update:
March 27, 2021
I so wish I could show all the fabulous work that is being done for my innovation plan, but in all reality I haven't had the chance to begin. Being back face to face all year has been difficult for teachers and students alike. I wanted to start working on implementing my plan in October or November of the 2020-2021 school year, that didn't happen. I then wanted to start at the beginning of January when we got back from winter break, that also didn't happen. Myself and my team were focused on survival and having the students actually learn despite all of the craziness beyond school walls. I am now looking to start straight away when school begins again in August. While I didn't actually implement my innovation plan during this time it gave me much to think about.
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The students in my school are very young, they are anywhere between 4-7 years old. After working with my students last spring and then at the beginning of this fall, I quickly realized that if I give them too many choices when dealing with technology, it will have a negative impact. For example, when giving my students the options of websites to visit during our Technology Fun Friday, I have seen that if I give them 5 choices that it is too much and many of them begin to stress about not wanting to choose the wrong thing. This will definitely help me in my innovation plan moving forward because if I am still working with this age group I have to put some small guidelines in place so that they have a path and a sort of roadmap to follow. I still want them to have their autonomy with their work but I can't let them run completely wild either.
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Something that I could do better is definitely educating myself more on the platforms that I intend for my students to use. I need to make sure that I am not just giving them these resources without the knowledge and experience to back them up. I also would like to work with some members of my team over the summer to work out the best timeline to work on ePortfolios as it corresponds with our curriculum and standards framework.
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I think at the beginning of this whole program I had no clue what an ePortfolio or an Innovation Plan was. I didn't deem myself creative enough to find something that I wanted to change and I thought this idea seemed cool. Over the course of this program I realized that I was passionate about giving my students the creative liberty that I wish I had in school. It is generally acknowledged that we are moving toward a more student-centered classroom and I think this is a big step forward for that.
Throughout this program and the creation of my innovation plan I have had to learn to be okay with going back to the drawing board and to be okay with not being on the same timeline as others in my cohort. I want this project to be a success but I also have learned that many successes begin as failed attempts. I think moving forward into whatever plans I have next that I want to take the creativity that I have found again through having to create so many resources for this plan with me. For so long I thought I could only do certain things because that is what I was good at, when in reality I didn't know if I could do those other things because I never tried.
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