As I work towards successfully accomplishing my GAME Plan. I need to focus on what resources and additional information I will need to carry out my plan and reflect on my accomplishments thus far. I believe that I must be a life-long learner by continuing to educate myself, collect data, and interact with other teachers to gain new ideas. Each goal will not only strengthen my teaching skills, but also allow my students to experience a positive learning experience.
Goal 1 is to customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. Since I do not have a classroom of students at this time, due to summer break, I am researching ALL types of learning styles and strategies to incorporate into my daily lessons. My Walden course textbook is currently a very valuable resource, as it discusses scenarios, the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), teaching methods, assistive technology tools and ideas for “leveling the playing field for students with different abilities, needs, or preferences” (Cennnamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 110). As time allows, researching the World Wide Web will also prove to be an asset. I have not developed a strategy to customize, personalize, or teach learning activities yet, but I intend to observe, evaluate, and collect data to better understand my students’ needs as soon as school begins in the fall.
Goal 2 is to develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools. To work toward accomplishing this goal I will need to join various chat rooms to become more familiar and comfortable interacting with individuals from other countries, collaborate with colleagues (hopefully some of my cohorts from Walden:), and regularly make students aware of current global issues. I must be well informed and confident in my skills to be a supportive role model. This is something that will take time and practice, but in the meantime I will need to increase my students curiosity and encourage them to explore and investigate various subjects of interest around the world. As I collaborate with our districts 5th grade Social Studies teacher (my teammate), I hope to provide opportunities for students to be introduced to various cultures. Virtual fieldtrips and pen pals are a few ideas I have for doing this while incorporating technology.
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.
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Hello Suzie
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your strategies for carrying out your game plan, I found many similarities in our postings. I believe that it is important to develop a strong network of individuals that will mentor us through supporting implementation of digital tools into the curriculum. I have found many blog sites that are full on information on a daily basis. I attended a conference last fall that focused on digital tools and through that experience signed up for a free magazine subscription called Tech & Learning (techlearning.com). This is a valuable resource. Check it out.
Michele
Hi Suzie-
ReplyDeleteHave you ever used the Discovery Educators' Network? I was introduced to it last year and it has been an amazing resource. It provides material for class and a forum for sharing with other teachers. Have a look and I hope it helps you implement your GAME plan.
Hello Beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteI have used epals in an internship I did in college and it was fantastic. My students communicated through email with classes from Australia and France. You would need to make sure you have a secure email system like www.gaggle.com to make sure your students do not go overboard. You can choose options to add specific email addresses to allow your students to email outside of school. This would be great for students to collaberate and get multicultural experiences with schools from around the world. Students also love it because using technology to make a new friend instead of pencil and paper sparks a large interest in them.
Megan
Suzie,
ReplyDeleteI have also found many similarities between my goals and yours. I think the key is to really read what has worked from others, such as on proteacher discussion and other teaching blogs. You have some great ideas. Continue to search new strategies and reading, it seems like your goals and GAME plan are going quite well!
Michele,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information regarding the magazine subscription called Tech & Learning (techlearning.com). I will definitly look into it. As my school district currently works on implementing new technology goals and reviewing both national and state standards, I am excited about the opportunity to implement various forms of technology into my daily lessons. I am very lucky, in regards to the fact that several of my colleagues are also taking this course. We have a lot of young eager teachers who are enthusiastic about moving ahead with technology. Thanks again for the great resource!
Suzie
Megan,
ReplyDeleteI did not realize that you had the opportunity to use ePals. I look forward to the opportunity to talk to you more about incorporating it into my classroom and allowing students to communicate with other students around the world. I remember when my sister, Vicki, was in elementary school. She had a pen pal from Japan. Vicki would wait weeks to hear back from her pen pal after sending a letter and small trinkets. It is amazing to think that now you can receive almost an immediate response and take part in collaborative learning activities to become more knowledgable about local and world issues.
Suzie