GAME Plan Reflection

As I sit and reflect over the past eight weeks, I realize that this course has given me a “tool” for setting goals and accomplishing great things for myself and my students. As teachers, we are always exploring new ideas to promote learning within our classroom. We set goals, research materials, make lists…, but many times we do not follow through. Instead we set it aside for another day, month, or year. A GAME plan, the “tool” introduced to us, provides us with a step-by-step process to set goals and then continuously revisit those goals as we take action, monitor our actions, evaluate our progress, and constantly readjust the plan to allow it to be successful for everyone involved. While following this process, I became more aware of the various standards (Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations, NETS-S, and NETS-T) and the importance of integrating technology to engage and motivate students. Using digital storytelling software, problem-based lessons, and creating wikis and blogs give students the opportunity to become creative self-directed learners through authentic learning experiences. Students are given choices in their learning, along with the responsibility of managing and assessing themselves (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). Regardless of my students learning style, ability to use technology tools, language, and/or academic strengths/weaknesses, I discovered numerous ways to customize and personalize activities to satisfy everyone’s diverse needs.

While following my GAME plan, I suddenly became aware that my lessons included collaboration within the classroom, but my students had not experienced collaboration on a global level. I was not aware of ePals (online communication tool), nor had I thought about collaborating with classrooms outside of our district’s building walls. The knowledge I have acquired from this course will lead me to find opportunities for my students to communicate with other individuals from around the world while using technology. I will implement activities that promote creativity, the use of problem solving and critical thinking skills, and prepare each child for a world where technology is constantly changing and becoming more and more prevalent. I will need to adopt a new role as teacher and look for guidance from fellow colleagues, while I “facilitate student inquiry, provide constructive feedback, and apply new types of classroom management strategies (Ertmer & Simons, 2006, p. 41). For this reason, technology will definitely impact my instructional strategies.

An immediate adjustment that I plan to make within my classroom is to immediately assign email accounts to each student at the beginning of the school year. In the past, I have had difficulty monitoring these accounts for appropriate content. I currently feel more comfortable teaching digital citizenship and informing students how to create ePal accounts, blogs, wikis, and VoiceThreads using their email accounts to establish memberships. Another adjustment I hope to make is to use several of the technology tools I have recently been introduced to. My goal is to introduce a new tool weekly and provide many opportunities for each student to express their understanding of the material being presented to them. I am looking forward to a great year of implementing multiple forms of technology into my Language Arts and Science instruction and getting students excited about learning.

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.

Ertmer, P., & Simons, K. (Spring 2006). Jumping the PBL implementation hurdle: Supporting the efforts of K-12 teachers. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1), 40-54. Retrieved from http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=ijpbl.

Using the GAME Plan Process with My Students

Throughout our lives we set goals (that we hope) to accomplish, but during this course I have learned how to create a GAME plan to make sure that I am on the right track and always moving forward to succeed. Creating a GAME plan, as discussed in our course textbook, is a successful way for me to create goals for learning, take action, monitor my actions, and then evaluate whether I have met my goals. The goals I set pertained to the use of technology and resources within my classroom, but I was not able to fully accomplish them due to summer vacation. I was lacking a classroom of students that I need to build relationships with and assess learning styles. Since I did not meet my goals, I needed to reanalyze my GAME plan and make adjustments to my strategies (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). Thankfully, I was atleast able to move a step closer and find the resources I will need to feel more comfortable incorporating technology into my daily routine beginning this fall.

A goal of mine now is to share this same strategy with my fifth grade students. I want to assist them in meeting the National Educations Standards for Students (NETS-S) and other goals they wish to achieve in the future. In order to begin the process of setting goals, I will first show my students the NETS-S and explain to them what each of the skills are: Creativity/Innovation, Communication, Collaboration, Research, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Digital Citizenship…(to name a few). The students need to understand what is expected. We will then brainstorm, as a whole class, the various technology tools that may be used to practice these skills (blogs, wikis, digital storytelling software, VoiceThread, powerpoint…). Students will already be somewhat familiar with the various tools and have the opportunity to use these tools on various occasions.

Together, we will develop a plan that will be outlined, written, and posted within the classroom for everyone to refer back to it. While some students may need more assistance/practice using specific skills, I believe it will be most beneficial to work as a whole group while we begin to learn the process. I will be able to model and demonstrate the proper way to create a plan and move forward with it. Students will have the opportunity to observe as we set goals, take action, monitor our actions, and then evaluate and re-evaluate the GAME plan steps. Are we making progress? Are we meeting expectations set forth by NETS-S? These are questions that will constantly be asked over and over again.

Using the GAME plan method, will allow for my students to take small steps as self-directed learners and work towards achieving BIG goals. My students will take control of their own learning process and gain the ability to quickly react as changes take place in our fast-paced world of 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.

Revising My GAME Plan

I have recently reviewed the NETS-T and feel that I am gradually making progress towards meeting my goals. I established a GAME plan and continue to educate myself on various technology tools, resources, and teaching strategies. I have obtained a greater understanding of how I can use problem-based lessons to incorporate technology and take a differentiated approach to instruction in order to meet the needs of ALL my students. “Taking a differentiated approach to instruction means accommodating these differences by tailoring teaching to students’ strengths and knowledge” (Wahl & Duffielld, 2005, p. 2). Problem-based lessons will allow for this to occur. Students collaborate with peers and solve problems using problem-solving and critical thinking skills in an authentic manner. As the teacher, I am able to provide my classroom with “different avenues for students to acquire content, process ideas, and demonstrate their understanding” (Wahl & Duffielld, 2005, p. 2). I believe that this approach to learning will assist me in meeting my goal of customizing and personalizing learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.

A new goal of mine will be to work on developing questions for problem-based lessons. I want my students to become curious about the topic at hand and keep them engaged in the learning process. I also plan to extend my knowledge by further researching collaborative communication opportunities for my students to participate in and acquire global awareness. One idea that I plan to pursue, while collaborating with our Kindergarten Reading Buddies, is the “Flat Stanley Project”. I have shared some ideas, with my colleague (Erin Tregloan), on how we may be able to expose our entire elementary school to diversity, various cultures, and global issues. As a life long learner, I will continue to blog with other educators and collect additional resources that may be able to assist me with this project and others in the future.

I will keep working towards reaching my goals, but until I have a classroom of fifth grade students, in the fall, I feel that I am unable to fully put my GAME plan into action and observe its results. Counting down the days!

References

Wahl, L., & Duffield, J. (2005). Using flexible technology to meet the needs of diverse learners: What teachers can do. WestEd, pp. 1–11. Retrieved from http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/763.