GAME Plan Reflection…

The GAME plan process has really changed for me over the course of this class. It was initially challenging for me to sit down and lay out a plan for something when I really was not sure how to use it with my students. Over time I realized that it is alright to not really know how a plan will work out, but to have the end-goal in mind. If the process of arriving there does not work out the way one might have anticipated right away, there is an opportunity to monitor the effectiveness of the plan and evaluate/extend as necessary. It is alright if part of the plan just does not work…it allows the teacher as the lesson planner and the student as one with their own learning goals to grow as an individual after self-reflecting on the process.

While I have always valued goal-setting for my students, after using the GAME plan process I have a concrete way to help my students set goals for their own learning…manageable goals that are tailored to them and their needs, rather than cookie-cutter for a “certain kind of student.”

I would immediately like to use technology to help students in the area of reflection…both on themselves, and on others as well. I plan to set up a discussion board for the opening of school, and begin using it right away. I would also like to use VoiceThread to immediately begin recording lab activities and lab basics for students that are absent on certain school days. I have thought about starting an after-school club to allow students to help with this, and then make the VoiceThreads available not only to my students, but other teachers’ students as well. I believe this would be beneficial for students and parents/guardians alike. I chose these components to add to my instruction immediately because they are manageable for me, and I think they will be manageable for my students and parents and give us the most “bang for our buck” right away.

 
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Using the GAME Process with Students…

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The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for teachers and students are very closely aligned, such that having a teacher design a lesson that incorporates these technology standards, allows for students to fulfill their standards by following through with the lesson to its completion. For example, there are 5 teacher (T) standards and 6 student (S) standards and, while they do not match up word-for-word, they do weave together rather tightly. It requires that each classroom participant know what they technology standards are, and be committed to doing their best to accomplishing them…students AND teacher alike.

In setting my goals for this class, I determined that there were two specific NETS-T standards/indicators that I needed more work in to become more confident in implementing. One of these was NETS-T 2b, which states that teachers “develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.” In designing lessons that fulfill this goal as an educator, I am providing an opportunity for my students to fulfill NETS-S 1b, which states that students “create original works as a means of personal or group expression,” and 4b, which states that students “plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.”

As I said before, in order to accomplish these goals and fulfill these standards, all participants must be on-board. This means I, as the teacher, can help my students learn the GAME plan process for their own learning activities. I have always wanted to help my students set goals for themselves and this is a great way for them to do so and monitor their own progress. After setting their goals, they will need to be directed to decide what action to take in accomplishing their goals, and then they will need reflection time over time to both monitor their learning and evaluate their progress. If they find that they are not on the track toward accomplishing their goals, like they thought they would be, they must re-evaluate the plan and modify it (Cennamo et. al., 2010). This is something that can be done globally in a school, at the beginning of the year, or something that one teacher can teach students to do in a class, for multiple long-term assignments.


References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

National Educational Technology Standards found at http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS on August 10, 2010.

My GAME Plan...Now and the Future...

So far in my GAME Plan I have gleaned resources with lesson plan ideas to integrate into my opening year activities and in my introduction to the Web. I have also obtained a link from a colleague with posters that can be printed and posted in my class room, and in the hallway (with administrative permission) as reminders of appropriate online behavior and computer etiquette. I still need to develop my lessons for teaching safe online practices and develop activities for students to use to practice, as well as monitor their own learning. If anyone has located any sites which might allow teens to quiz themselves on Internet safety know-how, please share with me!


My other goal involves me providing a technology-rich learning environment in which students are able to pursue individual curiosities and manage their own learning. The more I use technology tools in this class, the more comfortable I get with using them in my classroom. I think I am just going to have to come to a jumping-off point, where I just offer to let my students use a tool and we all just see how it flies!

Future learning goals I see setting for myself involve Standard 3: Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. The indicators under this standard focus on teacher communication with parents and community members using a variety of digital tools and resources, media and formats. I strive to integrate a variety of technology in order to gather data, analyze, and communicate with others, but I feel that I continue to lag behind. I would like to be on the cutting edge of such technologies in my everyday personal and professional life! In order to do this, I plan to continue to collaborate with professionals and seek out online professional communities to challenge me to meet my goals.

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