Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

As I continue on this journey to explore and work toward my GAME plan I am discovering new information and resources that I believe will be valuable in the classroom.  This week was the last week of school for students at my school this week.  As I think back on this year, and toward my first goal, I try to think of lessons that would be enriched by using technology. 

A technology tool I discovered at our district in-service on Friday is a website called quizlet.com.  The basic membership is free.  This site is all flashcards.  You can create your own set of flashcards as well as use sets that others created.  The thing I like best about these flashcards is that students can use them in a variety of ways.  They can use them like traditional flashcards, they can scatter and match them, or they can select multiple-choice answers.  Once students have studied the flashcards, I can use the multiple-choice quiz to run a wireless responded with to give a summative quiz.  I think this site is a fabulous way to learn or practice story vocabulary, math terms, multiplication facts, science and social studies vocabulary, parts of a plant, and the list could go on.  I am really excited to begin using quizlet.com next year.     

Another resource that I would like to look into is the handheld computer to perform running reading records with students that was mentioned in our text this week.  I have done the paper version of this assessment, but this version seems less time consuming and easier to collect progressive data. “Running records of an entire classroom of students can be completed in less than a class period, and data from these records can then be aggregated and reported almost instantaneously- something that takes much longer to accomplish by hand.” (Cennamo, Ross, Ertmer 2009, p. 147)

My school district has implemented the use of “Thinking Maps.”  These are graphic organizers.  I would love to see these in computer software.  My students would benefit from being able to use digital pictures from the Internet on their graphic organizers as well as being able to save them, share them, and compare them.  Thinking Maps could also be a great formative and summative assessment tool for me.   

As an educator, I am continuously learning new strategies and ideas to use in my classroom.  My second goal is something I feel is vital to being an effective teacher.  I will always need and use professional development.  This course and colleagues in this course are providing me with new information each week.   I feel that I still need to branch out to search for online educational blogs and communities online.  I have not done this yet.  Has anyone found beneficial educational communities online that they enjoy? 

I believe I am headed in the right direction with my action toward my GAME plan.  I do not feel that it needs to be modified at this time.  I will continue to reflect upon lessons that will become enriched from technology for my students.  Does anyone have other suggestions on technology that works well at the elementary level?  I will also continue to look for more outlets for professional development.      

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.

  

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

As I reflect upon my GAME plan, I know I will need to rely on various resources to carry out my plan.  My current masters course, including my readings and videos, are a resource I am already using to begin my journey.  I also plan to use the Internet to search for information and resources.  Lastly, I will look to colleagues to support me and teach me ways to reach my goals.  My school district also has a technology educator that visits our school once a week.  This person will be a great contact for me to gain further knowledge and tools.  I realize that as I progress in my GAME plan I may find that I need or desire the use of other resources.  Flexibility plays an important role in learning and teaching.

Both my goals are pretty broad.  My first goal is to design my current lessons to include technology tools for students to explore.  For this goal, I feel I need more information on the technology tools that are available within my school district as well as the rest of the United States and World.  I also feel that I need more information on the types of technologies that are being used successfully in school settings and real life settings for learning and living.  Incorporating these digital technologies will allow me to reach the different needs of my students, or to “customize” their learning path. (Laureate, 200)  I will look to my colleagues, district technology educator, and the Internet to assist me in finding this information and resources.  By using technology in my lessons with my students I am able to apply all learning styles.     

My second goal is to continue to seek out professional development opportunities through technology.  The information I need for this goal involves local, as well as global training opportunities.  I will need to research classes that might be offered locally that are technology based.  I will also continue taking masters classes through Walden University online.  Both of these options will begin my professional development using technology journey.     

So far I have set my GAME plan in motion by reading my course text and watching course videos to build my professional development.  This week is the last week of school for my district.  We have an in-service day for teachers this coming Friday.  This district in-service training has a technology focus for all of the break out sessions.  I hope to acquire more information for my teaching as well as better practices for student learning using technology.   

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program: Meeting Students’ Needs With Technology [Webcast]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.

   

  

Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

After reviewing the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) I have selected two performance indicators that I would like to improve upon in my teaching using the GAME plan.  The first indicator I would like to work on is 2b.  This indicator 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.”  The second performance indicator I would like to improve upon is 5a.  This indicator states “teachers participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.” (International Society for Technology in education. 2008).

Goals:

2b – My goal is to design my current lessons to include technology tools for students to explore.

5a- My goal is to continue to seek out professional development opportunities through technology.

Actions:

2b- I plan to reflect upon my current lessons to determine which lessons can be enriched by using technology tools.  I also plan to practice using technology tools myself to discover new software and websites that I can expose my students to.

5a- Professional development is crucial to continuing growth as a teacher.  This goal is hard for me in finding local and global learning communities.  I plan to seek out educational blogs and am open to finding other sources that will expand my knowledge and student learning. 

Monitoring:

2b- I will monitor the use of technology in my lessons to determine if they are relevant and beneficial to my students.  Are they becoming self-directed learners because of this process?  If not, I will search for other technology tools that will provide a technology-enriched learning environment. 

5a- I will determine which local and global communities provide the best teaching and learning practices.  I will mainstream which communities I benefit from the most and continue to search for other communities that will improve my teaching and student learning.

Evaluating:

2b- I will evaluate my students learning at the end of each lesson.  Did the incorporated technology truly enrich their learning environment?  Did the technology encourage self-directed learning?

5a- I will evaluate my level of participation within the local and global communities.  Did I participate enough to benefit professionally?  Are the communities I participate with providing me growth as a teacher as well as improving student learning in my classroom?  Am I continuing to search for additional communities for professional growth?

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx