Reflection

     As a teacher of almost 17 years, I have been forced to jump on bandwagons of different teaching strategies because they have been enforced by our district. However, after reflecting on the last seven weeks I can honestly say utilizing the GAME plan method is one I am willing to implement without any skepticism. The GAME plan will create a better teacher within myself and allow me to be the teacher I know my students need me to be, but this is not where the GAME plan starts and stops. My students may also use the GAME plan to help them organize their ideas, set a plan in motion, and be able to monitor and adjust when presented with a problem-based or project-based learning activity. Regardless, of the situation, both my students and I will be rewarded in the end.

     Over the years, I have implemented technology use in my classroom almost daily. Students blog, research, create Power Points, compose digital journals, edit ideas they have created, and much more. After learning about how to incorporate social networking and digital storytelling, I am convinced students will benefit even more from this meaningful and engaging learning experience. I plan to create many opportunities for students to create digital stories and hopefully if my GAME plan works (convincing district personnel to allow particular resources such as wikis), I will have students communicate and collaborate on projects through the use of social networks.

Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

     I have currently begun to make some progress with my GAME plan. Just recently, I have been involved with meeting with my administration and creating a team of teachers to help support me on this plan as well as aid me in collecting data from students. The goal is to create a Power Point using the information we gather to present to district personnel in order to provide the vision that some sources they have not allowed us to access would benefit student success in the classroom as well as their place in society.

     The second plan of action I have taken has been to decide on resources my team of teachers and I would like to utilize in the classroom with our students. Many of the teachers have vocalized they would love to utilize blogs and wikis in the classroom. We have utilized these two particular sources from our own personal computers and brainstormed how we would use them to benefit our students. I have also received opinions from my students on how they feel about blogs and wikis in the classroom and they are very excited.

     Considering my district is data driven, I am still trying to develop different ideas of what I can present to my district personnel to convince them that the 21^st Century skills is needed to prepare students for the future especially one that is unclear. Our students are technology driven and we need every possible resource implemented into our curriculum to help us prepare them. The more information I am able to present the better chance I will be able to accomplish my GAME plan.

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

     My goal is to incorporate many of the 21^st Century learning skills into my classroom in order for my students to gain the knowledge they are expected to learn utilizing real-world experience through the use of technology. After gathering ideas for my GAME plan, it is important for me to begin brainstorming what I need to do in order to accomplish the goal I have set forth. Students need to be able to utilize the 21^st Century learning skills in order to be successful citizens in society.

     The first thing I must do to accomplish my goal is to discuss my plan with administration and gather their support. This has been the first step that I have already completed in order to move forward in carrying out my GAME plan. I will also need the help of my colleagues who have the same beliefs as I about the use of different educational websites in our classroom. There are many resources that teachers can use in order to help students master the curriculum, but have been blocked in my district because they do not have enough knowledge about the sites. With the help of my colleagues, we can create a presentation to help convince the district to allow us to have access to the resources we need to prepare our students using the 21^st Century learning skills. At this point in my GAME plan, I have begun brainstorming ideas with my colleagues and gathering suggestions to present to my district personnel.
 
     Considering my district is data driven, it will help me in my plan to accumulate data from my students if we are given access to the different resources to show my district how the utilization of these sources has benefited their education. I will also need to gather research material about the sources to present to my district in order to persuade them into allowing us to have access so the data can be collected.

    

Developing your GAME Plan

      As a teacher of almost 17 years I have seen things come and go, but there is one thing that has remained constant and that is the importance of technology in the classroom. As I begin to develop my personal GAME plan, it is important for me to evaluate areas in which I want to grow as a professional in order for my students to benefit. “Evaluating the effectiveness of your instruction is a critical component of the GAME plan for student learning” (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009, p. 86). To be effective in the classroom, I must be able to identify areas that I need improvement and be willing to do whatever it takes to become better.

     As I reflected over the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T), I was able to choose two indicators that I would love to become more proficient in. The standard I will target is 2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments and the indicators I feel I need to strengthen are as follow:

     a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote students learning and creativity.

     b. 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.

     Even though I am fortunate to have a full range of technology at my fingertips in the classroom, I have a difficult task when wanting to incorporate meaningful activities into the curriculum because of the lack of access from my district. This has been a problem for many of the teachers who would like to use more technology in the classrooms and our district has trouble understanding the importance of their use. In order for my students to be able to experience the full advantage of technology, I must be able to convince my district personnel that students will reap the rewards of having access to particular technological educational resources.

Goal: My goal is to incorporate many of the 21^st Century learning skills into my classroom in order for my students to gain the knowledge they are expected to learning utilizing real-world experience through the use of technology.

Action: I will research many different 21^st Century resources that would be beneficial to my students and develop lessons where they could utilize real-world experiences that could empower them into becoming self-directed learners. In order to implement these skills, I must first be able to convince my district personnel that my students will gain an engaging and meaningful learning experience.

Monitor: I will be able to monitor my progress by first keeping a reflective journal. Over the years, I have learned that being able to reflect has allowed me to grow as a teacher and allowed me to make adjustments where needed. I will also use the responses from my district personnel as well as my colleagues as way to monitor my growth as a teacher.

Evaluate: After communicating and collaborating with my district personnel and colleagues, I will be able to determine whether or not the goal I have set needs to be revised. Being able to receive feedback from my learning communities will allow me to make adjustments in order to allow me to grow as a professional and my students as future citizens.

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.

Critical Evaluation of a Website

www.voicethread.com/share/2159175/

Final Blog: Reflection

 Education has changed dramatically since I began teaching almost sixteen years ago. When I first began teaching, the only material or resource provided to me was a textbook for each subject and one computer. Today’s world of education does not focus on a textbook, but in the world around us through the use of technology. Students need to be given a chance to learn by incorporating instructional strategies that motivate students and meet the needs of every learner we teach.

     At the beginning of this course we had to create our own personal theory of learning. Many weeks later, I still feel strongly about the idea students learn best when we focus on their different modalities so we can ensure student learning and success. “The more modalities that you use to transfer information into the brain the more avenues you have to retrieve it. If all I do is talk to kids, then it goes in one way, auditory, so they memorize what I tell them” (Laureate Education, 2010). In order for me to meet the different learning styles, I have been introduced to nine instructional strategies as well as ways to integrate technology tools that will allow students to learn based on their preference through this course. One thing I have learned along the way is how students need to learn with true meaning. If we want students to learn we must give them the opportunity to organize, process, and apply the information. We must also provide them multiple chances to communicate and collaborate to create projects that showcase their knowledge of an assignment. If we introduce content through the use of the nine instructional strategies as well as the technology tools introduced in this course we will meet the needs of every student and prove that the learning theories are in fact alive and well.

     When it comes to technology in my classroom, I feel I am at an advantage. I am fortunate to have twenty-seven laptops for students to use in class. Two technology tools, I plan to incorporate into my repertoire of strategies is VocieThread and Webspiration. VoiceThread will be essential to my students’ ability to comprehend information. It gives students the chance to voice their opinion about information, explain their meaning, and provide and receive feedback. Students love to socialize through many social networks and this will only enhance their interest. Webspiration will allow students to organize and process information in a way they can easily understand. This is critical when trying to apply knowledge in order to show mastery. As I reflected over the nine instructional strategies, there were many I have incorporated into my content instruction, but I have a new insight on how I can improve them by utilizing the technology tools associated with each. I can now ensure students comprehend by expanding the instructional strategies with the use of technology effectively.

     One goal I will set for myself is involve more technology with the instructional strategies. An example of this would be when I use the strategy, cues, question, and advanced organizers. Instead of teaching to the students, I will have them develop and utilize a concept map using the resource, Webspiration. One of the biggest obstacles is getting students to understand and retain the curriculum. Concept maps allow students to organize and process information so they can later apply it so they can demonstrate their understanding. The second goal I have in mind will affect majority of the technology tools I would like to implement. My goal is to present to my district personnel reasons why certain websites need to be unblocked for the students’ benefit. Our district has blocked many sites that would be beneficial to students. I feel if there is enough research and information to back this up my district may agree. This will be a difficult challenge, but in order to implement the correct technological tools with instructional strategies it must be done to ensure students understanding and success.

     Regardless of education in the past, it will never be the same. As the technology age continues to grow and develop, education will constantly change as well. It is up to us to make sure we stay on top of the latest research and developments so we can create an environment appropriate for student learning. Every child that enters our classroom is depending on us to prepare them for the future. It is our responsibility to ensure they are ready because they are our future.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). [Webcast]. Bridging Learning Theory,  Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore MD: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom    instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Voice Thread

http://voicethread.com/#q.b1888124.i0.k0