GAME Plan Reflection

Developing my GAME plan was more than just incorporating technology into the classroom. For me, the process really gave me a chance to practice self directed learning in a form that I had never experienced before. The whole act of self-directed learning stems from an individuals gain in knowledge, skill, or personal development that came about by their individual efforts at any point in time (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). Although I have had my own inquiries about information, and was able to find that information through my own research methods, I had never developed a step-by-step plan to seek out information. The development of a GAME plan requires an individual to have a specific topic they would like to understand. After setting a Goal, the individual must take action in completing this goal, all the while monitoring their progress towards the achievement of this goal, and finally evaluating whether or not they have reached their goal (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). 

The GAME plan that I developed forced me to incorporate blogging into my curriculum as a form of technology integration. Prior to this course, I really had very little interest or use for blogging, but I quickly found out its amazing powers. I have always struggled with getting my students to write and as my state begins to take on new standards for literacy, the ability to engage my students in meaningful writing is becoming increasingly important. I have always thought that my students were extremely motivated to use technology, so when I developed my GAME plan I wanted to try and use technology to motivate my students towards doing something they do not like. According to Lee and Young (2011), “blogs are not intended to be spaces for formal writing, but rather they are designed for compact and causal writing that concisely communicates an idea or position (pg. 9). After signing my students up to post on a blogging site, I had my students post a blog describing the step-wise process of drawing Bohr’s models from only knowing an elements name. After students initial post, they were responsible for commenting on two classmates’ blogs with the intention of helping them strengthen their directions. Students would then re-write their directions after responding to each others and taking into account what their classmates have said about their own directions. I found that students really devoted a lot of effort in their blogs and seemed to be quite motivated in writing. I also noted that the blog strengthened all students’ step-wise directions from their initial post to their final post. It also seemed to solidify the process of drawing Bohr’s models for each student.

As I move forward with incorporating technology into my curriculum, I think it is important to remember that technology should not be used solely as a teaching tool (New, 2005). Prior to taking that large step towards technology as a teaching tool, we must first educate our students on becoming self-directed learners and the steps that are required to reach that status. I personally know that as I incorporate more technology into my curriculum, I will use it as a way to enrich learning and motivate students to becoming better learners. As time goes on, I will make advancements in teaching them to become self-directed learners through the development of their own GAME plans. Now that I have a solid understanding of developing and completing a GAME plan, I feel that the incorporation of any technology into my own curriculum, technologies such as: problem-based learning, social networking, and digital storytelling, should be an easy task with a proper understanding of what I am accomplishing and the correct GAME process mapped out.

References

Cennamo, k., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Lee, J., & Young, C., (2011). Building wikis and blogs: Pre-service teacher experiences with web-based collaboration technologies in an interdisciplinary methods course. THEN: Technology Humanities Education & Narrative, (8), 8-37. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=13&hid=107&sid=f1eb964f-7481-4a87-9996-e6c60cbdb31d%40sessionmgr112

New, J. (2005, December 2). How to use digital storytelling in your classroom. Retrieved from the Edutopic website: http://www.edutopia.org/use-digital-storytelling-classroom.

Monitoring my GAME Plan

OK.....

After talking with the English department, they have directed me towards or districts resource specialist, who just so happens to be our school librarian. I have scheduled an appointment with the library for my students to have a sit down with our librarian while she takes them through the research databases our school has to offer. This lesson will include proper searching techniques, as well as in-text citations and the formation of a works cited page. I have also taken the advise of a classmate and checked out the Purdue OWL which is an excellent resource and will help me further guide my students. In an attempt to lead by example, I have gone back through all of my notes and presentations, and have inserted citations on all information that has been taken from other resources.

As of right now, I have not needed to modify my GAME Plan in any way and everything appears to be going smoothly. I also have no new questions for further guidance.

So far I have found that many of the resources I have needed have been right in my own school district. My school is truly a network of professionals that are more than willing to help me succeed with my GAME Plan...especially the English department in my attempt to complete a research paper!!!!

Resources, Additional Information, and Current Steps for my GAME Plan

Being that both my GAME Plans require the use of the Internet, I am going to need access to a computer lab so I can incorporate both the blog assignment and research endeavors. I will also need assistance from both Microsoft Word software and research databases.

Additional information needed for this assignment will be the most important aspect. I do not feel that I will need anything for the blog but the research paper will be tricky. As a science teacher, I have never really been instructed on how to properly teach the writing of a research paper. Although I feel that I am educated enough to do so, I will discuss the process with my English coworkers for guidance and resources. This will surely be a learning experience for both my students and I.

Steps I have already taken are having my students sign up for an account on Blogspot. Each student has an account now but I have not yet set up an assignment that deals with students’ use of the blog. I plan on starting a research paper on the atom at the end of my upcoming unit which will be in about a month or two.

Given my GAME Plans, if you can think of anything else that may be helpful or useful, please let me know. Our ability to communicate is what makes us human.

GAME Plan

After looking at the ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers, there were a couple indicators that I feel I could work on to become more proficient in teaching those indicators. In an effort to become confident with these indicators, I will develop a GAME Plan (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). In my plan, I will establish a Goal, decide what Action to take, determine how to Monitor my plan, and finally Evaluate my effectiveness of my plan.

The first indicator that I will discuss falls under category 1d. “model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments”. In order to gain more proficiency in virtual environments, I will incorporate online discussions in at least 4 discussions. As my action plan, I will sign up for a blogging sight and require my students to do the same. Each blog will have a certain topic discussed and each student will have a minimum requirement of posts they must make. I will monitor the effectiveness of the posts by student participation and my effectiveness to keep students interested. Finally, I will evaluate myself and my own ability to facilitate the blogs. I will also reflect on my comprehension of using and setting up blogs.

The second indicator that I will try to become more proficient in 4a. “advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources”. My goal towards reaching proficiency is to not only monitor my own use of digital information and technology, but to conduct research projects with my students that stress the importance of appropriate use of the Internet. My action plan will first include myself giving credit to any and all sources I use with my students as an effort to model proper citation of materials. The second action I will take is to have my students complete a research paper where I will again model proper citation methods to my students and stress the importance of crediting others when using their work. I will monitor my plan by periodically checking students’ papers to make sure that all sources are cited correctly and I will also monitor students’ use of the computers while they are completing the assignment. I will evaluate my effectiveness by double checking all my own resources for citation and I will also check my effectiveness of teaching proper citation in my students’ papers.

So, these are my thought…please let me know what you think and offer any further guidance. I will do the same!!!

Justin

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.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved November 5, 2011, fromhttp://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Testing

Word!!!