The Final Blog Posting...

I can not believe that this class is already coming to an end. I feel like we just started. I have learned so much about technology, myself, and my classmates and I feel as though I am well on my way in terms of successfully using technology in my classroom.

As I as result communicating with my classmates I discovered that my original GAME plan was too broad and needed to be turned into a simpler plan. Since then, I have been very pleased with my progress in achieving these goals. As I learned new information I shared my findings with my students so I am not the only one who has benefited from my GAME plan. A goal that I am going to add to my GAME plan is to work with my students as they create their own classroom GAME plan. I mentioned this last week in my blog and I can not stop thinking about how beneficial a classroom GAME plan would be.

Overall, I an very pleased with this class. I feel as if I have learned the most from this course and I am excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel as I complete the last two courses at Walden.

Happy Holidays to all and God bless!

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

I know how important it is for my students to understand NETS-S. I say this because I know how important it is for my to the the NETS-T standards.

In order to show students the importance of these standards I would start by showing them my GAME plan. I would take the time to describe my goals and why they are important to me. I would also have my students brainstorm ways that I tried to reach these goals in the classroom. Following this discussion I would pull up NETS-S on the mimio for the class to review. Together we would point out each standard and discuss what each indicator means.

Finally, we would create our own "Classroom GAME Plan". Since my students are young I think starting with a group GAME plan and reviewing the plan as a class periodically would be a good way to demonstrate the importance of the technology standards. Together we can help each other be successful and achieve our goals.

Revising My GAME Plan

I feel like I have gained even more knowledge in the world of technology since the beginning of this course. I have learned new and exciting software and social networking sites as well as learning more about some technologies that I thought I new all about! Best of all, my students are benefiting from this knowledge because I have been teaching them most of the new and exciting technologies as I learn.

I also believe that I am more aware of the NETS-T and the importance of each standards. My GAME plan has evolved. I went form a broad lengthy GAME plan to a more specific plan that focuses on just one factor for each goal.


Facilitating and Inspiring Students Learning and Creativity was my first NETS-T standard. I took that standard and modified it to the following:



1. Students will create meaningful age-appropriate activities that incorporate technology and promote creativity.



I am still using many of the resources that I found or that my classmates shared on their blog postings to promote creativity but I have also started to let me students find various activities on our school's "Student Intranet". This "Student Intranet" is our schools version of the Internet for kids. All of the website on this page are safe and wonderful for students to use. I think it's important to get students feedback in the classroom and having them help to find creative technology activities is one way to keep them engaged with technology.



My second NETS-T standard that I chose was Design and Develop Digital-Aged Learning Experiences and Assessments.



Here is the goal I created for this standard:



2. Students will use various forms of technology indepentently and interdependently to show their understanding of the particular subject being taught.



Last week I talked my lesson for application where students research cultures on a particular continent, compare and contrast the cultures to their own, and present their information. Since then I added the steps of researching how the particular culture celebrates Christmas. My students are really enjoying this project as they work on their own and in their small group. They also get plenty of time to use the computer and other resources. I have not really done much else for this goal since this project is taking up the last two weeks leading up to Christmas.

For now, I am happy with my progress in the world of technology and I am also pleased with the materials my students have learned about and learned how to use. I look forward to setting new goals for my GAME plan in the future.