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.

Evaluating My GAME Plan Progress

After reading my classmates thoughts and ideas I decided restate my 2 goals in a simpler manner.





Goal #1: To create meaningful, age-appropriate activities that incorporate technology and promote student creativity.



Goal #2: To have students use various forms of technology independently and interdependently to show their understanding of the particular subject matter being studied.

I believe that in this weeks application, Application #5, is going to cover both of my GAME plan goals. As I create my Social Studies lesson based on the People and Societies, I will be determining how students can use their creativity to present their information about their continent and the culture of people who live on each continent. I will also allow my students to use various forms of technology to research and present their information to the class.

Though this PBL lesson will take some time and planning on my part, I am looking forward to creating and implementing this PBL lesson in my classroom before the holiday season.

Monitoring my GAME Plan

After reviewing my GAME plan, I feel as though my plan is a little too lengthy. Because of this I feel that maybe I need to modify my GAME plan. I would love any thoughts/suggestions from my classmates. As a teachers I know that collaborating with others is one of the best ways to learn so I would appreciate any feedback! Thanks!

One part of my GAME plan was to keep myself current in the world of technology and I feel as though I am doing this rather well. I have been researching several websites and resources and have found several that I think will be quite useful. I have also had a chance to get some really great resources from my classmates' blog postings. Here are a few resources that I think are wonderful:

www.funderstanding.com/content/inspiring-creativity-in-student

I was able to get some inspiring ideas from this site. Creating meaningful learning that involves students showing their creativity is a huge part of my goal and I was excited to find this site.

www.4Teachers.org

When you get to the 4Teachers home page there is a link called Teacher Tacklebox which is a wonderful resource for any subject and how to incorporate technology!!

www.school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html

This is a site created by an educator named Kathy Schrock. This site has some really great rubrics for assessing students work.

Overall, I am pleased with my findings and the resources that I've been able to use from my Walden classmates. I am anxious to get some feedback on my GAME plan so I can have a more concrete plan set into place.

Finally, I just wanted to share with everyone how thankful I am for all the blessings in my life and I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! God Bless!!

Carrying Out my GAME Plan

Last week I stated my goals for my GAME plan. This week I thought about what resources I would need to follow this through.

#1 Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

First, I have begun communicate with my co-workers to gather ideas, resources, and any additional information that could help me to create these meaningful activities for my students. Depending on the activity I choose for my students I know that I will need to gather any materials that they may need to complete the activity. These resources could be as simple as a pencil to something more advanced like a assisted technology devise. I will also model how to use many different forms of technology to show students how diverse technology really is. Again this is just a start to follow through with my GAME plan.

#2 Design and Develop Digital-Aged Learning Experiences and Assessments

I feel like my second indicator is similar to the first because as I develop digital0aged learning for my students they will automatically be inspired to learn. Again, I have begun discussing various activities with my co-workers to collect a wide array of resources for my students. I plan to also spend some time doing some research online as well as interviewing my students to determine what technologies they may want to learn more about/use in the classroom. Stay tuned...

My Personal GAME Plan

After reviewing the International Society for Technology in Education's NETS for Teachers I was able to choose, examine, and come up with my GAME plan fro each idicator.

I chose to create a GAME plan for indicator #1 which is Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. This indicator focuses on technology, subject matter, and learning to promote creativity. Here is my GAME plan.

G (goal): My goal for this indicator is to create meaningful, exciting, and age appropriate lessons and activities that allow students to be creative and inventive. I also want to promote problem solving whether it be while collaborating with others or by oneself.

A (action): In order to achieve this goal I will construct exciting and hands-on activities that incorporate various forms of technology. I will also promote collaboration by having students contribute to small projects for the assigned activities. Finally, I will model the importance of working independently as well as in a group. Modeling how to use various technologies and activities are a huge importance so I will be sure to do so frequently.

M (monitor): I think watching students and observing students is one of the best ways to monitor students and their understanding of their subject matter. I will observe students as they embrace their creativity while constructing their project. I will be able to see what students are struggling. If I see students struggling to complete their projects independently then I will be sure to take action and rethink a new plan to make the student(s) successful.

E (evaluate): To evaluate the students I will look at the project they created to give me an idea of what students have learned and how they expressed themselves and what they learned through technology. This evaluation will also let me know what students still need to work on. Students will choose one of the projects that I modeled for them previously.



I chose to create a GAME plan for indicator #2 which is Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. This indicator focuses on designing and customizing technology experiences for students. Here is my GAME plan.

G (goal): My goal for this indicator is to create technology-rich lessons and activities that maximize learning. I want students to be active participants for their own learning and to be able to create and produce a variety of projects by using technology.

A (action): The actions I will take in order to achieve my goal is to keep myself current by exploring and researching new forms of technology, discussing technology with my co-workers and peers, and attend various professional development opportunities that pertain to technology. I will also look at my current lesson plans and evaluate how I could successfully incorporate technology into my lessons. I will create differentiated activities so my students have choices on how they wish to complete the activities.

M (monitor): I will monitor myself and my students in many ways. First, I will monitor myself by taking a look at the time each day that I spend incorporating technology into my lessons. I will monitor my students by observing their learning. I will also look at my students formative and summative assessments/projects to see if what they are creating follows the directions of each lesson. If my students are not showing the success that I had anticipated then I know that changes will have to be made.If my students are successful in what they are creating then I will know that I achieved my goal.

E (evaluate): To evaluate my students I will create rubrics that correspond with each activity/project. I will also conference with each students and together we will reflect on what they learned and discuss their project and how it relates to the materials that were taught. This entire process will take time and patience for my students and I. We are learning and growing together.

Reflection: Final Blog Posting for 6711

As this class comes to a close, I did some reflecting on the knowledge I have gained over the last eight weeks. I took a look at my “Personal Theory of Learning” that I wrote during the first week of class and my feelings towards it is still pretty much the same. I discussed the difference and importance between learning theories and instructional theories. “Understanding learning is just the first step a teacher must take in planning effective instruction. Learning theory tells us how learning might occur” (Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. 2008). I used this quite in my paper and I feel it truly that teachers must first understand how young minds grow and discover new pieces of knowledge before any real learning takes place. Instructional theories than, “immerse” the mind in meaningful instruction according to Dr. Michael Orey (Laureate Educational Inc., 2008). Planning meaningful and interactive lessons is very important to me and I am currently working on creating new and exciting lessons for my classroom that will integrate more technology into learning. I also want to use more of the technologies that are available in my school for this upcoming school year.
Two technologies that I plan to use for this upcoming school year are the Flip video camera and the SMART Response clickers that accompany the SMART Board. My school got both of these tools during this past school year but I never used them. My plan is to use the Flip video camera to record group projects such as Readers Theater. I also want to use the Flip camera to record video for Voice Threads. The SMART Response clickers (use to be Senteo clickers) will be great when reviewing for spelling, math, and reading tests. My students and I can plan games such as Jeopardy while using the SMART Response clickers. I can also create my tests, pull them up on the SMART Board, and have my students take the test by using the clickers. I look forward to using both technologies in my classroom.
Along with some immediate changes that I plan to make in the classroom, I also have several long term goals. My first goal is to become better acquainted with some of the technologies discussed in this course as well as previous courses. I want to become experienced and learn more about Voice Threads, blogs, wiki’s, concept mapping, Microsoft Excel, Moodle, and many other technologies that I have used once or read about. I feel that this is an important and necessary goal to have because I need to be knowledgeable and understand how these technologies work in order to effectively teach my students. My final goal is to stay current with technology. Technology is always changes and my goal is to stay as current as possible. I will try to achieve this goal by reading books and articles related to technology. I also want to go to workshops and any other professional development opportunities that may involve technology.
In conclusion, this class has been very meaningful, exciting, and has really made me want to learn even more about what technology is available for teachers and students to use. I am currently making adjustments to my instruction and to plan to create even more meaningful activities and lessons while incorporating new technologies into my classroom.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author

Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.