Monitoring My Game Plan

As I continue forward, it is imperative that I continue to monitor the progress of my personal GAME plan. Self-assessment is the key when it comes to modifying my plan. Many people will move forward toward their goals, even when insurmountable situations clearly impede further progress. Because of this, I need to continuously reassess my plan to modify and adapt it as necessary.

I have conducted many informal surveys with my colleagues to assess their technological needs, and these conversations have helped give me some clear guidance. It appears that my current action plan is on track and that I assumed correctly when I felt that many of my colleagues needed further support for integrating technology in their classrooms. It is important that all of us understand what our needs are and how we are going to fulfill those needs (Laureate, 2009).

So far, I have learned that there is a greater need for professional development in utilizing technology effectively. It appears that too many times educators are giving technology without proper guidance. Or, they receive massive training in two or three days, but receive zero follow-up. In this case, it is important that I continue my plan until the need no longer exists. I have to not only help my colleagues, but I must continue my professional development as well.

Some new questions that arise are “How will I teach teachers in varying disciplines to use technology appropriately?” I do not want teachers to use technology for meaningless reasons; you have to make sure that the technologies you use are “representative of those embedded in your content domain” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 162). I also do not want other teachers to be deterred from utilizing my expertise because my discipline differs from theirs. Educators do not always realize that technology can be utilized in the same format through all content.



Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Part 1. Promoting students needs with technology. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author.

Continuing the GAME plan

Once a GAME plan is put into motion, there are many other factors that need to be considered. Resources, information, and a self-check system need to be carefully examined in order for the plan to work successfuly. After reviewing my plan, there are multiple factors that need to be addressed.

To begin, the intended learning strategy that I plan to use is “providing opportunities to practice skills with various levels of support and provide ongoing, relevant feedback” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 123). To complete this, I will need my colleagues from varying levels, K-12, to aid me in presenting material that fits their needs. I will need to meet with them on a regular basis before I present material to them during our regularly scheduled professional development. Through these meetings, I can receive feedback regarding my presentation and what is essential for their development. I will then need to modify my instruction accordingly, so that their needs are being met (Laureate, 2009).

To continue my GAME plan, I need to first understand what needs exist for my colleagues. In other words, I need to find out what technology skills they currently have, and what skills they want to acquire. Then I need to find out what technology is available to them, otherwise my information will prove useless. I want to make sure that the information I am providing proves beneficial.

At this point, I have cleared my plan with my superintendent so I can begin preparing myself for next year. I have also contacted some of my colleagues to gage their interest in what I have to offer.

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.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Meeting students needs with technology part I. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author

My Game Plan

If the educational system is going to bring itself back from the dark abyss, teachers need to be proactive by setting professional development goals. It is of no secret that as of now, many students are receiving a sub-par education because many educators are ill-equipped to meet their students’ needs. “Compared with students' technology-infused lives outside of school, the traditional classroom is a somber place” (Prensky, 2008, 42). The answer is simple; educators need to take matter into their own hands. In this case, after reviewing National Education Standards for Teacher, I realize that two areas I need to approve upon are standards three and five.

To begin, standard three deals with modeling digital-age work and learning and standard five is engage in professional growth and leadership. After reviewing the descriptors of these two indicators, I feel that I can create a GAME plan that meets both standards simultaneously. Therefore, I need to first establish clear cut goals. However, I must first assess my current knowledge and skills in terms of technology (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). In this case, I know that I am very tech savvy in comparison to my fellow colleagues. I utilize blogs, wikis, podcasts, cell phones, and SMART technologies on a regular basis. However, I also realize that I have not exhibited my knowledge of these skills beyond my classroom. I need to not only model these skills, but I need to be a leader and advocate their use throughout my school. I also realize that I need to learn more as well and continue my professional development by continuing to learn more about the latest technologies and their role in education.

Next, I need to take action in order to fulfill these goals. I have to truly take on the role of being a self-directed learner by taking control of my goals (Laureate, 2009). Therefore, during our monthly professional development days, I am going to model the use of a new technology for colleagues. This will enable me to teach my fellow contemporaries how I use certain tools for educational purposes, and it will also enable us to collaborate on generating new ideas to enhance future lessons.

Monitoring my goals will be based on feedback from my colleagues, students, and parents. At the end of my monthly sessions, I will ask my colleagues to complete surveys regarding what was helpful, what areas need improvement, and what technologies they need further support within their classrooms. As I take on the role of presenting, I will receive feedback from the audience.

Lastly, I will evaluate my goals throughout the entire process. During my monthly PD, I will alter my practices based on the requirements of my fellow staff members. Ultimately, it is their needs that I want to meet by modeling and discussing the various technologies. As new obstacles arise, I will alter my goals and execution as necessary to be successful.

Before education falls into complete darkness, I intend on doing my part as an educator by making a clear GAME plan and completing it successfully. My students deserve the best from me, and I realize that I am not doing enough to make other educators aware of all the wonderful technologies available. My classroom is only one of eight that my students experience, and if I am the only one bringing light into their education, then I am not fulfilling my duties as a teacher. I have been blessed with opportunities to have a 21st century classroom, and it is my turn to repay the favor by giving back to education through my knowledge.


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.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program one. Promoting self-directed learning with technology. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author.

Prensky, Marc. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.

Information Literacy and Online Inquiry:

I have noticed that my students most often struggle in the area of locating and managing online resources for problem solving. They most often just open up a search engine and begin to type entire sentences in the search box. When the results page comes up they click on the first link and read the first sentence of that page. If it does not have the answer they are looking for, they get frustrated and either give up or ask me for the answer.

From the knowledge and experience I gained throughout this course, when my students are required to use the internet to complete an assignment, I will make sure I plan enough time at the beginning to help them understand how to search for information, and how to read for the important points. This was one of my weakest points in regards to web literacy and so it was difficult for me to teach. I will let my students know that I used to struggle with this and that because I understand their frustration, we are going to work together. In the past, my students have responded well to this and as a result, they do not ask me for the answer, they ask me to help them discover information. According to Dr. Hartman, “Our past was rooted in book culture. The future will be rooted in online and digital media” (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).

As a professional I hope to achieve two goals related to successful integration of technology into the classroom. The first goal is to teach my students 21st century technology skills so they can be successful in life after school. The second goal is to utilize professional development time set aside in my district to help other teachers become comfortable using a variety of technology in their classroom. To help my students learn 21st century technology skills I will require them to use technology throughout my class so they can become proficient with a variety of research processes and presentation modes. To help other teachers in my district become comfortable using technology in their own classrooms, I will my free time to provide ideas about how they can use different technologies to engage their students in their content.

Our students need to be fluent with the use of the web and it is the job of teachers to help them along this path. It is also the job of technology savvy teachers and administrators to help other teachers who are not up to speed with using technology to educate students.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore, MD.

Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology reflection

As I look back at my personal theory of learning that I created eight weeks ago for this class, I realize that my views on how my students learn have not changed much throughout my own learning. I still believe that behaviorism, constructivism and social constructivism are the three main theories I follow. Student learning is affected by rewards, punishment and reinforcement, and due to the globally connected society we live in; students are also drawn to social situations. All of these factors can be combined to create a powerful learning experience.

The greatest change I did see in my classroom over the past eight weeks is in the way I design my lessons. When I was in college I learned about the different theories of how people learn, but I did not commit the different theories to long term memory and I did not think about them when I designed lessons for my students. Now I look at the components of each learning theory, think about how my students prefer to learn, and design lessons that better meet their needs.

One aspect of my personal learning theory that I am proud of is my current level of technology integration. I still feel that I need to improve my skills with integrating technology, but the technology I currently use in my classroom is transparent in the learning process. The technology I am the most excited to show my students came from my own learning in this course. We had an assignment where we had to use the voice thread website. It is a simple interface to use, but the learning potential is amazing. Students have the opportunity to construct their own learning experience through a combination of sight and sound and then share that with their classmates or students from around the world.

Voice Thread

http://voicethread.com/share/890054/

The link above to view and listen to my voice thread regarding the use of cell phones and iPods in school. Please leave a comment and I will try to respond in a timely manner.

Connectivism and Social Learning:

Cooperative learning “…focuses on having students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning…” (Pitler, et al. 2007, p 139). When cooperative learning is combined with technology, the learning becomes more powerful. As 7th grade math teacher Karen Casselman discussed, cooperative learning gives students the opportunity to socialize, to bounce ideas off each other, and to validate answers. She goes on to say that most students expect her to be the expert in the classroom, and while that should be true, other students hold knowledge that is relevant to the situation and by teaching the material to each other, each individual students learns the content better (Laureate, 2009 A). Cooperative learning, when combined with the use of technology, goes along with the social learning theories.

The social learning theories discuss the idea that, “context and culture are critical in constructing knowledge” (Laureate, 2009 A). By allowing students to work together to create an artifact of learning, the culture of each student and the context of their prior knowledge meld together to produce powerful learning that can rarely be achieved in isolation. George Siemens said, “Knowledge resides in the patterns of how different concepts are networked and learning is the act of forming networks and navigating networks of knowledge” Laureate, 2009 B). An example of a network of knowledge was given by Dr. Michael Orey. He discussed the jigsaw form of cooperative learning.

In the jigsaw model, students are grouped together to learn about a topic. Each student is told a head of time he or she will be responsible for the learning because after a certain amount of time he or she will be required to teach that topic to another group. When the groups are reformed each student teaches his or her topic to the new group and when it is time for an assessment of learning, each student is going to “sink or swim” together based on how well each student taught their topic (Laureate, 2009 A). “Cooperative learning is not so much learning to cooperate as it is cooperating to learn” (Pitler, et al. 2007, p 143). Students do not have to like all the members of their group for this process to work. It is recommended that a variety of grouping strategies are used to ensure students have the opportunity to work with as many different people as possible. Because some students do not work well together, the idea of the base group is utilized. The base group is the one long term group that is created at the beginning of the year to allow for, “…trust, camaraderie, and teamwork…” (Pitler, et al. 2007, p 140).

I have used cooperative learning in my classroom on a regular basis and I like the results. My students know the expectations for their product and they feel comfortable using each others’ knowledge to solve problems. It is a difficult concept at first because the top students do not want to feel like they are doing the work for the bottom students but once everybody understands the concept and buys into the process, all the students benefit.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009 A). Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Social learning theories. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009 B). Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Connectivism as a learning theory. Baltimore: Author.

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