Week 8 Reflection - GAME Plan

Reflection on GAME plan: Overall, looking back I believe I bit off more than I could chew. While my goals were lofty and I did follow through with one I did not get the other accomplished. I should have paid attention to the time of year knowing how busy it is for everyone. I was unable to get any of my colleagues to commit to professional development training. Most were, however, interested in any resources I could give them. I have begun putting together a pamphlet but have not gotten very far. I will continue to work on this endeavor throughout the spring and summer as time allows and hopefully I can pass on some of the great resources and ideas I have gained in my Master’s classes. GAME plan learning summary: I learned to organize my thinking and my learning. I often jump into new technologies and ideas with both feet forward but also with my eyes closed. I then, of course, get frustrated with the results and the learning of the students. I never seem to get the students where I imagined they would be. I have learned to take things one step at a time and to stop biting off more than I can handle. Once I am done with my Master’s degree I hope to be able to devote some of my free time to staying current with educational technologies and to attempt to implement them in my classes whenever possible. I also hope to teach my colleagues that adding technology to your lessons does not mean adding more work; often it means engaging students and creating a more exciting learning experience for all. Immediate adjustments to my instructional practice: As I learned things in this course I began to immediately implement them into my instructional practice. I do not have enough textbooks for my courses. I only have one classroom set, therefore, I have students read in class. I often provide a scaffold note-taking guide. I realized that sometimes this is only meaningful to me and not to my students. I began having students create concept maps using Webspiration in class. Students could create an outline, a concept map or another document that was meaningful to them. I have also begun using PhotoStory 3 which is a type of digital storytelling software. I was also able to get permission to begin creating wikis and blogs in my classroom which was very exciting because my administration from last year gave me a strong no when I asked if it was possible. This year’s administrators are interested in integrating technology that can assist in making connections with students and helping the curriculum become relevant for every student.

GAME plan in relation to NETS-S indicators

When I first began teaching I would get a new idea or strategy and jump right into doing it with my students before I took the time to carefully plan, implement, and think about possible problems. Needless to say, things rarely worked out the way I wanted them to. I would just get so excited at what I dreamed would be the end result and all the fun my students would have along the way that I dove in before looking for rocks! I ended up discouraged and upset that things never seemed to go my way....looking back I can see why! I can honestly say I was not doing myself or my students any favors because I was teaching them the skill of leaping then looking instead of the other way around.

The GAME plan has helped me develop goals and actions that will help me achieve the goals. I am now able to monitor the progress that I am making and at the end of the lesson I sit back and reflect on what went well and the things I need to change for the future.

I implement many of the NETS-S standards in my classroom. I know that if I continue to use the GAME plan when trying to implement new technologies and teaching strategies in my classroom the results will more likely be what I imagined instead of an epic disaster. One NETS-S standard I will continue to focus on is 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx). With my area of expertise, Business Education, new curriculum is introduced on a regular basis. Real-world problems are easy to include in my curriculum but I need to focus on including one or two new world issues at a time instead of jumping at every new thing that I think my students would enjoy. I need to choose issues that are relevant and interesting for the students as they are happening in the world around us. I also need to teach problem solving in the classroom and model critical thinking skills to students.

Revising My GAME Plan

What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice? What goals are you still working toward? So far I have learned some new technologies that I can use in my classroom, such as, Moodle, EdModo, and wikis. Since creating the wiki with my classmates I have a better understanding of how I can use them in the classroom. I have already altered three lessons to include technologies and have tried using Webspiration in the classroom with great success. As far as helping my fellow teachers find ways to integrate technology into their classrooms I am having difficulty getting my colleagues to engage. This time of year is very difficult for many teachers and for the time being I am just going to jot down and record my favorite resources and try to do a professional development session in the fall. Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself? I am going to continue to change and update my lessons. A new learning goal will be to “design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.” (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx). I have tried to just do a little at a time and it has worked very well for me. I did not feel overwhelmed yet I did feel like I was making progress in achieving my goal of adding technology to my lessons. If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far? This is basically an extension of my first learning goal of “demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations” (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx). What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning? I think I have use a fairly good approach this time around. I am excited for the summer where I can concentrate more time and energy on the classes I teach first semester and am not currently teaching this semester. I am also excited to compile the book of resources for my colleagues that I can hand out in the fall. This will complete one of my learning goals that I have been unable to complete due to the time of year.