Developing Your Personal GAME Plan EDUC 6713D
Setting out on a road trip with no particular destination can be exciting at first. However, if you don’t know where you are going, how do you know when you have arrived? Better yet did you even enjoy the trip? Having a destination in mind and a planned route ensures a safe and productive journey. In my opinion, this can be true for a road trip as well as in the classroom.
For this week’s class assignment we are to develop a GAME plan to increase our proficiency for two NETS-T (National Education Standards for Teachers). Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) define GAME as a series of steps, “1. Set Goals 2. Take Action to meet those goals 3. Monitor progress toward achieving goals and 4. Evaluate whether the goals were achieved and Extend your learning to new situations” (p.3). The two standards I chose address designing authentic learning experiences and exhibiting ethical behavior.
The first standard is 2.a which states, “Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S.” and section a states, “design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity”. The second standard is 4.d which states, “Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices” and section d states, “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools” (http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx).
These two areas were chosen based on my desire to develop a creative, collaborative, learning environment for my students through the incorporation of authentic instructional activities. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) cite, “creativity is often developed through an authentic instructional approach” (p. 27). They go on to define the principles of authentic instruction as, “1) learner autonomy and 2) active learning, and tend to be anchored by 3) holistic, 4) complex, and 5) challenging activites” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 28).
The following are the steps of my personal GAME plan.
Goal:
I would like to design an authentic learning activity that incorporates appropriate technology that will enable my students to work collaboratively on a project with students from another part of our country.
Action:
1. I will review my school’s policy on the use of BLOGS, Wikis, Podcasts, and SKYPE for classroom instruction.
2. I will seek out learning communities interested in participating in a group project via the use of the internet
3. Once contact has been made, I will collaborate with the other teacher to determine a subject area focus and establish a unit complete with individual lessons, time frames, and desired learning outcomes for the students
Monitor:
In order to monitor student understanding I plan to use formative assessments. Examples include response journals, individual conferences with the students, and review of artifacts created.
Evaluate and Extend:
Once the activity is complete student understanding will be evaluated by a summative assessment of the unit material. I will reflect on what went well during the activity and what elements could be improved upon. As an extension, I will present my findings to my grade level partners in the hope of expanding this project.
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 from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
Shelly,
ReplyDeleteYou have chosen a great activity that works on both of the NETS-T standards that you wish to improve upon. Your GAME plan is broad but I can understand that since you really need to establish your connection with the other teacher before being able to set the specifics on your authentic learning activity. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer note that when designing your learning experience one must be aware of the resources and prior knowledge you have about the issue at hand (2009, p. 85). I like how to you take this initiative by developing your first step in your action plan to research the technology polices at your school. I have made this mistake in the past and developed a tool that my kids could not even access on the school grounds. It also shows how you are taking the initiative to learn the ethical practices of the resources.
Using the computer as a collaboration tool not only allows for “stimulating effective language but also for focusing children’s learning activities on specific curricular tasks” (2009, p. 71). You can work on so many dimensions of a student’s education at one time that the benefits are almost endless. Do you know what resources you are going to use to find other teaches that are willing to collaborate with you? Viki Davis notes a few such as ePals and Classrooms Without Borders in case you were unsure where to start (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). Bringing in a collaboration part on your end by setting the goal to share your experiences with your colleges is a great idea. Multiple perspectives, even from those who were not involved in the project, provides a way for both you and your students to gain insights that you may have never seen (Cennamo, et. al., 2009, p. 74). Good luck with your project!
Resources
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]. (N.D.). Enriching content area learning experiences with technology part II. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Thank you for responding to my post. I do have a few ideas regarding contacting other teachers. I am fortunate enough to have a family member in Louisiana who is in the teaching profession. I also have family in Kansas who I could reach out to for assistance. Facebook is a wonderful tool. I was interested in the Classrooms Without Borders mentioned in our text. My concern is not contacting teachers. I am worried about developing a unit that meets both of our needs.
DeleteShelly,
ReplyDeleteYour GAME plan is very well done. It seems as if you are preparing yourself for integrating technology effectively, meeting the four criteria suggested by Dr. Peggy Ertmer. You will develop knowledge in the task at hand; you will gain confidence to explain and implement this plan in your classroom as a result of this knowledge; your beliefs will help guide you through your actions; and you can create a supportive culture by sharing your findings with your colleagues. (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009) This is a great initiative for teachers to take to help their students strengthen the skills they will need in the 21st century workplace. By setting the example for your students, they will be able to see greater value in the learning activity as well as the application of their technology skills.
Creating a learning activity that has your students collaborating with other students is a wonderful idea! When the computer is used "as a support and resource for the communicative processes of teaching and learning", it "can be used to increase creative thinking processes among groups and communities." (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 70) This communication will lead to increased learning not only for your students within your content area, but also in their knowledge of the world around them. They can see that not only are they affected by changes in technology, but their peers in other areas are affected as well.
Best of luck in your GAME plan!
Aimee
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). Enriching content area learning experiences with technology, part I. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Hi Shelly,
ReplyDeleteWow, your GAME plan sounds like it is one that will engage students and take them on a journey of learning unlike the normal path they normally take. I give you a lot of credit for making this your goal as it is a very large task, one that takes a lot of work ahead of time. However, I think it can really benefit students' learning.
I saw that you mentioned using Skype as a tool for students to be able to talk to other students across the country. While I think Skype is a wonderful tool, I have found Google+ to be much more beneficial for a number of reasons. The main reason is that having students create a Google account gives them access to the plethora of features that can be used for learning on a daily basis. As Heick (2012) states, "classroom teachers can use Google+ to communicate directly with learners, learner families or other educators. This communication can also be expanded to include review of specific content-area ideas as well. Clarifying current learning targets, reviewing recent concepts, delineating homework assignments or providing a public forum for learners to ask questions are other easy applications of Google+" (p. 1). By using Google+, students can share documents with each other, type on the same document at the same time as something across the country, and contact a teacher at any time.
The main reason I brought up Google+ was to sway you into thinking about using this instead of Skype. The reason being is that Skype allows one-on-one conversations where Google+ has, what are called, Google+ Hangouts. Here, up to 10 people can "hangout" in the same videoconferencing room and have discussions. This would be a great tool for you so that students aren't crowded around one computer and can have other tabs open that may have a webquest or a Google Doc open where they can be doing their work at the same time that they are videoconferencing. I imaging students being so engaged with this type of learning that they would not even realize that an entire class period had passed without them being bored once. As Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) state, "often supported by common web browsers, teachers or students can host sessions over the Internet that allow others to view presentations, share documents across computers, chat, or take polls" (p. 74). Students in your class could take to students across the country or even use this tool at home to talk to their classmates about their homework or work on projects together.
On a completely random, yet connected, thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if teachers could use a Google+ Hangout as a resource similar to office hours at the college level? Let's say there is a large project due soon in your classroom and students probably have questions about the process or the product. Wouldn't it be wonderful to tell students that you will be in the Google+ Hangout to answer their questions from 8:00-9:00 pm one night and have students pop in if they have a question? I have so many ideas for using Google+ in my classroom and would urge you to check it out.
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.
Heick, T. (2012, February 09). Teaching with Google+. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-with-google-plus-terry-heick.
Heidi,
DeleteI had not considered Google+ to be honest. Probably because of my wish to monitor my 4th graders. I mentioned SKYPE as I could project it through my Promethean Board for an entire class discussion. I love the idea of Hangouts, however I'm not sure I am ready for that. At my level a Wiki or Blog seems more manageable. However, once I completed the first projet perhaps I could take the next one a step further and use Google+. A wise person once said "Nothing ventured, nothing gained". Thank you for your response