Reflection

Looking back at the GAME plan I developed and worked on throughout the course, I realized that I feel more confident in integrating technology into my teaching. I feel that I am making strides towards the goals I have set for myself. I will need to continue to participate in technology courses throughout my teaching career, so that I can learn how to use new technology and incorporate it into my classroom. I have introduced the students to blogs and we are starting them next week. We are going to read a book as a class and I am going to ask them to respond to different questions. Many questions will be cause/effect, compare/contrast, make inferences, and predict what is going to happen next. I am really excited to start this with my students and I can tell they are excited too.

Throughout this course I have learned and discovered new types of technology and resources. I am excited to use digital story telling as a part of my students narrative essays. I am also excited to use the facebook PowerPoint layout at the end of the book we are going to read in class. I will have my students complete a facebook page for one of the characters in the story and present the page to the class. I have found a template in PowerPoint that looks identical to facebook and is easy to use. I have learned that my students really enjoy using technology and seem to me more engaged in the learning process. I have also learned that is necessary to allow the students to explore the technology before jumping in and using it. I think the students gain a lot of valuable information from self-directed learning.

As a result of this class, I have gained a lot of ideas on how to incorporate technology into content learning. I am excited to share these ideas with my colleagues and students. This class has been extremely beneficial and I believe I learned a lot of valuable information from the class resources, instructor, and my classmates. I look forward to implementing everything I have learned from this class!

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

I plan on using the GAME plan process with my students to help them develop proficiency in technology standards. I will start by having a class discussion that focuses on what technology is, why technology is important, and how they will need technology in the future. Next, I will have my students write down the different types of technology they encounter on a daily basis at home and at school. This will require them to acknowledge how large of an impact technology has on their everyday lives. I will then pass out a survey for them to rate themselves according to how comfortable they are using specific types of technology. We will discuss the survey and different ways students can become more comfortable with certain aspects of technology. The students will be asked to set two technology goals for themselves and create plan of action on how they can achieve these goals. The students will keep these goals in their classroom binder. I will discuss which their goals along with progress towards those goals with the students during our usual biweekly conference.

Revising My GAME Plan

I am really excited to incorporate kidblog.org into my classroom. I have discussed blogging with my students, but I have not officially started. I plan on setting up my class once I finish this blog. We are going to start reading the book "The Contender" and I think blogging will be a great addition to our book conversations. I plan on splitting the time and having the students read to themselves and listen to me read. I think having an ongoing conversation about the characters, setting, plot and other story elements will help aid in comprehension. I will also ask my students to react to certain parts in the book and make inferences. A blog can be a wonderful tool because unlike a conversation it is documentation of a students comprehension and shows whether or not the student has a particular skill, which can help when writing students IEP's and progress reports.

I really want to spend more time exploring my resources and new technology. It is difficult because I want to feel comfortable with the technology before I introduce it to my students. I feel like I never have enough hours in the day to explore and then apply to my teaching. This class has helped because it has offered me many different resources and I feel like I have a better understanding of how I can incorporate different activities into my classroom.

Evaluating My GAME Plan Progress

My actions in meeting my goals were effective. I have discussed blogging with my students. My students seem excited and open to the idea. I think they enjoyed hearing their peers would be their audience and they will be able to make comments to one another. I still need to work out a few problems. Does anyone know a way for students to have to send their blogs to be previewed before they are able to be seen by the public? A few students have behavioral problems and I do not want inappropriate material connected to my classroom. Also, we will be conducting a webquest tomorrow on the brain. I am excited to see how it turns out, how they navigate the Internet, and if they are engaged in the lesson. The webquest is well laid out. I am using one that has already been created and it provides the students with a link and an answer document. I think this will be a great way to introduce the concept of webquest and see how my students react. There are so many things I still need to learn and I am willing to embrace any suggestions or comments. I love the idea of adding more technology to my classroom. I recognize I have to teach the students how to properly use the technology in order for it to be effective. This will allow me to facilitate the lesson while the students are actively engaged in self-directed learning.

Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

After developing my GAME plan a few weeks back, I have decided to reflect and consider the steps I have taken towards meeting my technology goals.

The first goal I have set for myself is to facilitate and inspire students earning and creativity through the use of technology. I have been working to find different interactive technology for my students to participate in during our whole group instruction. We are currently in a workshop called "Your Brain". The students really seem to enjoy participating in the "brain games" after journals. The interactive games let them test their memory and challenge them to think and the students are engaged and interested. I have learned that there are so many interactive games available and using a SmartBoard lets the students interact as a group and practice team building skills. I would still like to include a webquest that will allow the students to independently work and explore different websites, practice using search engines, evaluate websites for validity, and learn about the brain.

The second goal I have set for myself is to engage in professional growth and leadership using technology. I have shared the interactive websites I have found with the teacher that teaches the other Read 180 sections. I honestly have been very busy with school and work, but I plan to enroll in another technology class over the summer to help increase my comfort level with the technology and learn different ways to implement technology in the classroom.

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

The resources I will need to carry out my GAME plan include classroom materials and technology. I will need access to computers, internet explorer, make sure the students blogs are set up and that they understand blogging procedures, and have a SmartBoard available. The students will also need copies of the article "Life with Half a Brain" by Maria Chang and large paper to brainstorm ideas.

Additional information I may need before carrying out this GAME include would be seeing how much my students know about blogging and checking the validity and reliability of websites.
So far, I had my students read the article "Life with Half a Brain" and brainstorm a list of questions within their small group. The students are currently working on choosing one of the questions they came up with to conduct research.

Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences

After visiting the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), I examined the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). NETS-T is a list of performance indicators that can help improve student learning and continue to learn as an educator. I have chose two performance indicators and have developed a GAME plan to strengthen my confidence in these areas.

The first indicator in NETS-T that I have chosen to strengthen my confidence in is to facilitate and inspire students learning and creativity. This will help engage students in the learning process and help promote creative thinking while also teaching students 21st century skills. In order to achieve this goal, I must find meaningful and real-life activities that involve technology. The activities I choose must engage the learner, allow the learner to explore using technology, and encourage the learner to think creatively. Examples may include a web quest or creating a presentation using a variety of digital tools. Actions I will take to achieve this goal include exploring different websites and learning activities that I believe will advance student thinking and learning. I will need to teach my students how to use the technology or allow students proper time to apply self-directed learning. I will also need to plan meaningful activities that involve technology.

The second indicator from NETS-T I have chosen to strengthen my confidence in is to engage in professional growth and leadership. This indicator requires me to take part in continuing education to help ensure I am up to date on current technology that will help promote student learning. Action I will take in order to achieve this goal include taking technology classes throughout my career. One step towards this goal includes taking technology classes such as this one through Walden University. I also plan on taking classes offered through my school district. It is important that I participate in continuing education for technology to ensure that I can hep prepare students for the future. Using technology can also engage students and hold them accountable for their own learning.

I plan to monitor my progress, evaluate, and extend my learning towards these goals by enrolling in at least one technology class a year. I plan on reflecting on these goals by writing what I think was effective, how students responded, what I thought was ineffective or needed improvement, ways I could improve my teaching to facilitate/inspire student learning and creativity. Also, it is important I use my colleagues and students knowledge to help me reach my technology goals and prepare my students for the real world.