Final Blog Post for Class Eight

Reflection

Goals are important. Steps to achieve those goals are important. If I did not have goals or action plans I would flounder and probably not accomplish much. The GAME plan is a way of staying focused. According to Cennamo, Ertmer, and Ross (2009) the GAME plan allows one to take control of their own learning.  When we become self-directed learners, we can adapt better to change. The GAME plan is a great tool and I had never really thought about learning with those specific steps before.  I set goals, I take action to achieve those goals, I monitor my progress, and I evaluate the success- I just did it in my own style before the GAME plan was introduced.

My goals throughout this course were:

Goal 1: Have a technology-rich classroom. I want to be able to incorporate technology where it best fits the curriculum needs.

Goal 2: I want to reach all students (with the help of technology).

Goal 3: Create a student-centered atmosphere in my classroom, giving them 21^st century skills to learn and use.

In truth, the GAME plan has frustrated me. How’s that for honesty? As I sampled some of my fellow classmates’ reflections, the majority of them grew immensely from the GAME plan and speak very highly of it. I think it is a great concept, what I found was life sometimes gets in the way. My different roles in life became overwhelming: teacher, student, coach, wife, and teammate. I found that I ran out of time to really research and explore technology. I began to only focus on the technology that I learned throughout the class because we had to work with it for the class. In truth, I am ready to complete my masters and I hope that I remember everything I learned so I can truly give the time and effort to make good use of the tools we have learned and begin to implement them. I sometimes try to force technology, which Tim Best (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012a) said is not something I should do in my classroom. I want to incorporate it so badly; it becomes unnatural. I need to stop; step back; and re-evaluate the process. I believe I would benefit from finding someone to work with- either someone else on staff or a teacher somewhere else. I need someone else to bounce ideas off of and to gain ideas from; someone else who is starting from the beginning.

I have grown in my knowledge. This class and my classmates have provided me with many great ideas on how to use technology. I have lots of tools accessible to me to create a technology-rich classroom, I just need to begin to implement them. That is where I have struggled- the actual implementation.

A wiki and a blog would be easy tools to implement. I have them all ready to go, I just cannot seem to find the time in my classroom to explain how they work and the expectations that go along with them. I feel like I am constantly behind with my school day- I do not know where to fit in teaching a new tool. A blog can be used to showcase work, for critical thinking and discussions. It has so many positive possibilities. A wiki would be a simple tool to help with collaboration. I think my problem is I am still trying to teach the same way, but add in more. What I need to do is figure out ways to teach the old material a new way, incorporating technology.

I think digital stories, especially using Voicethread, would be a very simple way to allow my students to learn and grow using technology. Dr. Abrams (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012b) states that digital stories can improve students’ writing skills, enriches students’ content area learning, and allow a larger audience for sharing.

I believe that problem-based learning can also be very helpful. Even if I just start small- one time the first year. Peggy Ertmer (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012c) states that problem-based learning provides many benefits to my students.  It would allow my students to become self-directed learners, it allows them to learn how to work cooperatively, and they usually learn the content pretty deeply and can then apply it to new situations.

I am very good at the evaluation part of the GAME plan- I see my failures, now I just need to focus on the ways to fix those failures and remain positive. Would I change my GAME plan? No. My goals are good goals that will transform my classroom to a 21^st century style atmosphere. It will help change the focus from teacher-centered to student-centered. The one change I need to do is stop making excuses. I need to stop trying to add more, but instead to take what I teach and teach it differently. I have said that it is okay to take small steps, yet I am not listening to my own words.  I am not sure I will use the actual GAME plan model, but I will stress to my students how important it is to create goals and then take action to reach those goals.

Renee Scott

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. (Producer). (2012a). Enriching content area Learning experiences with technology, part 1 [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012b). Spotlight on technology: digital storytelling, part 1 [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012c). Spotlight on technology: problem-based learning, part 1 [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Monitoring my GAME plan progress

Monitoring my GAME plan progress

Goal 1: Have a technology-rich classroom. I want to be able to incorporate technology where it best fits the curriculum needs.

Goal 2: I want to reach all students (with the help of technology).

Goal 3: Create a student-centered atmosphere in my classroom, giving them 21^st century skills to learn and use.

What have I learned? 

Tim Best (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012) said you cannot force technology. I now know this is true. I need to let it happen naturally. I need to not make everything such a big deal. I need to start small and add more when I am comfortable and ready. Each day this week I have incorporated a small piece of technology. 

On Monday my students worked on their vocabulary words for the week. They worked in pairs- they each had two words. Using Microsoft Word they wrote the definition, an original sentence, and found a picture to represent their word. They shared their work to the class so everyone could see and hear how those words are used correctly. Each word was represented by 3 different groups, so the students heard and saw it multiple times in order to make many connections. On Tuesday my fifth graders worked through two different interactive sites in order to learn more about the Underground Railroad.  After they had visited the sites, they reflected on the information they learned and wrote an answer to an open-ended response question. Today, the fourth graders played a review game from Harcourt (2012) that corresponded with their first unit in their social studies text. Small steps, do not force.

Are you finding the information and resources you need?

 I am ready to start incorporating blogs with my students next week. I have set each student up with a blog and I have finished my Acceptable Use Policy. So yes, I am on the right track for this part of the goal. I do need to continue to gather more resources on ideas on how to best implement technology into my classroom. I need to continue searching out the best possible tools.

Do you need to modify your action plan? 

Yes, I need to be more specific in my steps. The only clear point I made was that I would start blogging. The rest of my goals were too generic. There is no focus, no specific action plan; I felt like I was getting nothing accomplished. So I am working on setting more specific goals.

To go along with finding information and resources; every Saturday I am dedicating one hour to my lesson plans looking to see where technology would fit. I then use the internet and my textbooks from class to find the specifics. The goal is to try and implement technology at least 5 times a week.

After blogging has been started and the students have the opportunity to use it for awhile, I will pick another tool to focus on implementing.

After this week’s resources from my Walden University class I also want to begin implementing some different types of assessment using technology. I want to focus on performance and project-based assessments. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) describe these as tools that can allow my students to be 21^st century learners and used higher critical thinking skills. 

What new questions have arisen?

My question that has arisen: Where do you look for ideas on projects and technology implementation? Do you have a favorite website or source?

Renee Scott

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.

Harcourt School Publishers (2012).  “The Learning Site”. .  Retrieved from http://www.harcourtschool.com/ss1/index_na.html.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012). Enriching content area Learning experiences with technology, part 1 [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Carrying Out Your GAME Plan

My GAME plan goals are to:

1.      Have a technology-rich classroom. I want to be able to incorporate technology where it best fits the curriculum needs.

2.      I want to reach all students (with the help of technology).

3.      Create a student-centered atmosphere in my classroom, giving them 21^st century skills to learn and use.

This week’s discussion on the Universal Design for learning (UDL) was a perfect tie in to my second goal. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) describe UDL as removing the barriers that get in the way of students learning.  According to John Ross (Laureate Education, Inc, 2012a), teachers need to have flexibility in their classroom to meet the needs of all the students. I now have some tools and information, so I can begin to create the best learning experience for each student. I need to continue to build on this information. I need to take a lesson and start by making one adaptation. I need to try it out. Then I need to continue to add more. I need to reflect on each experience- noting what went well and what I or my students struggled with during the lessons. I have to remember to take baby steps. If I try to change everything all at once I will probably fail. I need to continue to explore more resources about UDL and differentiation. I need to have more flexibility and more choices. Other than the resources given for this week’s class, does anyone have any good sources that give ideas on how to implement UDL or differentiation strategies?

To work on goal number one, I created a blog for each one of my students. I am currently working on creating an Acceptable Use Policy and then will start implementing posting to the blogs next week. My school has an Acceptable Use Policy, but it is outdated and needs improving. I will start by using the blogs to post their work (like writing pieces), but eventually I will start using them for critical thinking and deeper discussions for subjects like social studies and reading. If I am working on goal number two, then goal number one will naturally come. Technology is a great way to incorporate UDL into my classroom. If the blogs go well, I want to work on incorporating Voice Thread or Digital Storytelling next.

All three of my goals go hand-in-hand. If I am giving more choices and incorporating more technology then I am also starting to achieve a student-centered classroom. I need to continue to model, but if I use technology as I teaching tool less lecturing can start taking place. I need to give my students the skills they need to learn how to explore, question, and create. I need to instill goals into my students and remind them of the goal they are attempting to reach.

What’s next? Confidence and baby steps. More research. Finding colleagues or peers that can support and encourage my endeavor. I need to balance my time more, which is my biggest struggle right now. I cannot ever seem to catch up. I am either grading papers or working on master’s work, so I cannot seem to find the quality time to create lessons that provide the variety of choices my students need. Any suggestions on how to make this work? I also need to remember what Tim Best (Laureate Education, Inc, 2012b) said, that I should not use technology just to use technology- it needs to fit into the content. I cannot force it to fit the curriculum.

My one fear is that every time I bring out technology with my current class, they get so excited that they become unruly. The goal is lost. How can I keep their focus and keep them from getting out-of-control?

Renee Scott

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. (Producer). (2012b). Enriching content area Learning experiences with technology, part 1 [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012a). Meeting students needs with technology, part 1 [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.