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 21st 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 21st 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.
