Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

As I continue to monitor my GAME plan progress I look over my goal time and time again which is 3a demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations and 4a advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.  I have been using the technology teacher at my school for most of the resources since she has been the most helpful.  At this time I do not need to modify my GAME plan as I have been working to demonstrate fluency with the technology that I teach my students. 

During my last few weeks in this course at Walden and developing a GAME Plan I have learned that demonstrating fluency in technology is something I will have to practice not just this year but, every year.  Teaching technology has been so much fun with second graders but, there are a lot of questions they have that I don’t seem to always have the answer for.  I have also learned that instead of trying to teach students all the rules and appropriate ways of using the internet that I need to try and focus on a few at a time.  The question I have, is there safe skills for internet use that I can teach my students without overwhelming them?

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

I have started my journey to implement, monitor and evaluate my GAME plan in order to carry out my action plan.  “The GAME plan enables you to customize your approach to learning tasks, to develop relevant skills that are important to you, and prepares you for lifelong learning” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3-4).  I first needed to list the resources I will need in order to carry out my plan which are:  through my master’s course, collaborate with colleagues and other professionals, and research my unanswered questions on line.  My first goal is demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations and my second goal is advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008). 

The additional information I have added was student collaboration.  It was really nice hearing student voices when it comes to what they know from school and home and what I need to know more about in order to educate them.  I have found that some of the information I want to show students after doing research at home is not available at school because of restrictions.  So in order to practice showing more technology I have used my jump drive to display needed material.  

The steps I have taken so far are collaborating with a few colleagues at work on what they use as far as technology in their classrooms with students and how they teach it to new students.  The sad thing is the four teachers that I talked to; do not find that much use for computers in their classroom.  The good news is my motivation to implement technology in my classroom is getting them more excited to do the same thing.  I have meet with our computer lab teacher and gone over how she advocates, models, and teaches students about the internet and found a few new ideas from her.  I will continue to collaborate with my colleagues in finding advice, insight, and new ideas on up coming lessons with my students.  I have also turned to my students and asked for their assistance on what they know and do not know about computers to give me and idea of what needs to be taught.

Reference

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 May 10, 2011 from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Developing My Personal GAME Plan with the ISTE NETS

As I look at the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS.S) and go over the information that teachers and students should know, I realize there are a few I am not confident in and need to develop a Game plan for.  “The GAME plan requires you to think about and take steps to direct your learning process, specifically while learning about technology and how to integrate it into the curriculum” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3).  In order to develop a GAME plan which will help me strengthen my confidence, I first need to list the standards I would like to strengthen which are: 3a demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations and 4a advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

Set Goals

“In order to stay up-to-date with current and emerging technologies for teaching and learning, you will need to constantly assess your technology integration skills in order to identify the new knowledge and skills you need” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 4). 

One of my goals is to practice and practice what I have learned in order to demonstrate fluency in technology.  This will help me so that I can transfer information to my students.  Another goal is to advocate, model, and teach my students about the internet and what can be found our there.

Take Action

“After you’ve identified your learning goals, you need to take action to meet those goals” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3).  The action that I will take in order to meet my goals are to continue to learn more about technology through my masters course, collaborate with colleagues and other professionals, and research my unanswered questions on line. 

Monitor

“As you take action to achieve your learning goals, you’ll need to monitor whether you are making sufficient progress toward your goals and reflect on whether the strategies you have chosen are working” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3).  I will be able to monitor my progress by looking at the information I gathered through my masters program, review what I found with my colleagues and other professionals, and by going back over my notes from online resources.

Evaluate and Extend

“During the evaluate stage in self-directed learning, you’ll determine whether you met your goal and reflect on whether your approach worked or whether you should modify your strategies for the future” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 4).  By evaluating my goal I will be able to successfully look at the new knowledge of information I teach my students and how well I teach them this new knowledge.  I will also be able to look at the new information they take with them and are able to use on their own.

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.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved May 10, 2011 from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx