EDUC 6713 Reflection

            Throughout this course, I learned about developing a GAME plan. GAME stands for Goal, Action, Monitor, Evaluate (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).  This model is used to develop engaging lessons. Prior to this course, I have never heard of a GAME plan, however, I typically do that when creating lessons.  The part that often gets overlooked is the evaluating the lesson.  After teaching a lesson, we are immediately thinking about the next. I need to ensure that I am setting time aside to evaluate my lesson.  When I have time, I write myself notes about a particular lesson so I remember what needs to be changed for the next year.  This course has taught me to always remember this step to improve my instruction.  I have also used a GAME plan to set goals using the ISTE NETs. I monitored my progress and saw myself reach my goals.  This is an effective method for setting and reaching goals.  Students can also use this method. 

            I have also learned about different technology tools I can incorporate in my lessons. The purpose of my taking this master’s program is to learn more tools and techniques. Three in particular that I have learned and implement are problem-based learning, social networking/online collaboration, and digital storytelling.  I have tried each of these in my classroom after designing lessons in this course. My students’ favorite was digital storytelling.  My students always enjoy when I show them math videos on YouTube created by other students. They are always telling me they want to create one.  When students create a video, I have found they are more eager to share it. I can now take these videos and create a private YouTube channel.  I can give my students the link so they can share their videos with their family and friends.  Kids today are so interested in YouTube and watching videos online.  They get excited when they get to be the star of one of those videos. Overall, I believe I learned valuable tools in this course that I can continue to use in my classroom. 

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.

 

Monitoring my GAME Plan Progress

I have been successful in finding information and resources needed in order to complete my GAME plan.  To communicate with different stakeholders, I just need continued access to online tools.  The hunt for resources pertaining to increased technology is always ongoing. I am still searching for more activities that will promote student creativity.  I have also spoken with my colleagues who have shared some resources with me. 

I do not feel as if I need to make any changes to my action plan. The action plan I have set has been very realistic. The only thing I need to consider is that reaching these goals take time and it is ongoing.  I can communicate with all of my parents today but in order to reach my goal, I need to continue communicating.  In addition, I can create one engaging activity that uses technology with my students, but I do not consider that reaching my goal. I need to continue creating these types of lessons to keep my students’ creativity going.

I have learned that parents really do appreciate teacher communication.  I have had parents tell me that they had no idea a situation was happening in school or that their child did not inform them of an important deadline.  I have also learned that creating and finding engaging activities with technology is not as difficult as I thought.  There are so many online resources to help with this and I have plenty of resources in my school.  These activities take some time to prepare for but my students really enjoy working with technology to further their knowledge.

I do not have any questions at this time. However, I would like to ask my colleagues’ opinion on a piece of technology. I have downloaded the app Cel.ly on my iPhone and can access it online. What are your thoughts on asking students and parents to subscribe so they can get text reminders to their cell phones? 

Carrying Out my Game Plan

My GAME plan consists of two goals: 1. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation and 2. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. In order to be successful in achieving these goals, I will need some resources. As I collaborate with different stakeholders, I will need access to Moodle and email. On Moodle, I plan to post more resources that my students may find valuable. Websites like www.khanacademy.org have helpful videos that teach students a particular concept. I can find videos pertaining to my lessons to post for students. As I try to reach my goal of designing lessons that promote creativity and learning, I first want to consult with my colleagues. Many of my coworkers, both in and out of my department, have great ideas that promote creativity. As I consult with them, I hope to modify some lessons to engage my students more.

I feel as if I have all of the information needed in order to increase my collaboration with students, peers, parents and community members. It is just up to me to increase this communication. In order to help with the designing of my curriculum, I would like to access a website or a book that has Algebra 2 specific ideas. I hope to find some good ideas or spark my creativity to develop a lesson on my own.

I have already started to increase my communication with different stakeholders.  I have sent more emails to parents regarding their child and upcoming due dates and tests. In addition, I have posted more resources on my Moodle page. However, I am still working on developing more engaging activities to spark student creativity.  

My GAME Plan

I feel very comfortable using technology and I feel like I should be using it more in my classroom with my students.  I am a third year teacher and in the past I have been just trying to make it through.  As I am being more experienced, I feel as if I have more time to create new engaging activities for my students. In order to increase the amount of technology used in my classroom, I have created a GAME plan meaning I have set my Goals, planned Action to take, thought about how to Monitor my success and then Evaluate my success (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).  I have set two goals for myself. I would like to improve upon two indicators from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) National Education Standards (NETS-T). The first indicator I would like to improve upon is “Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation” (ISTE, 2008). The second indicator is “Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.”

In order to collaborate more with stakeholders, I would like to add to my Moodle.  Our district has recently changed to Moodle and teachers are still getting started. I have set up my computers course on Moodle but I have not set up my math courses with much detail. I would like my Moodle page to share information with parents about their child’s algebra class.  I would also like to send out more emails to my parents. In order to design more learning experiences with digital tools, I plan to collaborate more with other teachers. I share information with other teachers in the math department very often and we work together nicely. I think by collaborating with them and using what I am learning in this course, we can develop some authentic learning activities using digital tools to promote learning and creativity.

As I am working towards my goals, I will continue to monitor my success. I would like my mentor teacher to help with this.  She has seen my current Moodle pages so I would like her to periodically check them to see how it is progressing. She will be able to give me feedback and ideas of more information to add to help communication between myself and parents. I would also like to share with her the activities I incorporate that incorporate digital tools.  I hope to have one activity per unit to share with her.

                Lastly, I plan to evaluate my success.  By the end of this course, I will look over my Moodle to ensure I have effectively communicated with parents and students. I can also survey my students on their Moodle usage and how it has or hasn’t helped him.  I will also survey them on the technology based activities to get their feedback.  Hopefully students are more successful on the learning targets from these activities when it comes time for a test. 

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 from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers