Wednesday, September 12, 2012

GAME plan...


While reviewing the indicators of the National Education for Teachers there were a few that were intriguing, but two indicators in particular really made me reflect on my style of teaching and overall philosophy.  The two indicators were found in the Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments standard.  The first indicator states teachers should be able to “design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  The second states that educators should be able to, “customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).

My GAME plan in making the move towards mastery of these indicators is outlined with reflections on certain ideas and concepts presented in the standards.

Goals: 
The first goal I will begin to implement in my classroom is student-centered technology in my lessons at least once a week.  If I am to implement this type of technology more often I will.  However, I want to make sure that the technology used is beneficial for the student and not just an activity using technology for the sake of technology.  Secondly, I want these lessons to offer multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate content knowledge and skills and to incorporate multiple styles of learning.

Action: 
I will collaborate with fellow English teachers to learn of activities that incorporate technology and are driven by the students.
I will collaborate with the Science department to learn of activities that incorporate technology in my class.
I will research through National Conference for Teachers of English (NCTE) for activities, plans, and topics that can be incorporated in my class.

Monitor:
After each technology lesson, I will reflect on the overall quality lesson to help myself gain insight on how to properly implement student-centered technology lessons in the classroom.  I will reflect by asking myself “are the students engaged in the activity?”  Did the technology help deepen the students understanding in comparison to past years (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009)?  Have my students effectively demonstrated learning?

Evaluate: 
After several lessons, I will determine if the implementation of the technology centered lessons are in fact effective in enhancing my mastery of the above indicators.

Resources
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/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

5 comments:

  1. Mark, it is a great idea to set a once a week goal as part of your GAME plan. One of the best parts about incorporating tech is that it does not have to be overwhelming. Small assignments work just as well as larger projects. Our students use tech all day long, but they are not creating huge projects each and every day. So our tech can be something similar. For example, I try to use YouTube when I can. When I cover the transcendentalists, I use a YouTube video of Taylor Mali's poem "Speak with Conviction." Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEBZkWkkdZA

    I post the link on my website, as well as the poem in text so they can read along as they listen or they can watch the video. I also provide some reflection questions that allows them to connect very old works of American lit with a more modern piece, while also using a technology with which the students are already familiar. It has been a successful plan.

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    1. Rachel,

      This video and poem that you linked on my post, have you ever made a unit based on the idea of spoken work? I was watching the video and it occurred to me that you could expand on video and create a pretty sweet unit on spoken word or slam poetry, or folklore.

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  2. Mark-
    I think you have some solid ideas about how you can improve the implementation of technology in your classroom. I think that your goals are realistic and your action plan that is set up for collaboration with colleagues will definitely help you make your goals happen in your class. You also have some great ideas for how you will monitor your own learning and evaluate your progress as you work through these technology- enriched activities. Have you thought about what content or activities specifically you want to enhance with technology? I am on the same page with you in that technology must be used to support and enhance the learning experience, not just used because we want to use it. I think your ideas are realistic and support enhancing learning through technology. Great work!

    Scott Embrock

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    1. Scott,

      The interesting part of incorporating technology into the classroom is figuring out how to have a mixture of technology use from the beginning of a unit to the conclusion of the unit. I am on a big kick right now to utilize video in as many units as possible. I have always loved the idea of not only written expression, but also the visual representation of an idea. I am currently having my students create a documentary film about a childhood prodigy. I am looking forward to how they present the adaptation of their essay.

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  3. I think that your GAME plan of student-centered technology in my lessons at least once a week is a good goal. I appreciate that you do not want to just add the activities to you lesson for the sake of adding technology. According to Cennamo and Ertmer (2009) The Game plan was compiled so that we could create meaningful lessons that build on and support students' self-directed learning. I hope that with you fellow teachers you are able to find the meaningful actives that you are looking for.
    Debbie Stoh
    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.

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