GOALS:
After I reviewed the website for the International Society for Technology in Education, I found myself becoming a bit overwhelmed because I know that I have a great deal to work on. I really must admit, that their are several of the indicators and standards that I need to address, and strengthen my confidence and proficiecy in. I am going to focus on ISTE NETS-T standard 2b, which requires that,"I develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, mangaging their own learning, and assessing their own progress," (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 84). I know this is an important part of teaching my students to become self-directed learners. The other area that I would like to grow in is standard 5c, which states, "teachers will evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning," (www.iste.org).
ACTION:
I will address these areas by considering what my students need to know, what they already know, and how will I be able to determine if they have been successful. I will create an environment that is conducive to learning incorporating the use of techology into my daily lesson plans. To ensure that my goals are met, I will have my students engage in lessons that will help them meet their goals by educating them through blogs, wiki's, virtual field trips, and using their mobile devices. In addition to that, I will designate at least one class period every two weeks to spending time in the computer lab to teach my students the content area objectives. When I create the lessons that I have my learners participate in I will consider the content that they need, which strategies will work best to meet their needs, and what resources will I need to get them there,(Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009)? By evaluating and reflecting on current research I will be able to create more authentic and meaningful lessons incorporating the use of technology into as many lessons as possible. In my opinion, being in this master's program with Walden, I am demonstrating that I am taking action and am on my way to achieving my goals.
MONITOR:
It is important to monitor the progress of my learners but it is equally important to monitor my own learning goals. To ensure success, I will continue to stay current through reading and research, and by being a reflective learner. By keeping a reflective journal I will be able to record personal strengths and weaknesses, and also keep records of how my learning community is progressing on our educational journey. Another way that I will reach my goal of finding ways to use digital tools and resources to support my students learning is by posting to my blog to reach out to other educators all over the world to help me with my quest.
EVALUATE & EXTEND:
Finally, I must evaluate the effectiveness of my instruction and personal progress. I believe that I will know my strengths and weaknesses by using the data that I get from my students achievment test scores. In my district, we assess our learners three times a year through MAP testing, which is Measure of Academic Progress. This gives excellent information about my students reading comprehension and language levels, as well as their reading lexile too. I will closely analyze that data to evaluate my teaching and find ways to better meet the needs of my learners. Lastly, I would like to extend my learning by educating my colleagues through collaboration, sharing the knowledge that I gained, the struggles that I encountered and seeking any advice that they may have so that I can be a better teacher for my students.
I am thrilled to have these goals to work for and anxious to start on this journey to achieve them. I know that with hard work and determination, I will be successful and my students will be too!
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.
Hi Stacy,
ReplyDeleteI am very impressed with your energy I gathered after reading your post. I totally feel the motivation you have for your GAME plan. It is already a good start I have to say.
It is important for us teachers to know the priority of our teaching. It is crucial in 21st century that we integrate technology into our curriculum. The educational journal that I recently read states that in about four years time, there will be less written CV, employees are starting to accept digital version of their CV, i.e. video CV. One of our prestigious universities in HK is going to introduce this into their curriculum in four years time. Since our job is to equip our students for future challenges, it is essential that we live ahead of time, and constantly upgrade ourselves so that we can pass on the skills and knowledge that our students will need when they graduate and get into the workforces.
I admire your choices of standards to include in your GAME because I believe it is not only essential but critical to get into the dynamic of technology and get our students up to speed in using technologies. Since technology is ever-growing, it’s basically impossible for us to teach absolutely every technology available. Thus we need to introduce different educational technologies that are available to our students and it will be up to them to explore on their own. However how do we do that? The only answer that I can think of is to role model that ourselves, to use technology in our lessons, to explore different advantages and benefits that technology bring to us, to upgrade our personal development through technology will our students thrive. Actions speak louder than word, learning by doing is the best way to acquire knowledge and skills.
Good luck with your GAME plan, I am sure you are as excited as I am when executing your goals. With persistence and determination, I believe your GAME plan will definitely take your students in the right direction to be self-directed learners.
Thanks for sharing!
Sarah
Your game plan is a great one and I am sure that you will accomplish your goals! Students must learn how to use technology to survive in our digital society. Most of them know how to use the internet to search for information and communicate via facebook and e-mail, but there is so much more that they can do. Using technology in the classroom will teach them tools that they can use in the future and it will help them learn content in your classroom. Because there are so many tools available, it is impossible to teach them how to use all of them, so we must teach them how to teach themselves new skills. Being self-directed learners will benefit the students more than they could ever imagine. Technology is the perfect way to teach them how to be self-directed learners. As teachers we must model this behavior for our students. I have recently had my students create a wiki in groups researching information on Shakespeare. They didn't initially like the idea, but with my assistance, they were able to learn how to use www.wikispaces.com and they also learned how to work within small groups. Collaborating on this project taught them to work better with different people, which we know they will have to do in the workplace. Another great tool that I used and pretty much all of my students enjoyed was www.glogster.com where they created a poster showing information that they found on banned books. I have shared my experiences with my colleagues in small groups and even presented a lesson using technology during a faculty meeting. It was very rewarding for me to share my knowledge and experiences with them so that they could learn more about technology.
ReplyDeleteTo Stacy:
ReplyDeleteIt is important as educators that we know what we are about, especially now that we are integrating technology in a large scale into our curriculum. The GAME Plan is a valuable guide for us to organize how we are going to use digital tools to enhance content learning. As I work through the plan, I can see where to go step by step throughout the process. It certainly uncomplicates the process. I like it!
Pauline