Week 8 REFLECTION

This course has taught me a great deal about integrating technology into the content areas. As I reflect on the past eight weeks, I know that I have grown professionally, because I have achieving the goals of my GAME plan. I have a new appreciation for technology and finding ways to integrate it into my daily lessons. I realize that my learning community craves the use of technology, and if I am doing my part to meet their needs, and prepare them for the workplace, then it is imperative that I incorporate it into my lesson plans.

Throughout this course I learned the importance of Problem-based learning, social networking and online collaboration, and digital storytelling and how motivating and rewarding these types of learning activities can be. Engaging my students in these types of lessons, allows them to seek answers to their questions from professionals, and other teachers around the globe. These types of experiences are authentic and meaningful and what my students need in order for them to achieve mastery of the content area objectives.

I plan to continue on my quest to achieve my GAME plan goals by collaborating with my colleagues, and continuing to read and research to find unique methodologies for technology integration. Furthermore, I plan to share the new knowledged that I have gained throughout this course with my colleagues at my school, so that they may benefit and be motivated to integrate technology into their lessons too. Finally, I plan to reflect and record my thoughts in a personal learning log as I continue to strive towards achieving my goals.

Thank you Dr. Xu for giving me the guidance that I needed to grow professionally throughout this course.

GAME plan for Students

The GAME plan process is an excellent way to prepare my students in becoming proficient in the National Education Standards for Students. This process focuses on the goals that I have for my learners, the action that they will take to achieve the goals, and how I will monitor and evaluate their progress.

Goals- I will hold students accountable of the learning goals by stating the learning objectives and requiring students to be able to articulate those goals to me. This will make them responsible for their learning.

Action- Students will be engaged in technology rich lessons to motivate them to achieve their learning goals. They will utilize all types of technology such as wikis, blogs, podcasts, and digital storytelling software to ensure that they are highly engaged.

Monitor- I will constantly provide my students will the guidance that they need, and offer rubrics for them to aide them in achieving the learning goals set forth at the beginning of each lesson. I will have conversations with them about what they are learning to ensure content mastery.

Evaluate- Evaluation is important for everyone involved in the lesson. I will educate my students on how to reflect on their learning, and advise them to utilize their peers and other teachers to help them achieve their goals. I will have them use learning journals to write their reflections in class.

Week 6: Evaluating my GAME plan

I am still on my way to achieving my GAME plan goals. Everyday, I am learning new ways to incorporate technology into my lesson plans. This weeks learning resources provided me with many useful social networking sites, as well as other technologies, and shared examples of how I could use them. I am currently working on a Wiki with my colleagues, and this is a great way for me to collaborate with other professionals to develop the best possible lessons for my students.

I did experience one problem last week when I was trying to complete my PBL lesson. I had difficulty getting the chart to complete the lesson on the wiki. One of my cells on the lesson plan still needs to be complete, and I still can't figure out the formating. So, anyone that reads this post this week, if you can edit my chart, or tell me how to do so, I would greatly appreciate it! I am finding how useful this collaborative learning community can be, and am learning a great deal.

Week 5: Evaluating Your GAME Plan Progress

In my opinion, I am on track to achieving my GAME plan goals. I have been effective in managing my time and reading and researching to find information to use with my learning community. Last week, I had my creative writing classes utilize their mobile devices to do a freewrite writing activity. I asked to student to take out their devices and select a picture. Once they selected their picture, I told them to brainstorm a list of details about that picture. After that, I gave them 15 minutes to share the details of the picture that they selected. I did have to make adjustments for students who didn't have a mobile device such as a cellphone, or an ipod. For those students I gave them a picture card instead. After I did that, I realized that I probably should have simply found a picture with my laptop and used my LCD projector to share with the students. That way, I would still be using technology. I guess I can do that next time. I realize that this lesson is pretty basic, but, I have several students that are reluctant to write, and it was motivating to them to be able to use their devices. I discovered after doing this that they were very surprised, and happy at the same time.

I am learning each and every day new ways to implement technology into my lesson plans. It is definitely a work in progress, but I feel as if I am progressing nicely. I reflect a great deal after I try using a new technology on ways that I could make the lesson even better the next time. I am looking forward to collaborating with my colleagues this week on the wiki sharing ideas and gaining insights.

Week 4 GAME plan progress

I am happy to say that I am progressing nicely with my game plan. It is encouraging to know that I am on my way to meeting my goals. I am pleased with my progress and am thrilled about how my students have responded.

At this point, I bought myself a new planner to assist me with time management. This has been a big help! I spend about 20-30 minutes of my planning time each week reading and researching to find ways to incorporate technology into my lessons. Furthermore, I have discussed with my colleagues my intentions of integrating technology into my daily lessons, and now when we collaborate, they are assisting me by sharing ideas that I am able to use.

I am finding many lessons on the internet that I am currently using, so locating resources hasn't been a problem. At this time, I do not think that I need to modify my action plan, because I am content with my progress. I have learned that integrating technology is very rewarding and really helps with classroom management. Students become highly engaged when they are utilizing their devices and it makes the learning process enjoyable for all. A question that I have, is for my colleagues. Can you share with me a way that you incorporated technology into your content area lessons?

So, all in all, things are looking good. I am on my way to meeting my goals and I am excited about my progress.

Carrying out my GAMEPLAN...

When I think about the resources that I will need to assist me on my quest of tackling this game plan, the first thing that comes to my mind is time to read. I need to set aside time each week to be able to read and research on the internet to find lessons that integrate technology so that I can have my learners engage in 21st century skills. There are so many valuable resources on the web that I can access, but I need to be able to manage my time wisely so that I can do so. Another resource that I will need to help me reach my goals is the advice of my colleagues. In my building, there are several Master and Docturate level teachers that are utilize technology on a daily basis, that could serve as a mentor for me and assist me in this process. By collaborating with other teachers, I can obtain new and creative ideas for lessons, and share what I have learned throughout my own research.

Additional information that I will need to consider is the interests of my students. If I can create lesson plans that incorporate technology with things that motivate them then I will be able to meet their needs and get them to be highly engaged in my classroom. I also need to consider the socio-economic status and the demographics of my learning community, so that I can be flexible and adhere to the Universal design for learning, (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).

So far, I have been reading and researching in my spare time to begin collecting resources and information that can assist me with my lesson plans and integrating technology. I found an interest inventory that I am going to administer with my students to investigate their interests and their learning styles so that I may differentiate my instruction. Lastly, I have had conversations with my colleagues during collaborative planning time to discover new ideas for lessons that will integrate technology into my learning community.

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.

GAME PLAN

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.