Developing My Personal GAME Plan

State budget cuts claimed yet another victim when the Alternative Education program on our campus was dismantled. As a result, I will no longer have a computer lab and a Promethean board in my room. The campus that I have been transferred to has been less than excited about technology integration and its teachers were content because they did not have make changes in the way that they were teaching in order to adjust to it. For this reason, as well as others, creating a GAME plan will be extremely important for me to rectify this situation in the upcoming school year because although “technology is not essential to creating authentic, learner-centered instruction, it offers a powerful resource for engaging students in authentic experiences, typically increasing both their motivation and their learning” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 51) and this is the point I need to make in order to get technology placed in my classroom. I will also need to show my new administration that I have the ability to effectively integrate technology into my classroom by demonstrating my own knowledge and confidence regarding various technological components and discussing various ways to create a supportive culture of technology (Laureate, 2009). Additionally, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 2008) has a number of performance indicators for teachers to help guide the design and implementation of technology in their professional practices; I have chosen two that I feel will help me in my own teaching to engage students and improve learning.

Performance Indicator 5: “Teachers engage in professional growth and leadership to improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the use of digital tools and resources” (ISTE, 2008).

Goals:

In order to begin tackling this indicator, my first goal would be to improve my professional practice by getting digital tools and resources for my classroom for student use as well as my own.

Actions:

There are a number of things that I could do to begin working toward the goal of acquiring technology for my classroom. First, I need to gather and organize current research to show my administrators the benefits of technology and how daily student access can improve engagement and increase learning. Second, I will need to have a proposal ready that shows how my vision of technology implementation coincides with that of the company’s mission, and finally, I will have cost estimates available and be ready to show how such expenditures fit into the overall budget for my classroom and for the program as a whole.

Monitor:

To monitor the progress toward reaching this specific goal, I will work closely with administration to come up with a timeline for implementation as well as the IT department so that there is minimal disruption to student learning. I will attend budget meetings and continue to provide information and research that supports the need for technology in the classroom.

Evaluate & Extend:

Because there is not much interest in technology on the campus, one thing that I would like to do to extend technology integration is to participate in a professional learning community that shows teachers the benefits to them and to students that technology could have on learning. By sharing my own learning goals with other teachers, I can also reflect on whether or not they are feasible as is and gain input as to how they should be revised if needed. It will also encourage them to set their own goals for technology implementation.

Performance Indicator 1: “Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching, and learning and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments” (ISTE, 2008).

Goals:

Create an authentic environment in which writing skills are of primary importance and that engages students in a real-world context so that they can apply those skills.

Actions:

Teach students about newspapers and reporting.

Take a field trip to a local paper to see the process from start to finish.

Discuss the various ways that the news can be presented.

Implement a digital school newsletter that is student run.

Assist students in creating story ideas and setting deadlines.

Review the writing process and review as necessary with emphasis on revising and editing.

Act as mentor and advisor for the school newsletter, but maintain as much distance as possible so that student learning becomes self-directed.

Monitor:

Make sure that students’ stories are appropriate.

Check to see that students are working at an acceptable pace in order to meet their deadline.

Remind students to edit and revise their stories before publishing.

Provide support as needed, but remain as an observer as much as possible.

Modify students’ level of independence based on their performance.

Evaluate & Extend:

As students’ skills increase, add various types of stories to what they are already reporting.

Review editing and revising procedures as necessary.

Rotate students through the different positions they might encounter at a newspaper, i.e. reporter, layout editor, copy editor, etc…

Teach students interview skills and involve them in community activities through reporting.

By obtaining technology for my classroom, I will be better able to engage my students in authentic learning activities that have real-world applications. The use of technology will provides a way for me to enrich their classroom experiences and access their various learning styles more readily through a holistic approach to teaching since learning will be situated within a real context, news reporting (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). Technology in this way is not the focus of the learning, but rather “complements the learning outcomes” (King-Sears & Evmenova, 2007, p. 8) because students will learn to write in various modes for various audiences while absorbed in meaningful activities based on the concept of creating a newsletter.

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 (ISTE). (2008). National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

King-Sears, M., & Evmenova, A. S. (2007, Sep/Oct). Premises, principles, and processes for integrating TECHnology into instruction. Teaching exceptional children, 40(1), 6–14.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Cennamo, K. (Speaker). Program three: Enriching content area learning experiences with technology part one [Motion Picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author.