Final Post: A Reflection

When initially developing the GAME Plan (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009), the thought was to use it to increase proficiency in NETS-T, the various technology indicators for teachers described by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 2008). Budget cuts led to the closing of many programs across the nation, including the Alternative Education program at Bush campus. That closing precipitated a transfer to another campus, one with little to no technology in the classroom. It was extremely frustrating to have moved so far forward in setting up an English Language Arts curriculum that incorporated digital technology and engaged students in learning 21st century skills only to have to take so many steps backwards and start all over.

This made the GAME Plan even more relevant to my daily classroom practice and gave me the tools that I needed to approach administration and colleagues regarding technology integration on the new campus and to open a discussion about the various ways to create a supportive culture of technology (Laureate, 2009). Technology, when used to support learning, “complements learning outcomes” (King-Sears & Evmenova, 2007, p.8) and prepare students to meet the demands of a global job market. Unfortunately, progress on a plan such as technology integration is understandably slow, but trying to set up meetings for discussion of the plan during summer break made it seem like it had totally come to a standstill. I am, however, looking forward to the start of school in a couple of weeks to that I can start working on overcoming this challenge and “creating a culture of collaboration and interdependence” (Ertmer & Simons, 2006, p. 40) both in my classroom and on the entire campus.

Setting goals and following a plan is something that I have always done without thinking. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer’s (2009) discussion of the GAME Plan really helped me put the process into words and encouraged me to think about teaching my students to use it as well in the various aspects of their academic lives. The act of setting goals, creating an action plan and then monitoring and evaluating their own progress and learning is something that will also serve them in the real world and allow them to take responsibility for their own education. For them to do this, they will have to stay in school and as teachers we can help them do this using ISTE’s NETS-S (2007) technology standards for students to keep them motivated and engaged in the classroom content. Students today are more motivated by teachers who can speak to them on their own level and students today are more technologically savvy than ever. Using technology hooks them and keeps them coming back for more.

Once the school year starts, I will implement this process in my own classroom immediately. Because of the behavior problems associated with the types of students in Alternative Education, giving them a sense of autonomy over their own education will help eliminate the power struggle in the classroom and make them feel more like a community. Instead of being the leader of that community, I will happily relegate myself to be its guide.


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). (2007). National Education Standards for Students (NETS-S). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/content/navigationmenu/NETS/forstudents/2007standards/nets_for_students_2007.htm

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). Program three: Enriching content area learning experiences with technology part one [Motion Picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author.

Using the GAME Plan process with Students

Whether ahead or behind in the curriculum, alternative education students typically need to work at their own pace and the GAME Plan (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009) is perfect for allowing me as a teacher to help them develop proficiency in the technology standards and indicators that I have been trying to integrate into my English Language Arts course. By using the GAME Plan to increase my own knowledge, I have been able to build my technology skills through inquiry and practice. I can now apply what I have learned to my classroom practice by helping my students set goals, create action plans, monitor their own progress, and evaluate their learning. This will allow them to take on more responsibility in their own learning processes and become stakeholders in their education. Using technology allows them to engage in both the physical and virtual classroom environments. Through practice using the various components of technology introduced into the classroom, students will become more proficient at using word processing programs, online networking and collaboration, and learn to create digital stories. The technology skills they will learn as they progress through high school will be greatly beneficial to them in the 21st century global job market. The English classroom is a wonderful place to do this because it is uniquely flexible in its ability to incorporate most if not all of the NETS-S (2007) standards for students. Creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making, digital citizenship, and technology operations and concepts can all be incorporated into various lessons embedded with technology. Students can be innovative through problem-based learning and use their individual creativity to solve those problems as they communicate and collaborate both in the classroom and through the use of online networking such as wikis and blogging. Learning to sift through all the information on the Web will help them develop research and information fluency and increase their ability to make decisions and think critically. Most importantly, they will become digital citizens who are responsible and ethical in their use of this technology because they will be monitored by the teacher, themselves and each other as they are guided through their learning efforts.

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). (2007). National Education Standards for Students (NETS-S). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/content/navigationmenu/NETS/forstudents/2007standards/nets_for_students_2007.htm

Revising Your GAME Plan

What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice? What goals are you still working toward?

I feel like that I have learned quite a bit that I will be able to apply to my instructional practices, but there is so much information to sift through in order to find the best ways to integrate technology into my lessons. It is a time consuming process, especially since I really need to be comfortable and confident with whatever application I choose to use before I can teach it to my students and expect them to be able to use it proficiently. Vicki Davis (Laureate, 2009k) emphasized that this was one of the challenges on online networking and collaboration in addition to other technologies.

Unfortunately, because of budget cuts etc… my teaching situation changed for the upcoming school year and I am currently working with my new administration and IT department in order to some technology into my new classroom. I have been told that they are “working” on installing a digital projector into my room and I have emailed the IT director about getting a couple of student computers as well. Once this is done, I will have to spend some time learning to use the projector, but it will be a couple of years before I can get another interactive white board.

Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?

After working on the unit plan for problem-based learning and deciding to work with students on starting a school newsletter, I realized that I will have to spent quite a bit of time on digital citizenship and responsibility so that students understand that “digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information” (ISTE, 2008). This also ties in with ethics and responsible reporting once we begin working on our newsletter. Towards this end, I will continue to design and develop “relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources” so that students are given ample opportunities to practice and apply this new knowledge.

What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?

I really want to empower my students in their learning through this newsletter, but in order to do that, it will be necessary to make them stakeholders and make them responsible for their own learning processes. My job will be to provide information and support, but for the most part—through problem-based learning—they will be in charge of gathering and processing information into usable data that will lead them to a finished product. All I can do is provide the framework and then be there to guide them. This will take quite a bit of effort on my part because I am a bit of a control freak. However, before I completely turn over the reins, I need to improve my own knowledge about what needs to be done in order to start publishing a newsletter. I have been doing this through research on the internet, but I need to be more proactive in reaching out to colleagues who are more familiar with the process. Once school is back in session, I will get right on this.




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

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009k). Spotlight on technology: Social networking and online collaboration, part one. Baltimore: Author.