Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay

I consider the GAME plan to be a life plan.  We all have daily goals, take action steps to achieve them, and continually monitor and evaluate our progress.  When applying this plan to the classroom, teachers continue to learn and commit to professional growth.  Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) stated, “The GAME plan enables you to customize your approach to learning tasks, to develop relevant skills that are important to you, and prepares for lifelong learning” (p.4). 

As I reflect on my action steps for my GAME plan, I would add online resources. I relied too much on resources inside of my school and need to expand to include online tutorials and educational blogs. In addition, my school district is developing teacher based teams this year and will provide weekly time as part of the school day.  This meeting time will be an excellent opportunity to set goals, take action steps, monitor, and evaluate as a team. 

            The GAME plan will play a significant role in my classroom.  I will continue to use this plan to develop instructional practices.  Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) stated, “As a reflective learner, you will think about what has been effective in the past, but also continually monitor and evaluate what is effective for you now” (p. 11). Next, I will introduce the GAME plan to my students to facilitate their learning.  This process fits perfectly with problem-based learning because students become “active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress” (International Society for Technology in Education, [ISTE], 2007).

            For this upcoming school year, I will continue to be self-directed  and proactive in my knowledge of technology. Now that I have used blogging and conducted a mini-lesson with a small group of students, I need to reflect to decide how I want to incorporate it into my classroom.  Right now, I see its benefits as a tool to extend discussions, and increase student interactions with content and each other.  Pitler, Hubbell, and Kuhn (2012) stated, blogs are “especially suited for collaborative writing and project-based learning” (p. 51), and this is the direction I foresee for my classroom.  Next, I will incorporate digital storytelling into the study of The Odyssey during the first quarter and then evaluate and monitor what I can do to improve.  Digital storytelling is conducive to higher levels of engagement and allows students to build problem-solving and critical and creative thinking skills while meeting many of the ISTE standards. 

            The GAME plan will continue to play a part when setting educational and technology goals.  The plan is a natural reflective process and a life-long skill that can be used in any situation.

References

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. (2007). National education standards for students (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-S_PDF.pdf

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works, 2^nd ed. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

           

Northmor's Dress Code Policy-Social networking lesson # 7

Remember this situation is fabricated for this lesson.

Northmor is revising its current dress code policy to include uniforms next year.  Use this blog to share your feelings and discuss your concerns with other students.  I have included information on some of the proposed changes.  Two students will be from a school that currently requires uniforms. Please stop back to check for updates.  Thanks for your participation.

Pants, shorts, skirts would all have to be khaki or black with no emblems.
Polo shirt colors-black, gold, or white
Sweaters-black, gold, or white
Students would have to tuck shirts in and wear a belt.
Shoes-solid colors

Questions to consider while blogging.
*Does Northmor need a new dress code policy?
*What other alternatives could be added to the handbook?
*What are problems with the policy as it stands now?
*How do students abuse the current policy?
*How would uniforms affect the school environment?
*Have you ever attended a school that required uniforms, and how did/do you feel about that experience?

Progress

My progression toward meeting the goals of my GAME plan has been overwhelming.  I have been spending an immense amount of time jumping from one site to the next. I have decided that I need to focus on one technology tool at a time. Meeting this goal is a one step process and will be ongoing throughout my teaching career. 

The websites I have found are overloaded with information that it is difficult to know where to start.  One helpful site, www.P21.org, provided a downloadable toolkit.  This toolkit included sample lessons that matched up with the standards.  The last pages of the kit listed numerous links to Common Core implementation and assessment resources. I am going to continue my search by using these resources. Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything is packed with good information to help me hone in one tool at a time. 

Since I have started Walden’s master’s program, my technology knowledge was minimal. When I first tried to maneuver through the online class, it took me forever.  I know so much more about technology now than a year ago, and know I have to keep growing in this direction.  I do learn better when someone models the technology tool.  To continue this growth, I want to add enrolling in technology classes they are occasionally offered through our resource center.  I also want to keep an organized record of what tools I am learning, so I can remember how to incorporate them into my classroom. This class had helped me in discovery blogs, so I have also researched some professional blogs.  Kathy’s Schrock’s Katch of the month blog (http://denblogs.com/schrock) will help keep me abreast of current research and technology tools.

I have had brief discussions with the technology coordinator and colleagues this summer and plan to get more engaged when school starts in the fall. Student feedback too is not feasible since we are not in school.

As a result of my discoveries, I plan to focus on one tool at a time.  Otherwise, I get frustrated and overwhelmed.  I cannot focus on creating a class web page, wiki spaces, blogs, and other tools at the same time.  My goal is to pick one technology tool to master at a time.  Again, if anyone has suggestions, please share. 

GAME Plan

This week's blog concerns what resources and information I need to execute my GAME plan. I am having a little difficulty identifying separate resources for each goal. My first goal deals with designing experiences and assessments with technology to promote learning and creativity. A starting point for me will be to look at ISTE's student performance profile for grades 9-12. This list "provide us with an idea of the types of activities that ISTE considers appropriate for demonstrating mastery of...technology standards for students" (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 9).  I can use the list to focus on ideas to begin to search for helpful sites.  The technology coordinator will be a valuable resource as she will know what our system allows or prohibits and can guide and support my goal.  The collaboration will be an ongoing process; I would like to discuss my classroom projects with others at my school or online to get their feedback especially if they have been involved in similar projects. This meeting time would have to be prearranged.   To elicit student feedback, I considered using an online survey or classroom clickers.

My second goal, 5c, requires me to reflect regularly on the use of technology/resources to support student learning.  All of the above resources will be needed. I have been slowly investigating sites that Dr. L. suggests in our course.  I have been reflecting by considering my content and asking numerous questions about how the technology can be used or how it could help my students.  Another valuable resource will be our book's companion website that offers tutorial links to help reach my goal.

References

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.