I am currently working on my Masters of Science Education, specializing in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. I am currently enrolled in a class entitled "Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas." For one of our first assignments, we are to develop a "GAME Plan", as modeled through our textbook (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2010). GAME is an acronym created to help guide and monitor professional development. This acronym stands for G - Goals, A - Action, M - Monitor, and E - Evaluate / Extend. As I have reviewed the National Education Standards for Teachers, I have identified two indicators that I would like to use as my goals (International Society for Technology in Education., 2008). G: The first indicator I have chosen to use for my goal is, “Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources” (ISTE, 2008). I would like to improve application of this indicator in my classroom, and also for my third grade math and science team. The second indicator that I have identified as an area for improvement is, "“Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation” (ISTE, 2008). A: In order to achieve my goals, I have to put a plan in action. For my first goal, I think it is important to get to know each student individually so that I can personalize their learning experiences. I will create a survey to send home to parents that asks personal questions about their child, how they learn, and also their exposure to technology. After receiving this information back, I will then work with each student during group time to observe them and note their learning styles and strategies. Students will then be grouped according to their similarities, and unique activities, digital tools and resources will be assigned to each group according to their diverse needs. For my second goal, I would like to create a "working network" of my students, peers, parents, and even community members by inviting them to our blog community. I would use my class blog to share work, presentations, class experiments, project, etc. and invite students, family, community member to offer feedback and posts replies. I would eventually like to allow my students to create the posts on our blog so that they are receiving the feedback directly for their work. M: For my first goal, I can monitor this by periodically meeting with each group to determine if I am customizing their learning according to the learning styles and abilities. I could create a "survey" to give to students after they have participated in an activity involving digital tools or resources to solicit their feedback and input. For my second goal, this would have to be monitored according to participation from the other members of our "working network". I could keep up with this by monitoring our blog stats and also keeping record of feedback/comments on each post. E: In order to evaluate and extend my goals, I would use the surveys provided by the students. I would reflect upon their feedback and adapt their groups and/or activities according to their success within the activity. The second goal would need evaluation on a weekly basis. As I monitor the stats and comments, I would possibly offer "contests" or "perks" for participating in different posts. If the collaboration through blogging is successful, it could be extended by having them participate in Skype conferences/interviews, completing Google documents/forms, and sharing through VoiceThread or other similar programs. I definitely believe that setting goals is important for all teachers, especially where technology is concerned. The introductory passage for Chapter 2 in our textbook continues to resonate in my mind as I consider goals for myself and my students. It reads: "Over the last few decades, as technology has become more prevalent in our everyday lives, both educators and business and industry leaders have increasingly stressed the importance of developing students' creative and critical thinking skills. As a nation, we want our students to be good thinkers, and we want our schools to teach thinking. One reason for this relatively new emphasis may be that new technologies have allowed computers to do the kinds of work that are readily automated (i.e., require little thinking), which then allows people to move into those jobs that computers can't do readily (i.e., require the ability to make subtle decisions and solve complex problems). A second reason is that, due to the rapid pace at which technologies are changing, the work place is also changing quickly. This puts a premium on teaching students how to learn as opposed to teaching specific skills that will be obsolete by the time they enter the workforce" (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2010). Such a lengthy quote, but of high importance. I hope that in the future I will remember this as I create lessons for my students, learn more about technology, and set goals for myself and my classroom. It's my job to teach them HOW to learn...and right now, I believe technology plays a major roll in this! References Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-teachers
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My dream is to create a 21st Century classroom that encourages collaboration, integrates technology, and promotes thinking deeply.
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