Monitoring My GAME Plan

After the development of goals and actions, it is time to monitor the progress of my GAME plan. This allows me to evaluate resources that I have found to determine if they will provide the necessary information that I need. The results will assist me in modifying my action plan if necessary.

Finding real-world issues related to science has been fairly easy because some aspect of science is all around us. I have created a folder that includes information found from newspapers, magazines, or ideas that I write down from the news. My classmates have provided me with multiple websites that have enabled me to not only locate ideas, but link to other websites that provide more information. I have created a blog for my classroom, yet it is a blank slate at this point with nothing more than a title. As far as the progress on my technology committee, it is at a standstill due to summer vacation. I do have one colleague that said he would be on the committee as long as there are detailed expectations for the members. Creating this sort of list is something that I need to add to my action plan. I also need to develop a presentation for the administration for approval of this committee. I have not yet created a survey for the students on survey monkey. One of the questions that I would have for this action is how exactly does this work? This is something that I will have to create with the technology personnel at the school. I will need to develop a plan of action as to how each student will take the survey.  I do not teach every student in the school so I will need the assistance of other teachers to complete this task.

As I continue to progress with my action plan, I realize that it is definitely a living document. As I created my goals and developed my action plan, there were key details that I did not even consider until reaching the stage of monitoring. I have learned that communication and collaboration is key in order for me to successfully achieve all of my goals. The questions that arise as I monitor my plans relate to the unknown. Will the students be engaged in the classroom blog? Will they provide input related to technology use in the school on their survey? Will the teachers jump on board and become a part of our technological world? Only time will tell.

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

An integral part of the GAME plan is the actions taken to achieve goals that have been developed.  In order to put my plans in action, I must evaluate resources that would be necessary to make that possible.  As I continue to strengthen my skills, I must take a look at the progress that is being made toward achieving my goal. My GAME plans are developed from indicators in the NETS-T. 

Facilitating and Inspiring Student Learning and Creativity

One action plan is to find real world issues in the area of science. In order to do this, I will use the internet to research various issues within the state or around the world. There are experts on specific topics that can be found through this research that I can communicate with to find more information. Communication with colleagues, or classmates, will open the door for sharing resources and ideas. Through communication in the previous blogs, I have been introduced to some strong resources that I can further explore. Another piece of this action plan is enabling students to make personal connections to their learning.  Speaking to the students, and members of the community, will provide a basis for what students want to know and the background of the community they live in. I will be exploring different ways for students to collaborate and communicate online. I currently have a personal website that lists assignments for the week and any upcoming projects. I have an e-mail address that is accessible for all students and their parents. I have created wikis in the past, but I am currently working to create a classroom blog that can be used for each class that I teach.

Engaging in Professional Growth and Leadership

My action plan is to develop a technology committee in my school that not only includes teachers that share ideas, but students who share what and how they would like to learn using technology. The main resource for this action is teachers. I must find a way to get teachers more involved when it comes to sharing their ideas with each other. Vicki Davis said that if a teacher teaches a technology skill in one classroom, then another teacher should not have to teach that skill again (Laureate Education, 2010). Although I do somewhat believe this to be true, I also think that teachers should be more willing to try to implement programs that others have taught into their own curriculum. This would not only benefit the students in perfecting their skills, but improve the instructional strategies and technology implementation in the classroom. Information from students may be a little more difficult to obtain, but I could get a large amount of input by creating a survey for students using survey monkey online.  I was previously a member of a tech committee in our school, but there was not a detailed list of objectives for the group and it fizzled. I have already been in contact with a colleague to brainstorm ideas on how we can make this type of committee useful for the school.

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program six: Meeting Students’ Needs With Technology, Part 2 [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

GAME Plan

It is important to have confidence as a teacher when implementing technology into your instruction. One way to strengthen this is to outline goals, determine what actions will be taken to achieve those goals, monitor progress and evaluate the achievement of the goals.  I will be creating a GAME plan for two indicators in the NETS-T.

GAME plan for facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity.

Goals

Develop lesson plans that engage students to explore and solve real-world issues using digital tools. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools. Document lesson plans in digital format so they can be easily reviewed and revised.

Actions

One action that must be taken is research to find real-world issues in the area of science. It is important to narrow topics down so that they are manageable for my high school students. They must also be problems that students can make personal connections to. I will be exploring different ways for students to collaborate, such as creating a blog, wiki, or other communication tools. I will create a template for my lessons to be used in planning.

Monitor

I will monitor my progress by establishing timelines. The goal will be to evaluate lessons a month prior to it being taught. This will allow me time to develop a project, if it corresponds to the particular objectives of the lesson. After completion of the lesson, I will reflect on the pros and cons and make changed where needed.

Evaluate

The way to evaluate how well I have achieved my goals is to take a look at student achievement obtained from these new lessons. Technology must be implemented as a way to enrich the content. If it engages students to solve the real-world problems that I have incorporated into each lesson, as well as promoting their collaborative skills, them my goal will be achieved.

GAME plan for engaging in professional growth and leadership.

Goals

Participate in local communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.

Actions

Develop a technology committee in my school that not only includes teachers that share ideas, but students who share what and how they would like to learn using technology. I would like to be able to develop resources that can be shared by all teachers as a way to implement new technology tools.

Monitor

One way to monitor the actions is to have teachers share their new instructional ideas with the technology committee. This can easily be done through e-mail, pointing out the pros and cons of the tool. This can be evaluated by the committee and published for all teachers.

Evaluate

One way to evaluate this committee is to look at how students are performing in the classroom due to the new instructional strategies. To get an accurate outlook on achievement, all teachers must be willing to implement the resources put together by students and the technology committee

By implementing a GAME plan in areas that I feel I have weakness, I can build confidence implementing technology in the classroom. As I work to achieve these goals, it is important to consult with others for input. This can be students or other teachers. The ultimate achievement is improving my effectiveness so that I can provide students with skills that will benefit them in the future.

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program one: Promoting self directed learning with technology [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program three: Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences With Technology, Part 1 [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.