Are you GAME?

Are you GAME?

I learned a great deal using the GAME plan process.  I believe the most important step for me was M, monitoring.  Due to the time of year I began my GAME process I had to keep making adjustments to my plan.  In the GAME strategy that is fine as long as you stay with your goals.  There is something to be said for accepting change.  Educators, in general, are not great with change.  It takes a lot of time and comfort to be flexible with whatever occurs.  In my job change is inevitable.  Students change, teachers change, administrators change, materials change, school buildings change.  One of the few variables that have not changed is my goal.  My job, as I see it, is to help both students and teachers be the best they can be in order to for students to achieve (and make AYP).  When using this strategy with students it is wonderful if they can learn to monitor and alter what they are doing to reach their goals.  What a fabulous life-long lesson for them. 

The NETS-T and NETS-S are very similar.  The teacher’s role in the National Education Standards in technology is to plan for, introduce and model what the standards for students.  When we plan activities that integrate technology we are providing our students with opportunities to develop their technology skills. When students use the GAME plan process they are essentially following the NETS for students.  During the Action stage students will be using creativity and innovation to explore and identify trends in the information. With our guidance and scaffolding students will learn to be creative and innovative using technology.  Students will be communicating and collaborating with their peers during the Action and Monitoring stages of the GAME plan. When we design lessons that integrate technology, students learn to use technology to collaborate and provide feedback for their peers, such as Wikis and blogs.  During the Action stage students will use technology to conduct research. Teachers can model using technology to demonstrate how students can use the Internet to do research, as well as how to apply critical thinking skills.  Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making are integrated in the Action and Monitoring phases of the GAME plan.  In these steps students gather data and make decisions about how to best solve their problem.  When they monitor their plan they may need to make decisions about the course of their learning and alter what is occurring.  As teachers think aloud and explain the importance of digital citizenship and its’ responsibilities, students are learning through our example.  The more teachers learn about technology, the more likely they are to use it and strategically teach it to their students as an enhancement to the curriculum.

Just as the GAME plan process focused my efforts on my goals, I believe it would be helpful to use with students.  Concentration on set goals will assist students to become independent self-motivated learners.  These characteristics are important 21^st Century skills expected by future employers.

When teachers plan using the GAME process they can naturally integrate technology to enhance the lesson and assist learners in displaying, analyzing and presenting information.  Teachers can plan problem based learning experience for their students using the GAME process.  Problem based learning is an example of how teachers can facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.  Digital tools are naturally used as students research solutions to authentic problems.  As teachers introduce their units they model digital age skills and learning.  Teachers need to demonstrate these tools and use the think aloud method in order for students to understand how to use them. 

I believe the GAME plan process is a natural fit to enhance student proficiency in the NETS-S.  These tools need to be integrated into classrooms for students to benefit from all technology has to offer them.  Their futures depend upon it.

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.

http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion   

             Picture].  Baltimore: Author.