Reflections of the GAME

The GAME plan is a valuable tool to use in the classroom.  It is important that students learn to set their own goals.  It is a huge step in self-directed learning and is a life-long lesson that will benefit students in their future work worlds.  According to Dr. Katherine Cennamo, self-directed learning is one way you can find your own learning strengths (Laureate Education, 2009f).  Once you know your strengths you can utilize them to do your best work.

My personal favorite section of the GAME plan is the M monitoring stage.  As I used the GAME plan professionally, the monitoring and altering of my plan was very valuable and kept me on target.  Educators must learn to monitor and adapt to situations and be flexible (Laureate Education, 2009e).  They must keep an open mind and be willing to change with the times.  Students must learn the same skills.  As they self-monitor and receive input from teacher and peers, they can adapt and make changes based on feedback.  One of the best parts of the M stage in the GAME plan is that it is not judgmental.  Students can change their project, keeping in line with their goals, without being penalized.

Honestly, I am not sure how this will change my professional practice.  I really like the GAME plan and believe it will have a very positive educational benefit to both teachers and students.  This type of learning gives students the “time and opportunity needed to practice collaboration skills” (Ertmer & Simons, 2006, p. 43).  Teachers talk too much and students do not talk enough.  The GAME plan will rectify some of this problem.  Students with many different abilities and languages can work together to solve a problem (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009).  I am not a classroom teacher so I do not have a core group of students with which to use this.  I can professionally introduce this to teachers in my math data study meeting and show them examples, but I cannot force them to use it.  How many times have I been introduced to something that sounds awesome, but without experience or training with it I do not attempt it in the classroom?  I have a feeling that will happen.  Maybe I can tie it into the problem-based pilot program I am working on in 4th grade math.  I currently only know one out of four of the teachers that will teach 4th grade next year, but she is willing to try something new.  I do know that I will use the GAME plan as I plan my own lessons to do with my students.  I think it is an excellent strategy for teachers to use to plan their lessons.  It focuses student learning and encourages teachers to reflect and evaluate to improve their professional practice, as well as encourages the integration of appropriate technologies (Ertmer & Simons, 2006).

This course has made me very aware that teachers hold the key to provide students with the technology knowledge they must have for their futures.  Currently most schools teach students what they need to know to be prepared to take their state tests (Prensky, 2008).  Our students deserve more than that.  Students are capable of using technology tools, but we must make an effort to allow them to use them in our classrooms (Laureate Education, 2009h).  Although the NETS-S are not well known or publicized (or tested) they are important components of a well-rounded education in today’s world.  Technology can be seamlessly intertwined with learning, when using the GAME plan, to instruct students.  There are also many benefits of using online networking sites (Laureate Education, 2009j).  Not only are these lessons rich in authentic learning, others can give quick feedback to you so you may improve your work (Hargis & Wilcox, 2008).  It is a teacher’s responsibility to incorporate technology into lessons.  Technology is a tool to enhance, compute, display, demonstrate and organize learning.  According to the NETS-S students should be using technology to create, communicate, collaborate, research and problem solve (http://www/iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm).  These skills may all be accomplished using the GAME plan.  The GAME plan can be adapted to problem-based learning lessons, social learning or networking, and/or digital storytelling.  These types of lessons can be used in any curriculum and allows students to share their learning with a wider audience (Laureate Education, 2009g).  I am sure the GAME plan can be used with many other teaching/learning strategies, but I know through experience it works well with these three types of lessons.

An immediate change I can make is to purposefully list the NETS-S standards I am reaching in my lessons as well as the state standards.  That way I am much more aware of which NETS-S I am addressing and which ones I need to purposefully plan to incorporate.  I can make a conscientious effort to utilize technology tools I have been learning about as well as others that are available for my students to use.  I understand that with the population of students I teach using technology will assist in leveling the field of knowledge (Laureate Education, 2009b).  It will also increase the level of engagement and motivation in my students (Cennamo, et. al., 2009). This will give my students more of an advantage than they would have compared to other students in other districts.  Also, students can be taught how to continue their learning outside of the classroom as they use social collaboration on the Internet (Laureate Education, 2009k).  Another immediate change I can make is to post lessons I have taught or videotaped lessons of other teachers on the school website I developed (Laureate Education, 2009c).  Students who are absent or who need a little bit of extra reinforcement can use this to review or see what they missed (Laureate Education, 2009c).  One other change I can make is to make teachers aware of how technology may be used to differentiate for their students (Laureate Education, 2009d).  For example, there are tools for our many ELL students as well as students who have difficulty typing on the keyboard (Laureate Education, 2009d).  I already use technology for assessment, however next year we are adding Senteo clickers that students may use to record answers to questions which teachers may use as formative or summative assessment (Laureate Education, 2009a).

In conclusion, this course has taught me many new strategies and different methods to integrate technology into my teaching.  These skills are invaluable to a teacher in today’s classroom.  I feel much more equipped to increase student achievement and better prepare my students for the future.  I will often utilize what I have learned in this course.

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.

Ertmer, P., & Simons, K. (Spring 2006). Jumping the PBL implementation hurdle: Supporting the efforts of K-12 teachers. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1), 40-54. Retrieved from http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=ijpbl.

Hargis, J., & Wilcox, S. M. (2008, October). Ubiquitous, free, and efficient online collaboration tools for teaching and learning. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 9(4), 9–17.

http://www/iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Assessing Student Learning with Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology, Part 1.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009c).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Meeting Students’ Needs with Technology, Part 1.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009d).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Meeting Students’ Needs with Technology, Part 2.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009e).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Promoting Creative Thinking with Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009f).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Promoting Self-Directed Learning with Technology.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009g).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Spotlight on Technology: Digital Storytelling, Part 1.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009h).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Spotlight on Technology: Problem-Based Learning, Part 2.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009j).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Spotlight on Technology: Social Networking and Online Collaboration, Part 1.  Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009k).  Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture].  Spotlight on Technology: Social Networking and Online Collaboration, Part 2.  Baltimore: Author.

Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.