Reflection: My GAME Plan Process

As we draw near to the end of this course, I am reminded of where I started seven weeks ago.  I created a plan that would allow me to become responsible for locating learning opportunities and tasks to meet my technology goals (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).  This GAME plan focused on setting goals, taking action to meet those goals, monitoring my progress, evaluating whether I had achieved my goals, and extending my learning to new situations (Cennamo et al., 2009).  The goals that I chose to focus on related to the International Society for Technology in Education NETS, or standards, for educators (ISTE, 2008).  The first goal I set for myself was focused on finding one new “tech tool”, program, or website each day that I can become familiar with and use to enhance instruction and transfer knowledge.  My second goal centered on engaging in professional growth by becoming a leader amongst my colleagues and by expanding my learning community.

Do I feel that I was able make progress on my goals through the use of the GAME plan during the past two months?  Absolutely.  I have been able to keep a spreadsheet of the technology tools I have discovered and used throughout this course.  I was able to add to my list almost every day – through the daily technology ideas presented by Dr. LeBeau, our weekly resources, and through my own exploration.  And not only was I able to log these tools, I was able to test them and decide their appropriateness for my students.  Doing so has given me ideas and tools that will carry me through this school year and beyond.  By writing and implementing lessons that incorporated problem-based learning, social networking/online collaboration, and digital storytelling, I was able to make further progress on my GAME plan, while enriching the content I was tackling with my students.  I will continue to modify and add to my list as the school year goes on.

Becoming a leader through technology collaboration has been, and will continue to be a goal that requires frequent monitoring on my behalf.  If I do not work to reach out to colleagues (both down the hall and around the world) in order to extend my learning, it will not be possible.  Over the past few weeks, I have been given the opportunity to present technology tools to the colleagues in my program (K-12 teachers for students with multiple disabilities) during our quarterly teacher meeting in January.  I am incredibly excited and empowered by this opportunity and plan on sharing the “Tech Tools” spreadsheet that I created to meet the needs of my first GAME plan goal.  Next week, I will be part of an iPad app training in my middle school building, where I not only will be learning about new apps, I will be able to share my experience with the apps I am currently using with my students with special needs.  Becoming the educational technology leader that I want to be will take more time, but keeping the steps of the GAME plan in mind will ensure continued success in this area.  Keeping up to date with the field of educational technology through subscription to Ed Tech blogs (particularly those related to special education) has also helped to give me a clearer perspective and model for connecting and collaborating with other educators via the Internet.

In addition to having a continued focus on these goals through use of the GAME plan, I have also begun to think about the ways in which this process can be used in the classroom with my students.  Because of the needs of my students, I may begin with having them focus on one goal at a time, all in relation to technology.  As a class, we could choose one tool/website/app that we would like to learn more about.  Once we have chosen a goal, our class can spend a few minutes each day, whether embedded into a lesson or in isolation, to look at the tool we are using.  Once students are familiar with the tool, I can give them the opportunity to work with it on their own, carefully monitoring its appropriateness and value for learning.  I can also give my students the opportunity to “rate” the tool, based on a simply yes/no survey.  In addition to these daily “tech tool” goals, I would also like to set more extensive goals for my students (such as learning how to use PowerPoint).  In both of these scenarios, the GAME plan process can be modified to meet their needs and lead them to a successful learning experiences.

While the first few weeks of this course focused on the development, implementation, and monitoring of my GAME plan, we shifted our focus to specific technology tools that could help us meet the goals of our these plans.  After the creation of my unit plan, which centered on social studies (economics), I saw the benefits and success of integrating three technology tools - problem-based learning, social networking/online collaboration, and digital storytelling - into three separate lessons.  Seeing how seamlessly these tools can be integrated into any lesson was incredible.  I was also amazed at how my students with significant special needs were able to access these tools in meaningful and powerful ways.  Because I teach all content areas in my self-contained classroom, I am confident that I will continue to use these tools across disciplines.  After observing the motivating qualities and learning depth that was experienced by my students, I can see myself working harder to ensure I do all that I can to integrate technology into every lesson.  Through the use of the GAME plan process, I will be able to keep my skills aligned with the ever-changing field of technology, and better meet the needs of my students... today and in the future (Cennamo et al., 2009).

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. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers