Personal GAME Plan

“Learning to teach generally, and to teach with technology specifically, are lifelong journeys” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 1) As teachers, we must be self-directed learners as we constantly learn about new teaching strategies, new content, and how to incorporate technology in our lessons to prepare our students for their technology based futures.  Our text, “Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use:  A Standards-Based Approach, suggests using the GAME Plan for self-directed learning, which involves setting goals, taking action, monitoring and evaluating professional growth (2009).

The International Society for Technology in Education has identified five standards for “evaluating the skills and knowledge educators need to teach, work, and learn in an increasingly connected global and digital Society” (ISTE, 2012).  Although I feel I have room for improvement in each area, the two areas I will focus on at this time are standard two, and standard five.

Standard Two states that, “Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S”.  It has been a personal goal of mine to incorporate more authentic experiences in my classroom to help my students to make connections with the content we are covering in class to how it relates to the real world.  Herrington and Kervin argue that, “Technology use in classrooms is often employed for all the wrong reasons” (2007, p. 219).  They go on to say, “Technology presents the opportunity to employ powerful cognitive tools that can be used by students to solve complex and authentic problems” (Herrington & Kervin, 2007, p. 219). 

 

Standard Five states:  “Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources”  (ISTE, 2012).

The action I plan to take to accomplish these two goals involves a number of steps.  First, I will continue my Action Research Project I have started through my Walden courses which also covers other areas of the GAME plan.  According to Cennamo, et al, “Action research appears to be a particularly effective way to monitor and evaluate classroom innovations, such as new technology uses” (2009, p. 11) This project focuses on adding more authentic experiences to my teacher repertoire by researching online, connecting with other educators, and attending conferences.  In addition to this, I plan on working closely with my technology department to learn new ways to incorporate technology into my classroom.  I meet with our tech guys on a weekly basis to share what I’m doing and to see if they have suggestions on more effective ways, or ways to extend my lessons. I am also a member of our school’s technology team and as a result, I get the opportunity at least once a year to visit other schools to see first-hand how other teachers are using technology to support their instruction.  This has proven to be very informative and I always find myself rejuvenated and excited to get back into my classroom to try out the new things I have learned. 

In addition to furthering my own professional development, I also strive to share what I have learned through my Walden classmates and professors, as well as my own discoveries, with my technology-timid co-workers.  To convince my co-workers of the positive impact technology can have on teaching, I often share what we are doing in class.  I also work with teachers to see what skills they want to cover, and I suggest ways that they can gradually incorporate technology into their lessons.  With each co-worker I first assess their comfort and skill level and I try to make suggestions that will allow them to be successful, allowing them to gain confidence and excitement for incorporating more technology in their lessons in the future. 

 

In order to stay focused on this goal, I find it is helpful to have a timeline in place. The timeline can help me to identify which months we have professional development, conferences, or a visit to other schools.  My goal is to acquire one new strategy or resource each month and to implement at least one authentic experience each semester.  On the off months I will need to set aside time to research for resources online, or to meet with co-workers either to share ideas, or to assist them with developing lessons with supporting technology.  As I get more of these under my belt, I will increase the frequency of these lessons.  Since I plan to acquire these skills through a variety of methods, it is easy to lose focus at times, so I find keeping a journal is helpful.  “The key to effective reflection is the ability to go beyond a simple description of what happened to consider why it happened, how it is connected to other events, and what adjustments should be made to subsequent actions based on this understanding”(Cennamo, et al, 2009, p. 11).   These reflections will help me to remember the entire process and it will allow me to identify my successes as well as areas that still need strengthened.

As an educator, it is crucial to stay current on technology and how to incorporate it into the classroom effectively.  The GAME plan is a great way to facilitate this process by organizing the steps that teachers take, while helping them to focus on their goals and the steps to achieve them. 

References

Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer.  (2009).  Technology integration for meaningful classroom use:  A standards-based approach.  (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.).  Belmont, CA:  Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Herrington & Kervin.  (2007).  Authentic learning supported by technology:  Ten suggestions and cases of integration in classrooms.  Educational Media International, 44(3), 219-236.  Retrieved from the Academic Search Complete database.

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