Monitoring The GAME Plan

Through my GAME plan, I am making progress towards finding new ways to apply digital tools for solving authentic problems. This semester I have the opportunity to do inclusion with the technology teacher, and so far it has been resourceful in meeting my goals. Last week, students used Glogster.com to design a poster in order to express themselves and their interests. This week they will be learning how to use Prezi.com for a presentation on a country. Students have the freedom to choose how they will present their projects. This also meets the needs of customizing assignments for diverse learners, because they have very few guidelines to follow. I have been impressed with how well students have been performing, even with limited guidelines.

I hope I can continue to increase my knowledge of using technology in my courses at Walden, at my school and through my research. Technology definitely opens up opportunities for all students to achieve. The more I can utilize technology within the math curriculum, the better I can meet the diverse learning styles of my students.

Carrying Out My Game Plan

To carry out my Game Plan one goal I have is to collaborate with colleagues and seek professional development opportunities that explore real world learning experiences to students using technology. The other goal is utilizing technology to meet the diverse learning styles of my students. Both of my goals are important in helping students achieve skills needed for 21st century careers.

A step that I have taken to meet my goal is to sign up for a conference at the end of February. This conference focuses on using podcasts, blogs, and wikis and other technology tools to improve student learning. If approved by my administration I will be able to expand my knowledge to enhance content lessons using technology. I am also beginning to do inclusion with the computer technology teacher, starting this week. This will give me a better understanding on how to incorporate technologies to meet needs of my students.

My Personal GAME Plan

To help prepare students for 21st century careers, it is important that I can strengthen my ability to implement technology according to state content standards. By integrating technology into the curriculum, students are kept more motivated and engaged in academic content (Prensky, 2008). The two indicators from the ISTE NETS for teachers that I want to strengthen would be Standard 1, Indicator B “engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources” and Standard 2, Indicator C “ customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies and abilities using digital tools and resources”. I want to focus on these two areas to help develop lessons that meet the individual needs of my special education students.

Goal: I want to increase my knowledge and confidence in using technology to enhance student performance. To do this I will use these technology standards for a project each quarter. I will also collaborate with colleagues to gain insight and assistance in applying math standards to real world issues.

Action: To meet the goal, I want to seek assistance from colleagues to help design and modify lessons using technology to reach my diverse students. I will also research different types of technology that work most effectively in meeting the objectives of the lesson. I want to investigate professional development opportunities that promote technology to engage and motivate students in learning.

Monitor: As I monitor the progression of the lessons goals, I will reflect the effectiveness of the strategies. The use of formative assessments will allow me to check for comprehension. Through this I can make modifications to the lesson that assist the development of students’ understanding of real world applications.

Evaluate and Extend : To evaluate my approach I will reflect on which technologies worked with the lesson, and which did not work. Throughout the lesson I will use a journal to keep notes to help modify the current lesson and prepare future lessons. This knowledge will enhance my ability to reach the needs of my students in preparing them with authentic learning using technology.

References:
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National educational standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs?NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership ,65 (6), 40-45.