GAME Plan for Students (Week 7)

When students use the GAME plan format for self-directed learning, it allows them to set goals for a certain project, take action in order to meet the goals, monitor their own progress towards achieving these goals, and evaluate whether the goals were achieved (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009).

The GAME process works well when combined with technology because it provides students with a detailed “road map” or method of creating, designing, and assessing their own work. I have two technology goals for my students during the rest of the school year. One of these goals is to have my students build their own web sites for a project within our class, and the other goal is to have students collaborate from outside the classroom via blogs and wikis. Most, if not all of my students, have not used this form of technology before, so having them utilize the GAME plan will help with the creation of their lessons.

I chose these two goals for my students because they coincide with the National Education Standards for Students. Standard number one involves creativity and innovation. With this in mind students will apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas and create original works as a mean of personal and group expression. Standard two states how students will communicate and collaborate using various forms of digital media (ISTE, 2007), so my students will use blogs as a forum to communicate about projects in class.

These two projects will revolve around project based learning; therefore, making sure the students use the GAME plan to its full potential is extremely important. For example, when students are building a website based upon a text read in class, I will teach them how to set the goal of building the site (what will the site look actually look like and what information will be on it), what they need to learn (action) in order to build the site, how they will monitor their progress and relay information on what they are completing, and evaluate whether their goal has been reach by reviewing a rubric or some other type of assessment tool. I am hoping that the GAME format combined with project-based learning will allow my students to meet some educational goals in technology as well as help them successfully complete project-based learning projects around my curriculum.

I am looking forward to the above mentioned projects and GAME plan because I fully believe it will help my students engage with the class content, further develop their technological skills for the 21st century student, and allow my classroom to become more student centered than teacher centered. Building my own website for my own project at Walden University was a great move because now I recognize what pitfalls my students may face while creating their own piece of work, and I feel more prepared to help them complete their projects.

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 Educatio. (2007). NETS for Students 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx.