Sunday, December 26, 2010

Reflection on GAME plan - Week 8

Writing a GAME plan can be an effective way for students to set Goals, create Actions needed to meet these goals, Monitor what progress has been met in order to achieve the goal, and finally, Evaluate whether the original goals were achieved. Students can create and utilize a GAME plan when they are involved with self-directed learning, because it keeps them focused and prepared for the project’s end result (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). It is important for students to become self-directed learners because with technology changing at rapid paces and with employers training their staff using modules and computer programs, people must be able to teach themselves the skills they need in order to stay ahead of the brutal competition. Since using problem-based learning activities allows the classroom to become more student-centered than teacher-centered, they provide students with an opportunity to practice using the GAME plan model as well as become self-directed learners.

During this course, I had to utilize the GAME plan technique while trying to create my own classroom website. The GAME plan was working fantastic at the beginning of the project because I was able to set goals on when I would dedicate time to the project and also a timeline with realistic action steps. The timeline would state when I wanted to finish the website, and the actions were the steps needed to actually build the site itself. I found this portion of the GAME plan relatively easy to fulfill, but I will admit I had a difficult time monitoring my own progress. For this portion of the plan, I was simply going by whether or not I was actually working and making progress on the site, but I realize this may have been incorrect, and I now understand how monitoring really entails being able to measure the gains of the knowledge I need to meet my goals (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). I expect my students will have problems with the monitoring aspect as well, so I will need to make sure I check the students’ projects on a consistent basis, so I can make sure they obtain whatever knowledge they may need to be able to finish their projects. Also, when I needed to evaluate my website, I would simply refer to how my website was progressing after each session I worked on it. I need to concentrate more on evaluating if the learning process I used in order to learn the technology required to build the website was successful, and if I need to change strategies about how to learn the new technology. I find students (as well as myself) always have the hardest time with reflection because we try to write about our process after it is completed instead of simply writing about our learning as it progresses. For this reason, I may try to use classroom journal entries so students can collect and write down their thoughts regarding the learning process of their self-directed learning projects, and after the project is complete, students can look back on the journals and notate what they had difficulties with and how it can be corrected for future learning.

Some adjustments I will make regarding technology in my classroom will entail teaching students how to use the above-mentioned technology, introducing my students to online collaboration, and making lessons more accessible for different students. A sort of mantra from the resources of this class that keeps sticking in my head is to not simply use technology for technology’s sake. In other words, every time technology is used in my classroom, it must be for an exact purpose and the curriculum should guide what technology I use and not the other way around (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). I will admit that in the past I have been known to throw technology into a lesson without really needing it. For example, I once had students look up information on the Internet regarding Shakespeare, because I wanted them to participate in a scavenger hunt where they would find information about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan era from a certain website. I believed the students would enjoy using the technology as part of the lesson, but upon reflection, I realize I was only using technology in the hopes of keeping the students occupied and engaged. I could have easily printed out information from the website and had students read the text and answer the questions. In other words, technology was not really needed in order for the students to perform the intended task, and I always want my use of technology to be purposeful and necessary. My second adjustment comes in the form of collaboration. One of the basic 21st-century skills students must obtain is how to collaborate on a project while not being in the same room with other students. More and more businesses have their employees work in this manner; therefore, I must have my students complete projects and correspond with each other using blogs and wikis, so they will have an opportunity to use this important skill. Since I teach high school English, collaboration is easy to come across because students can discuss a novel and leave comments for each other , or they can work on a project (possibly involving problem-based learning) together and not need to meet during class time. Finally, differentiation can be made easier through the use of technology. Students are able to find almost any text they may be reading in class online and be able to manipulate the text in a wide variety of ways. Students can chunk the text and leave out unimportant pieces of information in order to make the reading more understandable, highlight certain areas to make the text stick out, and move text around to make it more chronological if necessary (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

All in all, I feel the GAME plan format is a formidable way for students to focus on upon projects, especially when they are related to a problem-based learning because it gives students a sophisticated way of devising a plan and tracking it to make sure it is working properly. I will definitely introduce this format to my own students, and I will also adjust the way I use technology in the classroom so I can increase the effectiveness of my curriculum. I cannot wait to use the ideas I have learned in this class regarding technology being used for collaboration, diverse learners, and digital storytelling, and after I master the ways to use these, formats I hope to teach my fellow teachers and colleagues how these methods can help expand the learning inside their classrooms.

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.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Ertmer, P. (Speaker). Program 3: Enriching content learning experiences with technology. Part 1. [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Meeting students’ needs with technology: Part 1. [DVD]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD.

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