Monitoring the GAME Plan

As I continue to work with my students, I am amazed at the creative ideas they have and how easily they can take the content and relate it to their own personal lives.  Through the implementation of my GAME plan, I have found myself thinking outside of the box more in terms of integrating more technology into my instruction.  Additionally, as a result I have found that as a Physical Education department, we are having more discussions about project based learning and creative ways to get our kids into the computer lab to utilize technology and demonstrate their knowledge of concepts that they have been taught.

I have found great success in accessing resources to help with this plan.  Collaboration has been critical.  Fortunately, I have been able to work with numerous colleagues from our media specialist to special educators and even some general educators.  Everyone has been super helpful.  All of us together, understand how important it is have students engaged with technology and provide them with the opportunity to be creative.  In the video Meeting Students’ Need with Technology Part 2, Vicki Davis discusses how the project based environment allows students to work in their own element where they are comfortable and it also provides students with an avenue to communicate(Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). 

When I think about the time that it will take for students to complete projects due to the schedule in which I see them for class, I am concerned.  It will take students quite a long period of time to complete projects, but I also have to ensure that they are getting physical activity as well.  However, I would to continue to build my collaborative relationships with the media specialist, general education teachers and special educators and hopefully together we can find enough time for students to work and complete their projects. 

At this point in time, I have had the opportunity to attend a technology workshop for Pixie 3.  Pixie 3 is creation software designed for kids.  The software includes templates, the option to record their voice and the option to have students collaborate on one project from multiple computers.  This has opened up a whole new window of options for students in terms of their projects.  I have learned that students often know more than we do about technology and their ideas of much larger than I have ever imagined.  Finally, as I think about the end in mind with allowing students more opportunity to create in relationship to the content that they have been taught, I have had a few questions arise.  How can students share their projects with their families, other students and globally?  Is there a way to split students into groups to have a faster production rate?  How do I find the balance between students being physically active and having the opportunity to interact and create using technology?

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Meeting Students’ Needs With Technology, Part 2 [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Carrying Out the GAME Plan

The goal of my GAME plan is to integrate technology tools that allow students to demonstrate their creativity and to incorporate various methods of assessments incorporating both content and technology standards.  When considering my goal, I recognize that I will need assistance and access to resource in order to effectively carry out my plan. 

First and foremost, I will need to work with the Media Specialist to determine times that are appropriate to utilize the computer lab as well as the various technology programs that are available for student use.  Additionally, I will need to work the Special Education Teachers and the Gifted and Talented Teacher at my school and make a determination of which programs work the most effectively in addressing specific learning needs.  All of these individuals will serve as great resources as I am aware of the content standards associated with my curriculum in addition to the technology standards, but I am seeking ways to assist students in being creative, connecting to our content and producing something that is meaningful for them as their “take away” from a particular lesson.  For example, my third grade students have to be able to describe a balanced diet.  In the past I would have taught this by introducing and reviewing the food groups and then having students complete a paper pencil type of assessment where they would put in writing what they viewed to be a balanced meal that is part of a balanced diet.  Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer (2009) state “… digital media promises to provide the greatest flexibility in terms of planning, implementing, and assessing learning activities” (p.117).  With this knowledge, students will be utilizing the computer lab and working on the Choose My Plate website to play the blast off game where they choose foods to put together a balanced meal utilizing the Choose My Plate guidelines.  After they have spent some time working with the blast off game, they will then begin working on putting together their description of a balanced meal that they would eat.  They will have the choice of putting it together in a format of their choice, such as: concept map, placemat design using Pixie 3, word document, powerpoint presentation or photo story.  The objective is for students to be able to demonstrate their knowledge of a balanced diet and create something that they would have in their own lives.  With my example, I will also be in need of other various resources such as video clips discussing the Choose My Plate guidelines, children discussing a balanced diet and a visual representation of what a sample plate would look like based on the Choose My Plate guidelines.

At this point in time, I have been able to schedule a time in the computer lab where students will have the opportunity to interact with the Choose My Plate website, the Blast off Game and to begin work on their final products for describing a balanced meal in their lives.  I have also had the opportunity to consult with the Special Education Teachers and the Gifted and Talented Teacher to discuss my plan and the specific learning needs of students in my third grade class.  I am excited to engage in this process with my students and to see how much they learn about a balanced diet through their exploration.

References 

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

GAME Plan

Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer (2009) state that “As you set goals, take action, monitor your learning, and evaluate your progress, you take control of your own learning process” (p.7).  When I think about my GAME plan in relationship to increasing my confidence with the NETS-T, I would like to gain more confidence with are standard two and indicators a and d.  The focus of my GAME plan based on standard two, indicators a and b state “a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity” and “d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008, p.2). 

My GAME Plan for ISTE NETS-T  are as follows (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009):

Goals – integrate technology tools that allows students to demonstrate their creativity and to incorporate various methods of assessments incorporating both content and technology standards

Actions – plan lessons that provide students access to technology where students are able to demonstrate their creativity and provide students with multiple forms of assessment

Monitoring – monitor student progress of creativity and performance as it relates to content and technology standards; make the appropriate modifications to instruction based on student performance of related assessments

Evaluate – determine student growth of mastery of concepts based on final created products and performance on assessment

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

fromhttp://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx