ISTE NETS-T5.c. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership by evaluating and reflecting on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.
ISTE NETS-T.3.c. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning by communicating relevant information and ideas effectively to students and parents using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
The GAME plan that I developed and followed over the course was designed to improve my professional growth by making a commitment to stay current with new technologies and to continue to look for effective uses in a primary classroom in support of student learning. Over the course of my studies at Walden University, I have been exposed to a number of new technologies and effective ways to implement and integrate the new technologies in a primary classroom. In the past, I had become comfortable with my knowledge of technology in the classroom and missed many opportunities for my students. Now, I recognize that it is my role as a teacher in the 21st century to get my students exposed and using technologies that are a part of our world today as well as new technologies that are not yet developed. By providing these opportunities for my students to use current technologies, I can prepare them for the new yet undeveloped technologies that will be a part of their lives as they grow up into adulthood. As a digital immigrant, I can see that by staying stagnant one can fall behind and not feel comfortable with new technologies. I have jumped in and found that I can swim. And this affords me the ability to help my students start their journey integrating technology into their learning experiences. I am committed to staying current with new technologies. I am committed to continuing to pursue opportunities for professional development. I am committed to finding, implementing, and integrating technologies into student curriculum and learning experiences.
In order to expand this role, I plan to introduce my kindergarten team and principal to many of these new technologies and learning opportunities for our students. As I develop and learn, I will share my experiences and encourage others to get involved.
My GAME plan also included modeling the use of technologies in my classroom and communications with my parents and students outside the classroom. In order to effectively communicate with parents and students outside the classroom, I have developed a classroom webpage. In the past, I had used a monthly newsletter (hard copy) to keep parents informed about what we were doing in our classroom, any needed supply requests, and special at home assignments to augment our classroom studies. This worked well and parents were responsive. Then I moved to sending group e-mails to parents to communicate similar information and this also worked well for my student’s parents. Recently, I created a classroom webpage to provide parents with this information and extended it to include links to educational resources that augment our curriculum. In addition to a newsletter, I have added links to a variety of educational links for primary students, our texts online homework resources, and online reading books based on students guided reading levels. My plan is to continue to develop our classroom webpage as a comprehensive and extensive learning tool. My plan is to model through our webpage the many opportunities to integrate technologies in students learning experiences. My goal is to build the foundation for primary students as they start their learning with technologies.
The GAME plan is a powerful tool to generate well developed standard based lesson plans. Using the GAME plan gave me a framework in organizing and implementing learning experiences for my students. The GAME plans four steps are setting goals, taking action, monitoring progress, and evaluating and extending the lesson as needed (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). In each phase a series of questions are posed to help facilitate their effective use. I have found that the steps and thought provoking questions have helped me think more thoughtfully about lesson plans and develop a more metacognitive approach to teaching and learning with technology.
In addition, the GAME plan can be used as a tool for educators to develop a plan to improve their teaching practice. Over the course of this class, I reviewed the ISTE NET-T standards and implemented a GAME plan based on these standards. Ultimately my goal is to incorporate all the standards in my teaching practice. Through my continued development, I plan to create and grow an instructional environment where my students are immersed in learning through a lens that incorporates effective uses of technologies.
I will continue to grow our classroom webpage by looking for ways to provide parents and students with more online learning tools and resources. I have progressed through hard copy newsletters to group e-mails and now a classroom webpage with links to online resources. In addition to continuing to grow our classroom webpage, I plan to more fully develop our classroom blog though more developed interaction and communication with other classrooms inside and outside our school. I have been exposed to e-Pals which I feel is a great way for primary students to get involved in “educational networking” (Laureate, 2009). I am very fond of an introduction unit produced in e-Pals called Who We Are in collaboration with National Geographic. Students have the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with students from another location in the world. This helps students learn from others, become aware that there are other people and cultures around the world, open their eyes to becoming a citizen of the world using technology and building their proficiency in multiple literacies, and starting their journey in becoming prepared to be a part of the 21st century. It is my hope to be a part of this learning and teaching process for my students and to expand my reach my including and encouraging other teachers.
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