GAME Plan Reflection

Making improvements to my instructional practices will be possible because of the knowledge that I gained in this course. Familiarity with the National Education Standards for Teachers was not something I was quick to admit to but I can now say that I am aware of them and also their purpose in a technology savvy environment. The NETS-T that I felt I could improve on were: Teachers contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community; and teacher advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources. A GAME Plan was later developed and I felt like I did well in following it.

Contributing to the teaching profession by sharing with colleagues will happen throughout the school year. This is because teachers are always welcome to share their knowledge after attending workshops. Also, been a continuous learner is a goal I had set for myself a while ago and I know it will benefit my students and myself. For example, many schools are basing their practices on researched based concepts and need teachers who are not only willing to learn about the new concepts but to also implement them.

Technology integration is another area that I know I will focus on as a result of my awareness of the standards and the goals that I set. Using technology in school should be at the forefront of all educators’ minds because students are benefited when they are exposed to real world experiences.

WK 7 GAME Plan for Students

School begins on Tuesday and the students will be shown a video about copyright rules and guidelines that are permissible in the school environment and are to be followed. This is a detailed video that covers all that the students will need to know. Since the ISTE NETS Standard “advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources” is one of the goals in my GAME Plan, I feel like it is great that the students will start the year off knowing about the requirements.

After they get the basic ideas about the “safe, legal and ethical use of digital information and technology” from viewing the film, they will then have the opportunity to create a GAME Plan of their own. They will monitor their plan as the term progresses.

Reference

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Week 6: Revising My GAME Plan

After part one of my workshop today, I am reminded of the importance of interacting with colleagues which is one of the goals in my GAME Plan. We were able to share ideas and give suggestions about best practices in regards to giving feedback to students. We discussed the importance of not only just giving the feedback, but to also give the students the opportunity to think about the opinions shared and what steps if any are necessary afterwards. Also, we shared strategies that were beneficial to students during the implementation of the curriculum that was new to most of the teachers last year.

To be successful with all aspects of my plan, I am still working on community involvement. I now have a colleague and friend who want to get more involved in the community as well. We had a discussion and we are in the process of deciding on where to volunteer our time.

Having a GAME Plan give me the opportunity to not only set goals but to also put into action the practices that will lead to success.

Evaluating Your GAME Plan Progress (Week 5)

In order to meet my goal to be a lifelong learner who shares knowledge with my colleagues, I had planned to attend workshops regularly. So far, I am scheduled for a two day workshop for next week. After this workshop, I am certain that I will have a plethora of new ideas that will be useful in the upcoming school year for not only me but my students and colleagues as well.

Teaching to students and modeling the ethical use of resources is still in progress since school is not in session as yet. I am still getting together different resources that I will be able to make use of during the teaching of this concept. While I am searching for resources, I am also learning the importance of modeling the concepts for the students. They will be more likely to follow the rules if they see the adults around them following the rules.

My Game Plan Progress

Having a GAME Plan is a bit exciting. Just knowing that I have an opportunity to push myself beyond the usual makes me nervous but I am looking forward to do something different and exhilarating.
I have been keeping track of the county’s site that displays all the workshops for the upcoming school year but have not seen anything interesting as yet. I will continue to monitor this site because I want to attend educational workshops as much as I am allowed to during the school term.

Also, I am realizing that the plans that I have will work out in regards to me becoming a lifelong learner and then sharing with my peers. The administrators at my school are always looking for teachers who are willing to attend workshops and then are willing to share the knowledge acquired with their colleagues.

I do not have any specific questions but would love to hear about any community involvement that my classmates are apart of. Maybe this will give me some ideas about the best way to get involved in my community.

Carry Out My Game Plan

Having a plan to contribute to my teaching profession and community and to also contribute to the proper usage of different resources, I have a few things in mind so far. I have already decided on two presentations that I know I will be involved in for this coming school year. Also, I have been searching for websites that will be useful during my inquiry lesson to not only my students but my colleagues as well.

In regards to resources that will help me to carry out my plan, I have some community leaders that I know will be glad to help me or point me in the right direction when it comes to contributing to my community. Additionally, I also will utilize a few class resources such as the handouts and other useful information that are in a few of my textbooks and the QUEST model by authors Maya Eagleton and Elizabeth Dobbler.

My Personal GAME Plan

After visiting the site for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and after examining the National Education Standards for Teacher (NETS-T), I feel that I can become more proficient in the following with the help of a good GAME Plan:

Indicator One: Teachers contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

Goal: My goal is to be an educator who is a lifelong learner and then willingly share the knowledge acquired with my colleagues.

Actions: Attending free workshops that are always available through the school system is a great way to meet this goal. Also, the willingness to take college courses for the sake of learning will also be helpful.

Monitor: Sharing the knowledge gained with colleagues especially on Professional Development Days (PDD).

Evaluate and Extend Learning: Implementing the skills acquired in the classroom so that lessons are fresh and interesting.

Indicator Two: Teacher advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

Goal: My goal for this category is to teach students about the responsibilities of using the resources available to them.

Actions: Doing activities on a regular basis that will help students to become responsible users of sources available to them.

Monitor: Having students use a tool such as a rubric to keep track of their responsibilities when using sources on the internet.

Evaluate and Extend Learning: Re-teaching responsibilities before lessons that will require such skills.

With knowledge of what it takes to strengthened my proficiency in the integration of technology into my classroom and then following the GAME Plan, my students will have a more interesting working environment and will be prepared to use different types of technology as they advanced in school and later in life.

References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

WK 8 Reflection: Transitioning from Knowledge to Synthesis

A curriculum that is filled with rigorous and relevant lessons is necessary for the 21st Century classroom and work environment. This includes a deep knowledge of how to use the internet and the resources that are provided to users. It involves more than just a simple click on a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Students must also be taught how to engage in deep questioning. After this, a correct method of evaluation of student learning when they are doing projects is necessary.
Before the lessons can be vigorous and relevant, activating prior knowledge is of great importance in regards to reading before inquiry can take place. “Inquiry is not just questioning but questioning into something”. When learners engage in such a task, they are lead to deep “exploration” which then leads to other questions (Thornburg, 2004). Before students can start their journey into “questioning something”, they have to start with a basic question. Some students may encounter various challenges in regards to time management when developing questions that will guide their inquiry projects, while others will choose to focus their attention elsewhere instead of using it to work on their project. In this instance, additional teacher supervision may be necessary. The teacher may step in and help the students that are struggling to create a timetable that all individuals can use to monitor the project.
The usage of a rubric is one way in which educators can assess learning accurately not only for content assessment but for projects as well. Before a rubric can be used for assessment of the knowledge or skills acquired, students must be taught certain things. As students are searching through various sources for the necessary information to complete their projects, their teachers can evaluate these tasks with a step by step process. For example, as students are searching the different websites for facts, their teacher could have them use a check sheet to guide them. This sheet can have information such as whether or not they are using information from a reliable website. Also, they must keep a close watch on the “truthfulness” and “usefulness” of the written information (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007). This includes knowing whether or not the author of the information is trustworthy and how much of the information will be helpful when putting the project together.
People who are fluent in 21st Century Skills have the ability to function amazingly well in this “information age” (Juke, 2007). These individuals must be skilled in communicating with people of various cultures and think critically after listening keenly to a conversation. In addition to these skills, they must also know how to communicate nonverbally. Furthermore, being a visual learner does not hurt those who are fluent in 21st Century skills. They must be able to comprehend what was taught and then present the information to others creatively and intelligently.
Since 21st Century skills are necessary for success in a technologically enhanced world, educators must learn how to integrate these skills into their curriculums even when they are not at the forefront of the curriculum or district. When the ideas mentioned earlier are accomplished, they will lead to creativity within the learning environment and later in life.












Reference

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Located at http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf.


Thornburg, D. (2004). Inquiry: The art of helping students ask good questions. (Executive Briefing No. 402). Retrieved from http://www.tcpdpodcast.org/briefings/inquiry.pdf

Reflection

As an instructor, I care deeply about how my students learn and what I can do to make this process easier for them. In regards to my personal theory of learning, I still believe that each individual’s behavior is impacted by consequences as stated by the behaviorist theory. I also hold to Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. I believe that students will have different talents which should be encouraged and developed by the educators that serve them.

Additionally, as a result of this course, there are some great instructional technology practices that I will integrate into my classroom instruction. I want students to participate in a classroom blog that will be focusing of specific topics throughout the school year. I also want my students to use the computer more as a learning tool to create projects that will be examples of their understanding of the different concepts that will be taught to them throughout the school year as well.

Since my school has a wide variety of technology that is available to students, I am looking forward to the integration of many them into my lessons to enhance the learning experience of all of my students.

Voice Thread

voicethread.com/share/896853/This is the link to my voice thread. I had some issues recording.

Social Learning in Practice

Learning takes place in different ways and cooperative learning is such an example. Students get to work in groups with a well thought out plan in place set forth by their instructor. Students must be given rules that must be upheld during work. For example, a rubric stating the guidelines for the assignment will benefit the students greatly as they create their artifact.

Technology can also be utilized as students are engaged in cooperative learning. With a rubric in place, students can use a myriad of technology based resources to accomplish their task. For example, to show that they have mastered the concept of plot, students can work cooperatively to write a short story while masterfully incorporating the elements of plot. They can then use the rubric to monitor their own progress.

Social learning is based on individuals learning from each other through their interactions. Cooperative learning with technology integration is a great way for students to learn.

Constructionism

The constructionism theory states that students who are actively engaged in learning and later build an artifact which they will share with others are forming ideas during this learning process (Orey, 2001). Therefore, when students are generating and testing hypotheses, they are engaging in higher level thinking. This is great because it is not the regular pencil and paper activities. These students are also doing hands on activities when they collect data and then analyze it. During the analyzing of data, the students can then use technology to aid them during their search for answers. A great example of technology assisting students is the usage of a spreadsheet software. In this instance, students get a chance to “manipulate the spreadsheet, consider graphical patterns, and test their predictions by receiving quick feedback on multiple scenarios” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).

Although the students will not be creating the spreadsheet themselves, they are still actively engaged in adding data and then deciphering the results. Basically, students did learn if they can later produce an artifact that they have created after they were taught a new concept

References
Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cognitive Learning

When teachers implement certain strategies such as using cues, questioning and utilizing advance organizers with the help of technology in the classroom for learning, students will be engaged in lessons that are exciting and interesting. Additionally, they will not only be able to learn new concepts from hearing and seeing them but also from the interaction that these types of learning strategies will involve.

The implementing of strategies such as cues, questioning and advance organizers are used in the classroom with the help of technology, these strategies become great examples of cognitive learning theories in practice. Dr. Orey stated that Cognitive Learning Theories “revolve around information processing” (Laureate, 2009) so, when students use the strategies above, they are engage in lessons that will allow them to make strong connections which will later cause the information learned to stay with them. These students are also engage in the lessons because of the images that are being created through the lessons.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author

Behaviorism in Practice

There are different avenues to achieving success, but the child or adult who wishes for it must be willing to put forth effort (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.155). If a child wants to be successful but have the wrong ideas about how to achieve it, teachers can teach them about it with various types of technology.

According to the authors of, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, a spreadsheet can be one of the many tools which can be used to teach students about the importance of effort. Using this strategy with middle school students could benefit them greatly. For example, I have seen how students can make improvements on test scores or even their behaviors when they are given immediate feedback with a visual representation. They have a chance to see and then talk about what lead to them to a specific outcome and what they can do differently the next time around. They then will have many opportunities to practice the behaviors that will lead to a positive outcome. In this instance, these students want to be successful and are willing to work at it.

This is a great example of how the principles of the behaviorist learning theory correlate to an instructional strategy. Positive behaviors are being reinforced and this will lead to the success of the students who are involved.

Reference:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology

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