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