GAME Plan Reflection

       When I first started my GAME plan it was easy to make goals, but harder to accomplish them in a timely manner. I feel like obtaining my goals is not something I can accomplish completely in a school year. My plan is to gradually grow and work on my goals in small ways so I do not feel overwhelmed. My goal that I feel was most accomplished and easy was to have students explore in real-world issues and solving problems using digital tools and resources. I have found that my students relate closer to events and problems that are happening to their age group, in their community, and in their school. I understand that a more world based outlook is important and can provide various learning opportunities, and I plan to incorporate this in the future. 

While setting goals for my game plan one important one is to be a life-long learner in the field of education. One way I have accomplished this goal is by signing up for on-line education conferences, subscribing to education resources magazines/journals, and by visiting my colleagues classroom’s for ideas and teaching strategies. In the form of technology, I am able to subscribe to various education blogs from around the world to see what other teachers and students are doing and see how we can learn from each other. 

In the area of technology I have found a teacher at my school that is very skilled at integrating technology and has his own website for educators. I plan to visit his classroom during technology integrated lessons and learn all that I can about problems that arise, the student’s reactions/interest level, and how to find technology resources. I plan to continue to refer back to my GAME plan throughout the year and assess myself in my progress. I am sure new goals will arise, and I am excited to one day look back on my plan to see what I have accomplished. 

GAME plan week 6

After reviewing my goals for my GAME plan in week 1, I have been reflecting on what I have learned so far from my course work to help me with obtaining my goals. One goal and concern I had was to promote and model digital etiquette. I have learned in my course readings and assignments that many digital tools are available to students and teachers to help promote this concern. For example some resources for email etiquette include:

http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit/6237, and a quiz students can take on email etiquette: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=do-you-know-email-etiquette


I have also found a variety of resources in our text book, our videos, and from my classmates. I am discovering a variety of digital tools that I have never heard of from our class resources and classmates. My bookmarks are getting pretty full of all the resources. 


I do feel comfortable to begin a new goal in order to grow as a professional: NETS-T performance indicator #5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. One way I have been working towards this goal is to research professional conferences and meetings for educators from around the world to gain knowledge from other educators. An online conference is held each year called the "K-12 Conference" http://k12online.ning.com/. What I like about this resources is that if you missed the conference from the previous year it is all available for you to view online...they call it the conference that keeps going. My next idea is to join an educational organization where I can obtain the latest news and ideas in education. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions for any? 

GAME plan progress Week 5

“Collaboration is a key component of project based learning environments, as it allows student to draw on each other’s perspectives and talents in order to more effectively devise solutions for the problems at hand” (Ertmer & Simons, p. 43, 2006). I have learned that asking students to collaboratively work together and share ideas is easier said than done. In order for their service learning project I will need my students to work together, solve problems effectively, divide responsibilities between each other, and give  each other positive feedback. One way to accomplish this collaborative classroom culture I plan to do a series of collaborative activities throughout the year to foster this type of behavior. A few ideas are to have students participate in group work, projects, and team building games. To help guide my students in learning how to collaborate with their peers successfully I will model the correct behavior and praise students who are exhibiting the desired behavior. Even if a teacher possessed the best lesson plan or project it does them no good if their students can not work together and know how to take on those roles in small groups that are needed. 

Reference

Ertmer, P., & Simons, K. (Spring 2006). Jumping the PBL implementation hurdle: Supporting the efforts of K-12 teachers. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1), 40-54. Retrieved fromhttp://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=ijpbl.