Monitoring my GAME Plan Progress

My first GAME plan addressed the “Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments” NETS-T indicator (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  As far as resources and information are concerned, I have been able to successfully contact the technology expert from my district.  I told them via e-mail about my plan to incorporate two new technology tools into one of my existing Social Studies units.  Unfortunately do to the end of the year activities, we are unable to meet before school lets out.  Instead, my technology expert is going to e-mail me again in a few weeks with some ideas and websites.  I already have a computer and access to the Internet so that is taken care of.  I have set up a meeting with my other fifth grade teaching partner for the end of the year to look over and plan the unit together.  One thing I may need to modify in this plan is that I am going to do some research on my own.  It may take a while for the technology expert to get back to me so I am going to go to the public library and see if I can get some more ideas and resources.  I have learned so far that this is a process that is not necessarily quick or easy.  It takes time and patience.  I’m glad I’ll have an entire summer to think about this GAME plan.  So far, no new questions have arisen.

 

My second GAME plan addressed the “Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility” NETS-T indicator (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  So far I have been able to access the BrainPop website and locate a video I want to show my students.  I have also been able to do a little bit of research on technology etiquette using the Walden library database.  I have bookmarked and saved several articles that I plan on reading in the near future.  Over the weekend I asked several of my friends what they thought digital etiquette meant and I wrote down some of the common responses.  Most of them said that it meant being polite, citing sources, and treating people fairly online.  My classroom blog is already set up so that is good to go and now all I need to do is adjust some of the lesson plans I created and get my digital camera ready.  I have learned again that it takes time to develop and work through any GAME plan.  It really does require a lot of work and organization along with important periods of reflection and adjustment.  The only question that is in my head for this GAME plan is what digital etiquette exactly means.

 

Resources:

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for

teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

My first GAME plan addressed the “Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments” NETS-T indicator (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  I will need several resources to carry out my plan to build confidence in this area.  The first resource I will need is a technology expert from my district.  I will sit down with this person or e-mail them and tell them my plan to add two digital tools to my Social Studies unit.  After some conversation, we should be able to come up with at least two tools.  Then, I am actually going to need to learn those digital tools myself if I don’t already know them.  I will need information on how to work the programs or tools selected and I will need to practice with them.  Another resource I am going to need to carry out this GAME plan is an Internet connection and most likely a computer.  I will also need time.  I plan to take time both before and after school to work on integrating two technology pieces into my Social Studies unit for next year.  I may also need to create some rubrics for grading or behavior expectations.  Meeting with a colleague will be extremely beneficial because we can plan the unit together and discuss the various options we have with technology.  I may also need to watch YouTube tutorial videos on how to work the digital tools we select.  So far, I have been able to choose the Social Studies unit I plan to integrate technology into.  Also, I have contacted our district’s technology guru and am in the process of discussing my goals.

 

My second GAME plan addressed the “Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility” NETS-T indicator (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  I will again need several resources to carry out my plan to build confidence in this area.  First, I will need to access the BrainPop website for videos to support what I am teaching.  I will use the videos they have on technology and digital etiquette.  Also, I myself need to be better versed on digital etiquette and what that exactly means, so I plan to research some articles on the topic via my library’s database.  Once I do some of my own research and reading, I may also want to watch some videos on YouTube or other video sharing sites so I can see what the general public thinks about digital etiquette.  This would help make my teaching more relevant to the real world.  I am also going to reach out to other colleagues in my building who use blog sites and discuss how they manage digital etiquette in their classrooms.  I will need to use my classroom blog site as well as a video recorder and a computer.  I plan to video tape my lessons on digital etiquette as a tool for reflection and growth.  So far, I’ve been able to gather a video recorder, bookmark the videos from BrainPop, and write out lessons for teaching my students about digital etiquette. 

 

In both GAME plans I will need my teaching journal to write reflections, observations, and to record and synthesize data.  Also, in both GAME plans I will use sort of a self-questioning learning strategy where I ask questions, monitor, reflect, and adjust.  I will participate in metacognition and think about what is and what is not helping me learn and become more comfortable with mastering confidence in these NETS-T indicator areas.

 

Resources:

 

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for

teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

ISTE NETS-T GAME Plan

After looking through the NETS-T indicators and reflecting on my own strengths and weaknesses, I have decided on the two areas that I need to develop more confidence in and strengthen my abilities.  The first indicator I chose as something that I need to improve on is “Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  My game plan for strengthening my confidence in this indicator is as follows:

G(oal): Add at least two new digital tools or assessments to one of my existing unit plans in Social Studies. 

A(ction): Go back through the Social Studies unit on Immigration with my teaching partner and add the use of a presentation tool and an online field trip.  Use the Scholastic website to take students through a virtual field trip at Ellis Island.  Test if the ipads would work so individual students could go through the field trip at their own pace.  If they do not work, go through together on the Interactive Whiteboard.  Add a presentation tool like Microsoft PowerPoint to have students create a slideshow of journal entries they wrote in the voice of an immigrant.  Have students add pictures and present orally.

M(onitor): Test the ipads before student use.  If they work, walk around and help students as they go through the field trip.  Take a few notes on how they are working.  If the ipads do not work, write a reflection after the lesson on how the field trip went on the Interactive Whiteboard.  Leave this reflection paper in the unit folder for the next year with suggestions for improvement.  Monitor students while they create their PowerPoints and assist them as necessary.  Save some student examples and also write a reflection on how this piece worked.

E(valuate):  Take a look at the reflections that were written about the new technology activities added to the unit.  Synthesize the reflection data and any other data or samples that were created.  Take this data to other colleagues in the building to share and get some insight.  Write down any pros, cons, and ideas for improvement and add to the unit folder for next year.  Reflect on growth in this area of NETS-T.

 

The second NETS-T indicator I chose as something I need to improve on is “Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  My game plan for strengthening my confidence in this indicator is as follows:

G(oal): To promote and model digital etiquette as students participate socially with technology.  Teach and have students effectively use digital etiquette as they write posts and responses on the classroom blog.

A(ction): Take one or two full class periods to teach students about digital etiquette.  Use the BrainPop website to support discussions with video clips.  Show students examples of both good and bad digital etiquette and have students decide why the examples are either good or bad.  Provide students with various social media scenarios where they must decide how to respond with good digital etiquette.  Have students apply their knowledge on the classroom blog site and respond to their peers.

M(onitor): Walk around as students have discussions about digital etiquette.  Watch as students take the BrainPop quizzes after the short video and analyze the results.  Listen to how students respond to the scenarios provided to gather whether they have grasped the content or not.  Adjust the lessons accordingly.  Read what students write on the classroom blog and on their responses to one another.  Have students write reflections and write a personal reflection on how the lessons went. 

E(valuate): Video tape the lessons on digital etiquette.  View it with another colleague and discuss how it went.  Write down pros and cons and suggestions for improvement.  Also evaluate the students’ blog posts and share with a colleague.  Synthesize all of the data gathered and decide if the lessons were effective.  Reflect on growth in this area of NETS-T.

 

Resources:

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for

teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers