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Final Blog Post

As I reflect on the GAME plan that I have developed and modified throughout this course, I realize that this is a valuable asset for use in any instructional setting. Personally, the goals that I set for myself have already begun as we have recently started our 2010-11 school year. I am excited to take on the challenges before me. I intend to meet both goals by implementing new monthly technology tools into my classroom and creating a collaborative project with a neighboring school next semester. As of now, there are no immediate adjustments to my GAME plan that need to made. Overall, I feel that I have set reasonable, realistic goals for myself and look forward to the effect they have on my students.

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students:

In order to help my students develop proficiency in the NETS-S standards, I feel it is important for them to first be aware of the specifics of each one. By providing examples of how multiple standards tie into various assignments, students are able to see the direct relation. In order to promote the development of these standards, I will have students provide a simple “Standards” section at the end of each assignment similar to the “References” section at the end of application assignments for this course. In this section students will provide all of the standards that the assignment was able to cover so they are aware of the various core concepts.

Revising Your GAME Plan:

What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice? What goals are you still working toward?
Up to this point, I have learned that implementing a GAME Plan would be best conducted at the start of a quarter or semester term. This would allow for continuous feedback and monitoring. Also, implementing a GAME Plan is a great way to keep track of professional development in meeting specific goals. I am currently still working on implementing new educational technology practices and implementing a collaborative project.

Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?
At this point, I am not ready to set new learning goals.

If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far?
In order to extend what I have learned already, I continue to use my recently developed GAME Plan. I will implement it into this upcoming school year and focus on the goals I have set forth already. I will look to implement at least one new educational technology each month as well as introduce a collaborative project with another school.

What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?
The next time I implement a GAME Plan, I will focus on NETS-T standard 5D: “evaluate and reflect 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”. Now that I am in my 5th year of teaching my courses have a solid foundation and good routine to follow. However, I must continue to adapt my lessons to meet the diverse needs of my students. Hopefully, by focusing on my current practices and implementing new educational technology tools I can continue to improve the learning environment of my students.

Evaluating Your GAME Plan Progress

Overall, I feel I did pretty well in meeting my goal for Standard 5c: “evaluate and reflect 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”. I have been able to find some good educational technology blogs and read about some interesting new ideas that have been implemented in the classroom. This can be difficult since I do not teach a core class but rather business and computer courses. There is traditionally a plethora of websites and databases available on content-specific courses, but business tends to fall through the gap. Since we are on summer break, I will know more about the effectiveness of my GAME Plan at the end of the first semester in December since I will have time to implement and reflect on it. I have learned that there are ample resources available for both teachers and students to use in the classroom and that it just requires the time and patience to locate them. I do not have any questions at this time, but I have learned that technology is ever changing so I will need to keep current on new trends and concepts as they happen. Since my goal is to keep introducing new content once a month, I may need to adjust this more or less depending on my workload at the school or how effective the new activities are.

With Standard 4d: “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools”, I have not had near enough time to spend fulfilling this goal during the summer due to my busy coaching and summer-work schedule. However, I feel I have set solid guiding actions to help prepare me for an activity of this magnitude. I have learned that I do not want to jump into an activity like this without having all of my bases covered to help eliminate as many potential problems as possible. I also lack the experience in dealing with this type of activity so I have a lot to learn in that regard. I will likely need to adjust my plan so I can work with a mentoring teacher who has participated in this type of activity before so I can follow their lead and learn from their guidance and leadership.

Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress:

As I monitor my GAME Plan progress, I realize this is no small matter. There are several steps that are needed to accomplish an effective GAME Plan. I have been able to find a lot of good information and resources to help employ a collaborative project with a different school as well as educational technology blogs to help implement new assessment strategies within my classroom. I am comfortable searching the Internet so I typically can find what I am looking for when given the time to do so. As such, I don’t feel that I need to modify my action plan at this point as I am able to currently stay on track with the goals I set to accomplish.

What I have learned so far is that while creating a GAME Plan may seem a little overwhelming at first, when it is broken down into its smaller components it is not as daunting. To me it has similar characteristics as the research paper we created in a previous Walden course. Additionally, I have learned that the time needed to accomplish my GAME Plan goals is higher than I had hoped for, but that is also largely in part to the fact that I have a very busy summer schedule. Things really don’t slow down for me once school starts back up as I coach two sports (football and basketball), am the student council advisor, and am the sophomore class sponsor. My major concern is how to find time to stay current with new technologies and undertake a large collaborative project while fulfilling my duties within my school and trying to avoid burnout at the same time. I have done a fairly decent job of keeping balance with my professional and personal life, but I am ever fearful of becoming overwhelmed with too much.

Carrying Out Your GAME Plan:

In order to accomplish Standard 4d: “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools”, I will need a variety of resources. First of all, I will need a cooperating professional from another school district to work with during the collaborative project that our students will be engaged in. Additionally, different forms of communication with said person such as email, phone, or discussion boards would prove to be beneficial. Having a mentor who has had experience with collaborative projects would be vital to creating a successful project. Lastly, examples of successful collaborative projects to use as references or pull ideas from would be of great assistance. Up to this point, I have only been able to research the Internet to find ideas and examples of collaborative projects.

For Standard 5c: “evaluate and reflect 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”, the resources needed would be largely independent and research based. I would need an aggregator to compile various educational technology blogs. Also, researching the Internet for additional sources outside of blogs would be useful in implementing new technology into the classroom once per month. So far, I have found a few educational technology blogs and found a few technology ideas that could prove to be beneficial.