Developing My Personal Game Plan

Developing My Personal Game Plan


After reading the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers, I knew immediately which indicators I was comfortable with and which I was not. As of about three years ago, I began feeling uncomfortable with my teaching strategies, and knew I needed to make some serious changes. As new teachers were being hired, they brought with them to the table much computer knowledge. Many of them knew how to use Smart Boards and other technological tools as well as being able to navigate the internet with ease. I knew I needed to hitch a ride on this bandwagon, and I vowed to learn all I could in the way of integrating technology into my classroom. The time had come for change and it was screaming to me loud and clear.

I finally made the plunge, and signed up for graduate school excited to learn how to teach my students new and innovative strategies for reading and writing, and to also tackle learning some valuable technology tools. Since the whole idea with learning anything new is to set up a GAME plan first by establishing goals (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 85) then that is what I need to do. One goal of mine is to learn how to utilize digital storytelling. This technological tool would prove extremely valuable to my students and me. “As with other mindtools, digital stories enable learners to reflect, represent, and communicate what they know” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 67). One aspect that attracts me about digital story telling is how they must have “themes to which viewers must relate” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 67) and how the writing genre is a personal narrative that has a hook to capture the viewer’s attention immediately. Students go through a series of steps to create their digital story, and this allows them to become self-directed learners.

One deterrent that keeps delaying me from pursuing learning more technology tools is the constant worry of students using the internet safely. I have mentioned this a few times before, and I will say it again, but I do worry about those few students who will do something unethical or illegal on the internet jeopardizing their safety as well as others’ safety. There were students in my school that cyber-bullied two female students of mine on Facebook. Many of my students do not yet comprehend how to properly cite other peoples’ work. I am actually teaching this currently, and we had a lesson on paraphrasing and summarizing two weeks ago, but I just glazed over the tip of the iceberg with them, so I am still apprehensive about what they might do when it came to citing and giving credit where credit is due.

The first goal I would like to work on would be:

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity

Goals: become more knowledgeable with all the aspects of digital storytelling, so I can teach the steps to my students with confidence.

Take Action: Collaborate with my fellow teachers who have used digital storytelling with their students and attend workshops when they are offered, and setting time aside to experiment with it myself.

Monitor: track my progress as to how long it takes me to grasp the concepts; set time aside to learn and teach myself and then abide by my timeframe.

Evaluate and Extend: I will reflect on my accomplishments and ask my colleagues for valuable feedback and I will ask them to offer suggestions where I am lacking.

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

a. 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: Be able to model for my students the correct way to conduct themselves when they go online, and also model the appropriate way to cite other peoples’ work.

Take Action: Work with colleagues to ascertain that we are all on the same page as far as ethical practices go; consult head of technology to make sure I have all my I’s dotted and t’s crossed.

Monitor: Keep up-to-date on the legal aspect of what is and is not ethical; check in with my students whenever I can to make sure they are using the internet properly

Evaluate and Extend: If students are making progress and acting appropriately online and are citing correctly, I will move on to teaching a new tool. I will reach out to my colleagues and we will meet to discuss the advantages and the pitfalls and we will make adjustments for our department and even extend to other departments if need be.

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2011). NETS for teachers 2008. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for -teachers-2008.aspx