Carrying Out My Game Plan by Roxanne Dobbins

As mentioned in my game plan, my first goal was to: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Since I decided to focus on designing and adapting relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity, I will need to choose a specific digital tool and learn all aspects of it. One way I can do this is to collaborate with fellow colleagues who are well versed in technology. I want to learn all the ins and outs of digital storytelling so I can teach it to my ninth grade students. Next, I would seek out various workshops to listen to experts in the field of technology. I actually just started working on this aspect of this first goal; I was just approved to be able to attend a workshop on differentiated instruction with technology, so slowly but surely, I am working on this first goal. I will also read up on digital storytelling and view any online videos offered in order to carry out my plan. I will subscribe to feeds such as ZDNET, a veteran in publishing technology reviews and information. I will take advantage of chatboards at websites such as teachersnet and blogs such as Ed Tech to help me become more tech. savvy. So far I have subscribed to Free Technology for Teachers and Northern Lights to help me with obtaining a constant flow of information that can save me time.

My second goal is to: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. I chose to 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. I plan on modeling for my students, as much as possible, how to keep safe when using the internet. I can share stories with them about what happens when you display foolish behavior online. I will have them read online articles about teenagers who either bullied other students or falsified profiles about other students or friends, etc. I will create chat groups with my students where I make a point of checking in with them or monitoring their online activities as much as possible. I will offer open lines of communication so individual students will not feel threatened to discuss their experiences openly, privately, or anonymously. Next, I will model for my students how to perform parenthetical citation and how to create a works cited page. Today, I made arrangements to bring my students to the library so the librarian can show my students how to use Noodletools for their research papers. Actually, I just do “aspects of a research paper,” but our librarian does a PowerPoint and offers handouts on all that is needed for giving credit where credit is due, so I feel confident that my students will learn the correct way to cite and use appropriate documentation of sources.