Educ6715

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EDUC6714-Reflection

During this course I have had the opportunity to not only learn about the Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction but to also interact with my peers and explore resources that can be used to implement the principles that were learned. Using the Universal Design for Learning will allow me to meet the needs of all students and utilize technology to reach their diverse needs. Through the Differentiation Station social network I was able to explore the latest educational technology and develop lessons based on current research and new technology. Many of the sites available support learning, collaboration and concept reinforcement. Both students and teachers can benefit from the new technologies that are available. While sharing with my group members on our Differentiation Station social network I felt better connected to the course because my partners and I had the same goals and objectives. As each week progressed I learned more about my group and it became to easier to grasp concepts after our continued collaboration.

One immediate adjustment that I plan to make to my instructional practice regarding the use of technology integration is implementation of learning styles survey for all learners. It is beneficial to know the learning styles of all learners and adjust instructional methods so that visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners are engaged in instruction. As a teacher it is my responsibility to learn about emerging technologies that can benefit my students. I have learned that the use of technology is of great benefit to me and improves my performance in the classroom with my students.

Another adjustment that I plan to make is one of self-improvement that I realized during this course. As a veteran teacher it is easy to get complacent and get routines in teaching. This course not only introduced me to new resources but also inspired me to be more creative because of the access to technology. I began to change the way that I create my lessons during this course and I plan to differentiate instruction and integrate technology in all my lessons.

EDUC-6713I-2 - Game Plan Refletion

Developing and utilizing a GAME plan has been quite enlightening. The execution of the GAME plan has provided me with a great deal of comfort in my ability to integrate technology into my content area. Living in a digital society, teachers are placed in positions in which they must incorporate technology into their lessons. Students must be equipped with the necessary skills that are needed to be able to compete and function in a digital aged society. The development and follow-through of my GAME plan has afforded me the opportunity to further develop my technology integration skills so that I can educate my students.
I learned a lot throughout the course. The biggest learning was how to ensure that I was integrating the technology standards with the content standards. The GAME plan made this task simple because the layout of the plan is simple and easy to follow. When creating the plan, I was able to place detailed instructional instructions along with times for each activity. Having detailed goals and activities listed allowed me to stay on task with my objective.
As a result of development and execution of my GAME plan, an immediate adjustment I plan to make in my instructional practice regarding technology integration is to make sure that I align all my lessons with a technology standard. Another adjustment is to make sure that I incorporate a monitor and evaluation component with each new lesson. These two components in the GAME plan have proven to be a learning tool. They have allowed me to be able to reflect on my execution of the lesson, the assessments, and the student’s comfort level of the technology integration component as well as the student reactions. All in all, this course has been great. I have gained an abundance of knowledge and comfort and look forward to providing my students with innovative lessons that are content based yet technology driven.

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

With another school year beginning, a GAME plan is a great tool for goal setting. I have my students set goals at the beginning of the school year and throughout the course. While there are a variety of goals setting methods available, the GAME plan is simple and easy for students to use. Using the GAME plan makes it easier to achieve goals because of constant monitoring and evaluating. Students need to be challenged and in order for them to develop proficiency in the technology standards outlined in NETS-S they will have to set goal and constantly work toward them

Revising your GAME Plan

GAME Plan

Facilitate and Inspire Student learning and Creativity

Indicator: engage students in exploring, real-world issues and solving authentic
problems using digital tools and resources
Indicator: promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

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?
Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?
If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far?
What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?

Executing my GAME plan has been quite beneficial. It has allowed me to learn how to educate my students on a broader scale. I am aware of and am knowledgeable of national technology standards, collaborative learning, and student learning classrooms. I understand the connection between the three topics. I understand how they impact student learning, growth, and creativity. I aim to include them in my lessons. I have learned that technology integration is not a difficult task. It is a fulfilling task not only for me but for my students. Based on the NETS-T, I plan to continue to gain confidence in my implementation and execution of technology integration. Georgia’s Business Education Courses encompasses many standards. I will extend my learning by continuing to plan and create lessons that will promote creativity and innovative thinking by having students use digital resources. This method of constant practice will provide me with skills needed to incorporate Georgia’s standards with the national technology standards and to ensure that my students are receiving necessary skills and practice needed to compete in a technological driven society. The learning approach I will try next time to improve my learning will be to create lessons in which the student aids in the choice of assessment. This learning approach will allow me to see if I am being productive in my quest to promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness with my students.

Evaluating the GAME Plan

GAME Plan

Facilitate and Inspire Student learning and Creativity

Indicator: engage students in exploring, real-world issues and solving authentic
problems using digital tools and resources
Indicator: promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness


How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?
What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?
How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?

Utilizing the GAME Plan has allowed me to grow, build confidence, as well as give my students a broader educational experience. My actions have been very effective because I am carrying out all of my actions. Through evaluation of my plan, I am able to see my progress. My main action was to make sure that I was knowledgeable of the standard. Knowing the standard has helped me when I am developing lessons that require students to work collaboratively and think innovatively. Understanding how the standard relates to my content area and state helps when I want to provide students with lessons that are engaging. Once I understood the connection, I am able to better facilitate and inspire students to get creative as they explore and solve real world issues and problems while using digital tools and resources. Thus far, I have learned that it is not difficult to integrate technology into the various content areas. I have learned that if I take the necessary steps and follow the GAME Plan, I can be very successful with implementation.

The one thing that I still have to learn is how to get more creative and more comfortable with my activities so that I will have a student centered classroom that fosters technology integration through the use of digital resources all the time. I plan to adjust my plan to fit my current needs by taking my standards and selecting technology standards that I can easily relate with and develop a GAME plan accordingly. My mission is to practice with the standards that I am most comfortable with first then begin to gradually implement the standards that I am not very comfortable with.

Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

Are you finding the information and resources you need?
Do you need to modify your action plan?
What have you learned so far?
What new questions have arisen?

As I monitor my GAME plan, I am finding new tools and resources. It is becoming easier to integrate technology to my class. I will continue to work towards using technology each week and continue to grow professionally. A new goal I want to set is bringing in different types of technology, like more Web 2.0 tools. communication. I want to also integrate learning activities through technology that meet the needs of the diverse learners in my classroom through the integration of projects that that address learning styles, working strategies, and abilities.
I am beginning to think about the best way to assess my students.
"To say that you have taught when students haven't learned is to say you have sold when no one has bought." I feel that my plan is successful and I need input from my colleagues so that I can continue to improve. I would also like my students to provide more feedback regarding their experiences from learning new content. I believe that the information that both my colleagues and students offer me can only enhance my self-reflection outcome and provide a whole different perspective other then my own.

Resources for my GAME Plan

GAME Plan Resources

In order to carry out my GAME plan, I would need access to computers as well as the internet. This source would engage the students as well as would allow students of all learning styles to feel included and work at their own pace. I would also seek information from other teachers that are successfully implemented technology standards into their classrooms. In addition, I would need access to the state standards for my content area as well as the technology standards. The steps I have taken so far to execute my GAME Plan is familiarizing myself with the standards and continuing to conduct research on activities in which I can integrate technology standards. Additionally, I have began creating lessons using collaborative grouping in order to promote and support students with exploring and discovering solutions to real world issues while using the internet and collaborative groups as sources.

Some additional resources that I will need to carry out my GAME plan are web quest related information. Most of the information can be obtained from the internet by searching for Web quests related to the unit that I plan to teach.
In order to carry out my game plan, I plan to research on technical tools that are available to me within my school district and how I can employ them in my classroom. I can also get help from my co-workers and consult with my fellow Walden classmates.
I will need to become comfortable with the tech tools I select and be able to use them with my students. Self-learning and practice are the ways that I can make this happen. I will need to look read instructions, FAQs, and read about other people's experiences using these different tools.

7-15-2010

GAME Plan

GAME Plan - Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

Standard: Facilitate and Inspire Student learning and Creativity

Indicator: engage students in exploring, real-world issues and solving authentic
problems using digital tools and resources
Indicator: promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

Goals
Action
Monitor
Evaluation and Extend
Feel comfortable in integrating the goals/indicators into my daily lessons.
Allowing my students to become self-directed learners through my facilitation


Make sure that I know the standard and how the standard relates to my content area and state.
Make sure I create lessons that correlate with my unit goal, students’ strengths/weaknesses and state standard in order to ensure their success.

I will monitor student progress through observation of student interactions, conversations, and student documentation of information
I will monitor my progress through student results as well as my interactions, feelings and thoughts while working with the students and the standard/indicators

I will evaluate and extend my learning by reflecting on the lessons that are used in class as well as continue to use and incorporate the standard and indicators more frequently.
Additionally, I will continue to conduct research on the use of NETS-T in classrooms.

Reflection

It has always been my personal belief as an educator to have students interact and have hands on instruction as much as possible to help learn. This method can be summarized in the Chinese Proverb “Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand.” Students receive so much information as they sit in class after class, day after day. I recall when I was a student and I could only remember those activities that kept me engaged and involved. While every class day cannot be a memorable experience, through the use of technology students can be engaged now more than ever before. This course helped me identify technological tools that will allow them to explore options that exist outside of the classroom walls. One change that I would like to make to my learning theory is to add more cooperative learning experiences. I often find that student skills vary when using technology and many could benefit from working in small groups.

I identify most with the constructivist learning because I feel students must be involved and have a hands-on learning experience. While I plan to integrate all of the tools that I was introduced to at some point to my students, I have chosen Virtual Field Trips and Web quests as a start. I feel that my high school students could greatly benefit from exploring these tools because the options are immeasurable.

Two long term goals to my instructional practice regarding technology are to encourage more teachers in my department to integrate technology and continue professional development so that I can grow and successfully integrate technology. Although technology integration is my passion, I know that it important for all students to learn tech skills. I am committed to lifelong learning and I will seek workshops, courses and any other tools that will keep me abreast of the technology that is available. It is my personal goal to have technology integrated into every lesson that I teach. I teach in a computer lab for 3/4 of the week and I feel that it is necessary to use the technology that is available to the maximum benefit for my students.

Social Learning in Practice

Cooperative Leaning allows students with varied learning abilities to get a better understanding of the subject by working with their peers. One strategy that is used school-wide by all teachers at my school is Think-Pair-Share. My administration encourages all teachers to use this strategy to increase cooperative learning. I also partner my students when they have difficult projects and each student is assigned a role to ensure that all tasks are completed equally.
I often use WebQuests with my students when I want my students to learn more about a subject. I plan to begin using Collaborative Organizing because I really like the idea of shared calendars for students that need to work from home or different locations. I have a lot of students that are absent while their partners are at school and they are not able to collaborate and share information.

Behaviorism in Practice

From my experiences with incorporating new technologies, students often show more interest and I have less behavior problems. Technology can be used to promote desirable student behavior. Technology can be used as a tool for reinforcement.
My current school district focuses on the use of technology as opposed to textbooks. As a business teacher. Due to the quickly changing curriculum for our courses, it was decided to no longer invest money in textbooks that become outdated with a short time period. Students learn to navigate the internet and use decipher information related to the topics that we study. While this method of teaching and learning is unusual to most students, they adjust and like the use of technology.
“The instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (Pitler, 2007, 155). Students will be more likely to continue their efforts when they are being noticed for their efforts. Positive reinforcement is essential to student success.
Homework and Practice is easily accessible with the multitude of websites available for students. Tutorials have become quite interactive and students are able to get instant feedback.


Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.