Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

            One indicator I want to gain confidence and proficiency in from the National Educational Technology Standards - ISTE for Teachers is Facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity.
There were few teachers in my school days who inspired me to do better, and they consequently stuck out in my mind to this day. I’d also like to be a teacher that inspires students learning and creativity. Today I avoid having all the answers and when a student has a desperate question, I simply lean over and watch them figure it out. If they are unable to, I provide limited input in an effort to get their gears turning.

To facilitate and inspire student learning, teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes

d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments (ISTE Standards, n.d.)

The second National Educational Technology Standards - ISTE for Teachers I want to embody is engaging in professional growth and leadership.

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.

a. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning

b. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

c. 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

d. Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

Decide what actions you will take to achieve those goals.

            I think the best route to take about to ensure students can competently utilize technology and be creative at the same time is to show my experience with technology. I can, in fact, use some of the created pieces in learning I put together. I can constantly be the subject matter expert in technology and await for the students to provide valuable insight in their technical expertise. My demonstrations should inspire them to mimic and copy my work.

Determine how you will monitor your progress.

All who use the GAME plan set goals, plan actions, monitor actions, and evaluate progress. In my lesson, I demonstrate how to use the words A and An to precede the noun in a sentence. Using the first standard of facilitating and inspiring student learning. My goal would ultimately get students regularly engaged in a student computer lab, failing that, some way that they can utilize their cell phone use in class. This would be a weekly or bi-weekly lesson. One way that I can monitor student progress is to use technology such as google forms or TeacherKit to track student progress and grades. Also, I need to listen to my peers and keep an open mind.  There are many opinions on ways to integrate technology into the academic environment.  There are many different ways for eliciting feedback from academic stakeholders on technology in the academic environment (Monitoring GAME Plan Progress, n.d.).

Decide how you will evaluate and extend your learning.

To evaluate the progress in my lesson, I will need to take a bird’s eye view of what I had just done. I’ll make a list of questions; they will ask if everything had been done to the standard and the students had learned. Technology can assist me in the form of web 2.0 tools; I can monitor and chart progress using various apps and software that’s already available today.

I think to evaluate professional growth and leadership, I only need to be an active member of teacher groups and community events. Of particular importance is being involved in plans that focus on technology and the uses in the classroom. Google offers certified training in their app, and I believe that would be a first positive step. Another important step is to become a member of ASTD (American Society for Training & Development). This organization is the world’s largest association dedicated to those who develop talent in organizations. These professionals help others achieve their full potential by improving their knowledge, skills, and abilities.

References

ISTE Standards. (n.d.). ISTE Standards Teachers. Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-T_PDF.pdf

Monitoring GAME Plan Progress. (n.d.). Ed Tech. Retrieved September 8, 2014, from http://vincecarls.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/monitoring-game-plan-progress/