EDUC-6713I-3 Reflection: Final Blog Post

I really enjoyed creating a GAME plan to guide me with implementing technology into my classroom instruction. I have seen an immediate positive influence on the learning of my students throughout the 8 weeks of implementing my personal GAME plan. I will continue to implement new instructional strategies using technology into my classroom to carry out my GAME plan for the remainder of the year.

The most influential learning piece I have taken from this course is being able to set meaningful, attainable goals, and organize them in a way that allows me to reach them in a timely manner. With the GAME plan, it allows you to set goals for a week, for a month, for a year, or however long you wish to set your goals. Furthermore, it allows you to monitor and reassess how you are progressing with your goals. If you are progressing slowly, you can adjust your plan to fit your needs. The same is true if you are progressing more quickly than expected.

In addition to finding the implementation of the GAME plan to be so meaningful and productive for me, I have also learned how easy it is to implement technology into the classroom when you have the available resources. We have been exposed to digital storytelling in past courses, but this course really allowed me to see how universal digital storytelling can be. It truly can be used across multiple content areas and at any grade level. Social networking is also a tool which can be used much more easily than I had expected in the past. All of these tools are right at our fingertips, and being able to access them and teach the students how to use them will prove to be extremely influential on my teaching and the students' learning.

I have already made numerous adjustments to my teaching by implementing my GAME plan into my instruction within the classroom. I will continue to use technology as a means to focus on 21st century skills. I will continue to teach my students to use new technological tools and resources to enhance their learning, providing a meaningful and engaging learning experience for them. I have confidence that this will assist them in becoming life-life learners, which will help them in their future endeavors.

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

Throughout this process, my major goals were not only to improve my knowledge and understanding of using technology in the classroom, but it was also a focus for my students. After implementing just a few of the technological tools we have learned throughout our studies at Walden, I have been able to see a positive change in the comfort, confidence, and expertise of my students with using technology to enhance their learning. After the completion of this course, I will continue to carry out my GAME plan goals for implementing a new technological tool each month. By doing so, the students will become more proficient with their technology skills and will be able to choose which tools best support their learning. I believe that the use of technology will enhance their learning in the classroom and will continue to assist them throughout their schooling.

Many comments I have received have included the importance of seeking additional assistance from teachers within my building and district to assist me with this process. By asking around for comments and assistance, I have found numerous resources within my school. It has been great to bounce ideas off one another while comparing and contrasting which strategies have worked and how they could be adjusted to maximize the learning potential of our students.

Revising my GAME Plan

Throughout the process of incorporating more technology into my daily teaching, I have realized how manageable it is for me as a teacher and how beneficial it is for the students. While using the resources we have incorporated thus far, the students have been able to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the material and are truly engaged in their learning. As teachers, we are taught to have daily, weekly, and yearly goals for our students. I have seen how beneficial it is for my students to reach toward their goals, and now I realize how important it is for teachers to set goals as well.

I am still working on becoming more proficient with the vast amounts of technological tools available, but I am learning day by day. At this point, the goals that I have set so far are manageable yet challenging, as I want to be thorough with teaching each tool every month. This will enable to the students to feel more proficient at using the tools as well so that they can continue to enhance their learning. For the students, I think that an extension would be for them to incorporate the various technological tools we have used thus far into one lesson. They can use their creativity to choose which tools will assist them to demonstrate their learning of the content as well as the technology at hand.

I will continue to research and try new tools throughout the year. I will continue to provide learning opportunities for myself as well as my students with new technology in the classroom. Learning is all about trying new things, and we cannot be afraid of making mistakes because mistakes are inevitable. No one is perfect, and I will continue to try new technology until I can find a successful way to implement it into classroom activities.

GAME Plan Progress

I continue to work toward my goal, and am currently on target with what I had set for myself. Currently, I do not have to adjust my goal, as it is working for me and my students. After introducing Webspiration to my students, I found that they were able to display more information using this tool than I had seen without it. I was amazed at the information they were able to share with others once they were given the opportunity to put their creativity, motivation, and effort into something that was important to them. It has taught me to continue to push my students and show them new information, new tools, and new technology. They will continue to shine if I continue to teach them in ways they had never been taught before. I am now incorporating the use of Excel into my teaching of graphs and measurements. I know that as we get more comfortable with using the technology, new ideas will come up and we will build upon those questions and ideas.

Throughout this process, it will continue to be a learning process for me as well as the students. Technology is always changing, and new instructional tools, strategies, and ideas are developed on a daily basis. We teach our students to be life-long learners, and we must demonstrate that skill as well.