Reflection

The time has come to take a moment and reflect on the GAME plan that I created and see how successful it really was over the past 8 weeks.  Let’s begin by looking at the goals that I had set for myself.

Goal #1 – Model Digital-Age Work and Learning by demonstrating the proper use of digital tools to utilize information sources and quality products that demonstrate knowledge.

Goal #2 – Engage in Professional growth and leadership in my school community by sharing information and creating support systems for other teachers interested in using technology in their own content areas. 

As I now look back over the elapsed time since I set these goals, the most interesting thing that I notice about myself is that I have become more conscientious of the kinds of technology that are out there.  More specifically, I have found that I am often making a point of evaluating how certain technologies can be used effectively in the classroom and how I might be able to implement them in my own teaching. 

Regarding my specific goals:

Goal #1 – I have learned about several new web-based applications that can be used with students to organize and access information.  I have not had as much opportunity as I had hoped to implement these things with students, and that is partly due to the nature of my classroom.  Being in Educational Support, I very rarely create the lessons.  Rather, I help students execute those plans.  In hindsight, I might have chosen a goal that has more to do with knowing all the tools that are out there and knowing how to best implement them in order to enrich the learning process.  That being said, I have found that I am much more aware of how tools can be used.  I’ve also learned that if I can think of a tool that would help, there’s a good chance that somebody out there has already invented it or some acceptable form of it. 

Goal #2 – I feel that I have made much more progress in achieving this goal.  Since the beginning of this course, I have asked for and received a document camera and projector to use in my classroom.  It is the only one in the school, and I have had many teachers stopping by to check it out because the students are telling them about the unique things we’re doing with it in the classroom.  I feel like I have become somewhat of an ambassador of technology and the ways in can be used to supplement learning.  Now that I have this capability, I can more easily demonstrate to my own students how to use the classroom blog that we had created last year.  Before this, I would literally have students huddled around my computer at my desk, 4 or 5 at a time while I demonstrated how to access materials.  With such a powerful visual tool, especially for my students, it really opens up a whole new realm of possibility. 

I like the idea of using the GAME plan with my students because it is one of those things that you do without realizing how powerful it can be.  So often I see my students just doing their assigned work in order to “get the answers” and be done.  They don’t really know why they’re doing the work.  If they would set goals for themselves, or even have someone set goals with them, they would have the benefit of knowing in which direction they are headed and it would serve to guide them more accurately to their learning targets.