Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

            This past week, during a meeting with the Professional Learning Community, and I was able to discuss the GAME plan, created to strengthen confidence and understanding in the NETS-T standards. Some of colleagues vented about how integrating technology into instruction is frustrating and time consuming. It is easy to admit at times, the frustration and discouragement faced occasionally. However the second there is an increase in participation and enthusiasm amongst the students and therefore, the effectiveness of the lesson, I instantaneously change my mind. Instead, I find myself boasting about the successful lesson of the day.

            As I continue to monitor my progress through the GAME plan, I began to take into consideration the advice of my course instructor, Suzanne Lebeau, PhD., as well as authors: John Ross, PhD., Katherine Cennamo, and Peggy Ertmer’s from the course text, Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach (2009). It was brought to my attention, by Dr. Lebeau, “Sometime the tools available to us, as educators, must be repurposed and used in different ways than they were originally intended” (personal communication, January, 2013). With this, I realized I had to modify my action plan.  I revisited my GAME plan and notice I was giving the students too much freedom and too many choices with the use of technology. For example, I proposed that I would have students create KWL charts, listen to audio, create presentations, record themselves on a podcast, contribute to a blog, etc. Though these are fun and exciting ways to get students engaged and to show off their creativity side, I had to be realistic. In turn, a new question arose: Can I have this much going on in my classroom and still provide an effective lesson for my students?

            In order to address this concern, guidelines need to be set and choices need to be more controlled on my part. I had mentioned in my previous discussion and blog that my students would complete a Tic-Tac-Toe board with various activities to choose from. This board would be more useful if I set each column to read, “Practice”, “Assessment”, and “Reflection”.  The students will be instructed to complete one row of activities. The students are still provided with a choice, so the only difference is that I would tell them how to get Tic-Tac-Toe. Another benefit to this modification is being able to challenge the students in certain areas of the activities completed. One row may have a more challenging reflection, but simpler Practice exercise and mid-leveled assessment. These levels of difficulties could be evenly distributive so it is a fair game.

            The category “Assessment” was included in the board game of activities, in order to monitor student progress and the progress of the lesson. In this week’s learning resources, it was mentioned “assessments, overall, provide students and teachers with feedback for learning and effectiveness of the lesson” (Cennamo, Ross, Ertmer, 2009). Providing students will a choice, increases student engagement and confidence (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Integrating Technology into this game board activity helps students to mastery skills, be creative, monitor success in learning, as well as display and communicate their understanding on the content. In addition, it assists teachers in gathering data, monitoring the progress of her students and the lesson, evaluating student performance and understanding, analyzing and organizing data, and communicating her findings (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). As stated before, I have not run into a problem finding information or any of the resources needed to continue to carry out my GAME plan. I am still, however, waiting for my Polyvision board to be fixed. In the meantime, I have been requesting the portable SMARTboard to use, instead.

Jacquelyn Caliente

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom

            use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA:

            Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011b) Assessing Student Learning With

            Technology [Video webcast]. Retrieved from

            https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset