GAME Plan for Students

In many ways the International Society for Technology in Education standards for teachers naturally support their standards for students so that a teacher who is effectively meeting the standards for teachers will by effect have students who are meeting the standards for students. Standard 1 for both teachers and students relate to each other in this way. The first standard for teachers is to facilitate and inspire creativity and learning in students and the first standard for students is to demonstrate creativity and innovation so it stands to reason that a teacher who is successful in facilitating and inspiring creativity in students will have students who are demonstrating creativity and innovation. For this standard monitoring and evaluating student progress toward this standard for students should then be part of the teacher's GAME plan in meeting this standard for teachers.



Reviewing my original GAME Plan I wrote it for the standard, "design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments", and I chose to "focus on the two performance indicators of design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity, and develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress."



In considering the ISTE-S standards and the GAME Plan strategy I would make several additons to my GAME plan should I have my own classroom again in future. To the Action portion I would add teaching the GAME Plan strategy to students and have them use to create GAME plans to meet their "learning targets". "Learning targets" is a name my school district has given to the supposedly simpler worded translations of our content standards which are presented to students so they know what they expected to learn. I think that by having my students look at their learning targets, develop questions they would need to find the answers to in order to meet their learning targets and then develop GAME plan for achieve this learning, it will effectively allow my students to manage their own learning and assess their own progress. I would also add monitoring and evaluating how well my students are meeting the ISTE-S standards to the Monitoring and Evaluation portions of my GAME plan.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators. Retrieved Dec. 15, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/standards.aspx.

Game Plan Progress

During the past week I have made two primary advances in my game plan. The first involved creating a Problem Based Learning project for my Ecology Unit which incorporates technology, the second involved the observation of an ELMO Document Camera in use in a classroom.

Although ecology is one of the areas of biology that I care about the most, since it is the last unit in my curriculum, it has in the past been probably the least organized, most disjointed, and most rushed unit I have taught. It generally comes down to how many days do I have left to fit this unit into. This is one of the reasons that I chose this unit to focus on building up during my current Walden course. The primary reason I chose to enter the teaching profession is that I believe that in order for us to continue to survive as a species on earth, we need to have an understanding of ecology and how the affect of our actions on the environment can ultimately impact our continued survival. I found it disheartening that I never seemed to have enough time to really be able to teach this properly. Even more disheartening was hearing my students comment that they did not care about learning about ecology because they felt it did not impact them. My hope is that through the problem I provided them to solve and the tasks involved in the PBL project that it will help them realize the importance of ecology and discover how interconnected all organisms and the environment are to each other and how the disappearance of one species can impact other species and find ways in which they can help stop this domino effect. Creating this PBL applies to my GAME plan in that it incorporates technology in a learner centered experience.

Over the past couple of years my school district has started purchasing some ELMO document cameras for classroom use in some classrooms. Last spring they distributed a questionaire to teachers about the devices we had in our classrooms, if we use them, and if we would use them if we had them. They also asked us to provide them with a technology wish list of what equipment we would like for our classrooms (not a guarantee that we would get it, but a tool to help them determine how they might best spend future technology funds for classroom equipment). One of the devices they asked us about was the ELMO. At the time I really did not have much of an idea of exactly what an ELMO was besides a cute, giggly muppet on Sesame Street. For the question, "if you had an ELMO in your classroom would you use it?" I was unable to answer since they only gave us the option of answering "yes" or "no". I found myself wishing I could answer, "maybe I would, if I knew what it was and what it could do". I found myself imagining some bulky, complicated digital camera like contraption attached to a frame to take pictures of items on paper to transfer to a computer. With this in mind I did not think I had a use for it being that I already had a scanner in my classroom. I was more interested in a set of regular digital cameras that my students could use to take photos to upload for inclusion into projects. Today however, I was subbing in a Kindergarten class which has an ELMO. The class aide was teaching many of their lessons using it which allowed me to observe its use. I found that the mental picture I had was incorrect. Rather than scanning and uploading images she was demonstrating to the students how to complete their activity and what she was doing was being projected up on to the screen where they could see it in real time. Somewhat like a transparency projector except it did not require transparent objects or a special marker, she was using the actual objects the students were using and was able to walk them through step by step how to complete their activity. I can think of several ways I could use this in a classroom of my own (demonstrating lab steps for one, including which side of the thermometer to read) and I am sure if I were to have one available in a classroom of my own someday that I could find even more uses for it. Not to mention it was a small, light weight, easy to manuever device.

GAME Plan Progress Update

Given that my GAME plan was primarily written for steps I would take if teaching full time and I am currently in a substitute situation, I have been focusing on gaining insights from other teacher's lessons. This week I began thinking about how I could be more active at doing this other than primarily making passive observations like I had been. This week I happened to get job assignments for the school I taught at full-time previously three days in row subbing for different teachers. All three teachers left lessons dealing with technology for me to do with students. This gave me a better opportunity than usual to investigate technology use in the classroom a little more actively. I was able to chat some with the teachers I subbed for regarding the technology being used. Today I also asked the students to complete a survey for me about what types of technology tools they have used in school projects, what other types of tools they would be interested in using to complete projects and how they feel the technology use has impacted their learning.

Monday I was subbing in a social studies class. The civics class was using an on-line game program that they are "test driving" for the school district. Students were playing a virtual football game and the number of yards they would gain or lose in the game were determined by their answers to review questions and the difficulty of those questions. Since it is a new program being tried out the teacher is not sure yet as to how much it is contributing to student learning, but some of the students were having fun playing it so it does seem as though it would have some contribution to student learning of basic concepts and vocabulary. Tuesday I was co-teaching with a teacher who teaches a computer lab based math class. She was using an on-line math tutoring/practice program with her students. Students were presented with problems to solve and they could click to get hints if they needed them. She told me she is not sure if the program has been improving student test performance though she has seen some increase in test scores, but she said where she has seen the biggest difference is that because the program gives students real world problems to solve, her students have no longer been asking how they would ever use the material in real life. The class I am substituting in today is working on a typical research paper assignment using internet resources. This is also the class who I distributed the surveys to. This teacher's other class today is completing a webquest.

The surveys helped to give me a bigger picture of what tools other teachers have been using and it seems despite our state being part of the 21st Century Learning program, use of web 2.0 tools has been limited. All students responded that they had used Power point, many had used blogs, only a few had used wiki's and message board discussions. None of the students indicated that they had used digital concept mapping, digital story boards, voice threads, or podcasts. Some of the students were asking me what these were. Many of them indicated interest in using digital story boards, blogs, virtual field trips and podcasts. A couple indicated interest in using their cell phones in learning. One mentioned using cell phones to access the internet in a classroom with a limited number of computers. Another student said he would like it if teachers sent out homework assignment instructions and due date reminders to student cell phones via text messaging. Several students felt that technology which allowed them to view each other's projects and provide each other with feedback would be beneficial for their learning.

Actively seeking feedback from the teachers using the technology as well as from students regarding the technology they were using in their classes added an additonal element that is hard for me to gain from only being in the classrooms temporarily. It would also be helpful if I could find some teachers using more web 2.0 tools to find out how they are using them and gain feedback from them and their students as to their impact on student learning and motivation.

GAME Plan Progress

At this point progress on my GAME plan is limited because I am substitute teaching instead of teaching full-time. Because of this I am not in a very good position to try out new activities and technology with my students and evaluate who effective they are. It also does not help that my district has this entire week off from school.

There are a few areas where I am making some gains. For the purpose of my Walden assignments I have been revisiting some of the lesson plans I have used in the past when I was teaching full-time and revising them to incorporate some of the new technology tools I am learning to use to make them more effective and more learner centered. Through substitute teaching I have also been learning about activities and technology other teachers in my district are using and have been able to see how effective some of these activities are in engaging and motivating students. During my 4th grade substitute experience on Friday I learned about the everyday mathematics games web site which students were excited to use. Students were also excited to share their creative writing stories with each other and to hear each other's stories. These stories were hand written on paper, but the assignment could have been easily turned into a multi-media project which the students would have probably really enjoyed making and viewing.

My action plan would probably be great if I was teaching in a full-time position currently. Though I think modifying it for substitute teaching would be difficult since I am using the lesson plans of other teachers in their classrooms, I am generally only there for a day or two, and usually do not know ahead of time what I will be teaching. Even when I do know what I will be teaching ahead of time, I am usually teaching out of subject area so do not have the background knowledge about the curriculum I would need to create effective learning experiences for that particular class.

GAME Plan Resources and progress

My primary resource will be the internet. Through internet sources I can locate acitivities devleoped by many other teachers that I could use as is, adapt, or gain ideas from.

There are also many people within the district who I can consult. I can collaborate with other teachers in the building both who teach in my subject area or use technology tools I am interested in incorporating. My district also generally provides one or two technology training sessions each year in which they bring together all the teachers who teach the same subject area together to focus on learning to use new devices the district has purchased for us and collaborate on activities we can use those devices for in our subject area (last year it was Smartboards, the year before last it was LabQuests). A lot of my teacher resources also have on-line activities and links to various multi-media sources as well as activity ideas. The district also has a technology integration specialist, curriculum specialists and most of the schools have teams of teachers which serve as a technology integration team for the building.

The knowledge and practice I am gaining through my Walden experiences will also provide me with a good working knowledge of many free web tools available and confidence in using them to develop my own activity and lesson ideas.

Given that I am currently not teaching full-time but am substitute teaching instead, my progress towards my game plan has been primarily limited to the knowledge and practice I am gaining through my Walden experiences. Although I have been seeing and using lesson plans created by other teachers. Generally these lesson plans aren't typical because they are plans left for a substitute to follow but the experience is providing me with exposure to some of the activities other teachers are using in different subjects and grade levels including some being used in special education classes and alternative schools. I am also getting to know many different teachers through out the school district who could serve as resources for me.

My GAME Plan

One National Educational Technology Standard for teachers (NETS-T) I would like to improve my confidence and proficiency in is design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments. To do this I will focus on the two performance indicators of design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity, and develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.

My GAME plan to achieve this is as follows:

Goals
Develop a learner centered classroom experience for my students in which technology tools are utilized to maximize learning and creativity.

Actions
Conduct internet searches to find learner centered activities, use my own creativity and knowledge of technology tools and subject matter to develop my own learner centered activities, and adapt and revise activities I already utilize in my classroom to make them more learner centered and enhance them with technology.

Monitoring
Track how much time I am devoting to teacher centered activities as opposed to student centered activities. Observe how my students are responding to the activities and the technology.

Evaluate and Extend
Determine what activities are working well and where students may be having difficulties. Adjust the activity directions or amount of instruction on the use of the technology tools to further increase student success.



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.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4318222715905215475

Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology Course Reflections

After completing this course my personal learning theory involves a combination of behaviorist, cognitive, constructionist, and social learning theories. I believe they all play a role in learning. Behaviorism is the basis for motivation to learn. For a learner to have a desire to learn it needs to be rewarding to them in some way. Cognitism describes how as new knowledge is gained it is processed and organized into schemas the are developed based on our individual experiences which help us create understanding and meaning out of that knew knowledge. Constructionism is the creation of experiences with the new knowledge and the processing of that knowledge through building artifacts to represent the knowledge. Through these experiences and building processes knowledge is processed in many in depth and meaningful ways that help to make it memorable. Learning through socialism allows the learner to share their ideas about the knowledge and gain other's perspectives on them. Social learning also helps us process and reflect on the knowledge as it pertains to our society and to develop a common knowledge to help us further the collective knowledge of our society.

One change I plan to make to my instructional practices include finding more ways to include constructionism in my classroom. I want to make my classroom more student centered by decreasing the amount of time I am feeding information to my students and increasing the amount of time my students are physically manipulating that information in building that information into projects. One technology tool I learned about in this course that I would like to use for this is the building of concept maps. I would also like to use more virtual lab and field trip experiences than what I currently use to create more complete and meaningful experiences for my students.

To pursue my goal of increasing constructionism in my instruction, I plan to include at least one technology project for every unit I teach. The projects may include putting together power point reports, constructing concept maps, wiki projects, or creating a pod-cast.

To pursue my goal of increasing the number of virtual experiences I provide my students, I plan to use web searches to locate one additional on-line virtual experience each school term for each course I teach.

Generating and Testing Hypotheses and Constructivist/Constructionist Learning

As a science teacher, I am very familiar of the process of generating and testing hypotheses. During this process predictions are made based on prior knowledge, these predictions are then tested and data is gathered and analyzed to determine if the original ideas are supported or not, and these ideas are then modified to accomodate the new knowledge gained.

Generating and testing hypotheses is an example of constructionist learning because knowledge is being built and remodeled. Dr. Orey describes constructionist learning as knowledge being assimilated and accomodated into schemas (Laureate, 2009). Hypotheses are generated based on the knowledge already present in the learner's personal schema. When the hypotheses are tested the new knowledge being gained may or may not fit into the schema and is accomodated by adding to that schema, adjusting that schema, or developing a new schema.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. DVD.

Virtual Field Trips, Concept Maps, and Cognitive Learning Theory

As described by Dr. Orey, cognitive learning theory has to do with how information is processed by and stored in the brain. For learning to occur information has to be taken into short term memory and ingrained into long term memory which requires practice and repetition. Information can be stored in long term memory as declarative information, procedural information, and episodic information. The strongest memories are procedural and episodic. (Laureate, 2009).

Virtual field trips and concept mapping tools are a few tools that can be used to increase learning. They require the learner to use the declarative information they have recieved in procedural and episodic learning rather than just learn it declaratively through repetition. Virtual field trips may not be as good as an actual field trip to experience and interact with the knowledge, but can be very useful when the logistics of taking an actual field trip can not be met. Virtual field trips can allow the learner to actually experience what is going on which applies to episodic learning. Creating concept maps are useful in helping the learner to interconnect the information they are learning thereby increasing the ways the information can be recalled. They also have to think about the information more critically and it becomes intertwined with the procedure of linking it in a concept map.


Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. DVD.

Behavioral Learning Theory

Dr. Orey describes behaviorism as being as certain behaviors being enforced through reward and others being discouraged through punishment (Laureate, 2009). As a teacher I would like my students to be intrinsically motivated by the reward of learning rather extrinsic motivation by being given a grade or prize for completing a learning activity. I have found this challenging as many of my students tend to be concerned about their grade, but not concerned so much about learning the material. It is hard to motivate them to complete an assignment for the learning aspect without awarding points for the assignment and have it contribute directly to their grade.

Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski make the generalization that students do not always realize the importance of effort in learning and recomend teaching this to students. They suggest doing this by having students keep track of the amount of effort they put into learning activities such as taking, organizing, and using class notes, class participation, and homework assignments as well as test scores, and charting the results so that they can see how their effort corresponds with their achievment. (2007).

The strategy of teaching students the importance of effort in their learning correlates with behavioral learning because the students learn that putting effort into the assigned learning activities provides the reward of learning and doing well on the test.


Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. DVD.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Denver, CO: McREL.