The GAME plan process of setting goals, taking action, monitoring learning, and evaluating and extending learning it is apparent that these strategies focus on providing learning opportunities that are meaningful and life long. An educator’s job is not just to teach specific skills, but to teach students how to learn skills that allow them to take charge of their own learning (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009a). By incorporating these ideas with the use of technology, problem based learning projects, and cross content structures students can be engaged, motivated, and successful.
In my personal GAME plan I learned how beneficial it was to incorporate technology tools such as web quests and concept mapping, along with collaborative tools like Google Docs and Epals, all while applying digital storytelling to serve as an instructive, evaluative, or sharing of works cumulative learning experience. These new methods I feel will influence my instructional practice by adding more creative, authentic, and collaborative activities and lessons that will reach more of my students, and the ways in which they prefer to learn. Collaborative work has show tremendous academic and social gains, helping students see multiple perspectives, and differing ways to solve a problem, or approach a task (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009b). Due to the progress of my plan I intend to add more problem based learning activities to my curriculum. I see myself modifying the GAME plan so that I am not the only one using it to plan instruction, but so that my students can use it to guide their own learning, and make academic choices. Teachers are not just the providers of information, but the facilitators, monitors, and meaning makers (Prensky, 2008).
Immediate adjustments I plan to make to my instructional practice regarding technology integration in the content areas are to start implementing some of the tools I have learned from this course. I would like to use problem based learning to guide the use of web quests to provide a deeper understanding of the standards and skills that are essential. Through the use of online collaboration I would like to have my students learn form other students, teach other students, learn about different cultures, share their ideas, build projects together, and reflect with their peers. With the use of digital storytelling I plan to have students use the different genres of writing that we are using to practice writing, speaking, and listening skills. I would also like to incorporate lessons in social studies where students become documentary historians, in science where they become scientists that explain phenomenon, and in art where students create art galleries that help other students as well as themselves obtain a deeper understanding of the pieces and time periods we are studying.
Technology can be used throughout subjects and content to find problems, resources, as management or organizational tools, to create student engagement, and provide authentic learning experiences (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). These tools and strategies allow for more open-ended activities and learning. Providing GAME plans, problem based learning, additive technology tools, online collaboration, and digital storytelling enhances both the academic and social experiences for students.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009a). Technology for meaningful classroom use:
A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed). Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009b). Technology for meaningful classroom use:
A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed). Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the
content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.
Retrieved from the Academic Search Complete database.
