GAME Planning: Process, Actions and Outcomes

Effectively and appropriately integrating technology in the content areas I teach is the impetus behind this course, in fact the whole reason I decided to take this Master’s degree in the first place.  This particular course, focusing as it does on applying what we have learned to specific lessons, was of great value to me. Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer’s (2009, p. 3) GAME plan, originally developed to spur and guide self-directed learning, was especially useful as a framework for lesson planning in this context. In fact, I plan to show it to my principal as an alternative to the current template we use for planning.

There were two parts to my original GAME plan. In my “A” GAME, I planned to look for ways to match technologies to the specific diversities of my students, using the technology to both engage them and motivate them while supporting their differences.  This was based on  NETS-T 2.c. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning (International Society for Technology in Education, 2012). In order to accomplish this, I decided that I needed to explore more of the technology that is available, both through consulting experts within my system and also through investigating more possibilities online. Monitoring both the time this took, and the feasibility of each resource, was critical to this plan. I then considered which of those resources to implement, finally evaluating the success of each. One thing that made this particular plan much easier was the implementation of the “daily tech-out” posted by our professor, Dr. Lebeau. In fact, I will be suggesting a similar activity (maybe once a week) for our IT coordinator next year, and plan on trying something similar for Science myself.  I feel I have become much more knowledgeable about the possibilities – while at the same time realizing just how far I still have to go! This is truly a never-ending process.

My “B” GAME plan was connected to the above; based on NETS-T 5.a. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership (International Society for Technology in Education, 2012), I planned on participating more in “global learning communities” such as the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics). Using these resources to help locate activities was extremely helpful to me as I tried to connect the various components we zeroed in on in this course. From digital storytelling to problem-based learning, from collaboration online to authentic assessment, each puzzle piece needed its own level of understanding as well as its own resources. November (2008, p. 2) states our learners “deserve our thoughtful and balanced approach to tapping the Web for their learning. They need us to be role models.” This is critical to the success of my instruction using technology.

With increased participation as my plan B evaluation, and increased student motivation and retention of content as my plan A evaluation, it is clear to me that I have made progress in my ability to effectively and appropriately integrate technology in the classes I teach. In addition, use of the GAME plan aided my ability to monitor the lessons I taught using it; the reflection piece being an invaluable component of this.  As Cennamo et al remind us, “you should critically evaluate lessons that incorporate digital technologies in order to make them more effective in the future” (2009, p. 104) . Dr. Abrams also reminds us not to “mistake activity for achievement” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).

          I can see myself using the GAME plan with my students in order to help them manage larger projects. For example, creating a digital story as I planned for Lesson Three of my Unit could easily turn into, as Abrams puts it, “a black hole of time” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Using the GAME plan may help my learners to better manage the components of the activity and to stay focused not only on the goal, but on how they are going to get there.

          As for my instructional practice, I have certainly added to my repertoire in terms of the kinds of technology I have tried with my class. In this course, I wove together some science content standards along with some of the I.T. standards. This was a perfect end-of-year activity as it marked the start of our hurricane season and brought in some weather-related concepts that, while not part of our curriculum, are important for life in Bermuda. I also was able to build on some of the inquiry-based learning we carried out earlier in the year. I did all of this using activities I found using my GAME plan, all brand-new to me.  While I have certainly used problem-based learning, digital storytelling, and blog posts before, using them all as part of one unit was new to me, as was expanding to include online collaboration as part of the process. I have, in particular, great plans for the kidlinks site I joined for the new school year.

          I have enjoyed not only the process of working through this GAME plan process, but doing it with my colleagues at Walden. Between our weekly discussion posts and the helpful comments that were added to my GAME plan posts, I feel that the support of this group of colleagues definitely added to my experience. Among other things, Jennifer (thanks, Jennifer!) gave me a great idea for developing my final lesson, the digital storytelling one, into a piece where my learners take the interview information, melding it with story-type features to create a story telling about that family’s hurricane experience. That would add a whole other level to the interview I’d imagined.

References.

 

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use. Mason: Centage Learning.

Fisher, J. (2013) Multi-Cultural Calendar. Retrieved from Kidlink June 2013: http://www.kidlink.org/drupal/MCC

International Society for Technology in Education. (2012). Nets for Teachers. Retrieved from Nets: http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.

November, A. (2008). Web Literacy for Educators. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.