Developing Your Personal Game Plan

Just as our students need to continue to learn new content everyday, we too as educators need to do the same. The GAME plan “requires you to think about and take steps to direct your learning process, specifically while learning about technology and how to integrate it into the curriculum” (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 3). Overall, I have always felt very comfortable with technology since I grew up in the beginnings of the technology era. With that being said, I still feel like I have a lot of work to do with many of my lessons to integrate technology and make my lessons more interesting and engaging for my students as much as possible.

While looking at the National Education Standards for Teachers in regards to technology, there were two areas that I would like to work on in order to provide my students with the best possible education. One goal that I have for myself is in working with the Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments standard (NEST-T, 2008). I would like to take enhance my lessons and my students’ learning experiences through the use of digital tools and resources. The second goal that I have for myself is in working with the Engaging in Professional Growth and Leadership standard (NEST-T, 2008). I would like to attend more technology conferences and learn about the new technologies that continue to arise and ways that I can incorporate it into my classroom. With that, I would also like to start presenting my findings during our share sessions at school so that my colleagues can be informed as well.

In order to achieve these goals, I must have a plan of action in place. I can begin designing and developing digital age learning experiences for my students by taking a look at my lessons one at a time and collaborating with my colleagues to enhance lessons and eventually units. This could take a lot of time and effort on my part, but if I work on it little by little, I would have several lessons that have been improved through the use of technology. I can also begin looking into local conferences around my county as well as online videoconferences to continue learning about the latest technologies that will enhance my lessons. I need to talk to my head master ahead of time, to schedule a share session twice year to provide information to my colleagues as well.

Once I have set my plan into action, it is important to always monitor whether I am making progress on these goals and find ways that I would need to improve if I am not finding the information that I need. It is important to be sure that I am not centering my lessons around the technology, but that I am using it to enhance my lessons. My first goal can be a large one to tackle so I need to be specific in how many lessons a semester I plan on evaluating.

As with any lesson, I must evaluate and reflect on my progress to be sure goals have been met and how I can change things for the future to correct any problems. The best way for me to do this is through my students’ reactions and knowledge learned from lessons that I have enhanced. Even asking feedback from them would give me an idea of what I can improve upon next time. Continuing to be a life-long learner myself will help me create more active and engaging for my students and keep my lessons current. Technology is a great tool that we can use to help bring our students to a better understanding of the skills that we present to them on a daily basis.

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). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers  

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology: Part 2. Baltimore, MD: Author.