Using the GAME Plan Process with Students:

As I look at the National Education Standards for Students (NETS-S) and think about the students that I work with each day, I am struck by the fact that the “standards” seem to be more than a little lofty. I understand that they are intended to be adjustable to grade level appropriate expectations, but most of my students are a very long way from beginning to understand what they even mean, let alone actually begin to meet them.

It seems the place to start though would be to make the standards known. We cannot work toward meeting a standard that we are not aware of. I can see my students helping me to go through the NETS-S and determining what each standard might look like for a sixth grader. We might go through the standards together and find some that we think are achievable to whatever degree we agreed was reasonable for our grade level. Of course, the GAME Plan would need to be explicitly taught if my students were to be expected to employ its use in working toward meeting the NETS-S.

The last thought that I have is one that I’m not sure that I have my mind completely around. I have been easing into the use of a wiki in my classes. We have done a few little things here and there. Some students have taken to it while some resist and would rather use a more traditional approach with paper and pencil. Having students use the wiki to collaborate to set and monitor the goals somehow… I’m not exactly how.

Anyway, I had my post observation meeting for the formal part of the professional development review this afternoon. I used the text on audio, a cloze activity for the chapter notes, and “clickers” to guide some of the class discussion. The principal and the school in general, come from a technology “poor” perspective. Most teachers on campus use very little technology in their daily classroom instruction. The words “impressive” and “exciting” actually made it into the formal paperwork. Most importantly, the principal now has a first-hand observer point of view regarding the use of things she had never seen before. I am certain that I will be called upon to share with the entire staff at some point a few of the things that I am doing with technology in my classroom. My GAME Plan continues to develop.

Revising My GAME Plan:

Wow, I can’t believe that I didn’t post this by Wednesday. I was “checking back” to see what comments had been made, only to find that I had not made an initial comment. I know that life has been busy, and my friends would give me a hard time saying that I am getting old, but I could have sworn that I did this on time.

I am really struggling with the problem-based learning project. One of the goals that I had was to come up with a lesson or unit that combined a real world problem with the use of technology. I feel that I lack the creativity to develop this type of thing. Most of the projects and units that I now use were created by others and adapted to fit my style. That was one of the reasons that I chose this as an area of weakness, and one that I needed to work on. I am not teaching math or science, and these curricular areas seem to lend themselves to this type of approach. I did finally think of something that I might be able to develop. Many of my students are complaining about the food in the cafeteria. It is not a little problem. The recent push for good nutrition has left the menu seeming bland and tasteless. My thinking is still in the infancy stage, but something that would include research on school menus and nutrition, as well as cost and perhaps local solutions for produce. A presentation that would include a technology component using presentation software and a persuasive essay or speech to satisfy the connection the curriculum that I am required to teach.

I have made excellent progress on the other goal of taking a leadership role on my campus in the area of technology. Not much left to do there really. I will continue to make myself available to those on my staff who wish to make a foray into the world of integrating technology into their instruction.

I might take a look at the promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility standard for teachers next. As I have increased the amount of technology in my classroom, and students have had more opportunities, the issues of etiquette and responsible social interactions have become a greater problem. My attempts to address the issues have been largely reactive and unplanned. A proactive, planned approach would be more effective, but it would also require taking the time to systematically create lessons to address each area of concern.

Evaluating the GAME Plan:

I have gone from the new sixth grade teacher that nobody really knows to the tech guru that everybody runs to with their questions. It only took about two weeks. I am not in a place where I am changing the way that technology is used to instruct or reinforce student learning yet, but I am in a better position to be a leader on the campus in that area.

Two teachers that had missed our meeting the other day approached me and asked if I would be around to help them with their surveys. They came after school yesterday and we got everything finished up and submitted. Lots of “thank-you” and “I couldn’t have done it without you” type of comments. I don’t think that I really helped much, and they could have done it on their own, but it was a little easier and they had the comfort of having someone right there to answer any questions they might have.

I am still working on the activity exploring real-world problems using digital tools and resources. Time is still an issue. Too many things keep coming up. That list of things seems to get longer each day, and it is a chore to prioritize the things that must be done first. Maybe everything will settle down in June.