Using a GAME Plan has helped keep me focused over the summer months when it’s easy to put aside professional development and self-improvement! Because monitoring is a built-in part of the plan, it forced me to continue learning and seeking new information. When I came to some road blocks, particularly in the area of collaboration with colleagues, the plan also helped me find new ways to obtain information. As Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) explain, developing GAME Plans is a step towards continued lifelong learning.
I often teach a learning strategies course where goal setting is a topic. Students will be able to use the GAME Plan to identify types of technology they would like to learn and how they plan to master it. They can determine the types of assignments which would lend themselves to different types of media. After they master different technologies, they can focus on their creative use and collaboration using technology. Especially in the upper grades, students need to research and focus on content areas. By having GAME Plans, students will improve their abilities to find information that is relevant to their needs. Students will be able to meet all of the standards set forth in the NETS-S (ISTE, 2007). The most important, I feel, is that students become digital citizens, which will set them up for successful futures using technology.
By teaching students to use this plan, they will become self-sufficient and motivated to learn independently now and in the future. That is an important skill to have, especially because technology is changing and evolving so rapidly. Once one type of technology is learned, another becomes available that has different benefits. The GAME Plan will help students remain of their own learning and always monitoring their own learning in order to go forward. I’d love to teach students to use the GAME Plan method in all areas, not just technology!
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.
National Education Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm
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Sarah -
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea - having your students look at the ISTE standards and having them come up with their own GAME plan! Such a simple idea and yet, I would never have thought of that! Perhaps, I'll have my students look at the state English-Language Arts standards and come up with a GAME plan.
I agree with you that it is important for students to become digital citizens because as they become adults, technology will become a more integral part of their personal and professional lives. Our students need to learn that technology is going to be a huge part of their lives and they not only need to be proficient in using different technologies but also learn how to use them responsibly.
One has to be a lifelong learner when it comes to technology. There are always so many changes that we're constantly learning and re-learning. I think it's good you pointed that out.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteYou sound prepared to go back to school this fall and implement what you have learned from this course into your instruction. Moreover, I think that it is wonderful that you are not only using the GAME plan to help you prepare for your instruction techniques, but also teaching it to your students so they can meet their personal goals towards technology. Your idea about have the students pick a piece of technology that they are unfamiliar with and then have them use the GAME plan strategy is awesome. It prepares them for the real world! :) I wish you the best of luck and I hope that you have a great year to come!
Jessica Juhn
MS Language Arts