Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

As of right now, I do not think I need to modify my plan at all. Currently, in keeping with my goals, I am trying to find a way to incorporate the Mobi tool I recently learned about from our media specialist. I have been searching online for ideas of how to incorporate this tool into instruction, but have had little success. I am assuming because this technology is new, teachers have not had a chance to share their ideas on blogs and so forth.

I have, however, been brainstorming on my own of how to use this tool in the classroom. I was thinking about having students make their own assessments on the Mobi. Perhaps as part of a jigsaw-type assignment, when students are teaching their peers, the final evaluation could include a quick quiz for their peers to demonstrate what they just learned. This may take a lot of preparation on my part to ensure the students know how to create Mobi files, and can use it properly.

Through this experience so far, I have learned that I must become 100% comfortable with using a piece of technology before I expect my students to use it. Sometimes we automatically assume our “digital natives” will catch on quickly, but that is not always the case. I found this out today while working in Microsoft Publisher with a student. We cannot make assumptions about our students’ background knowledge in any sense, whether it is about content we are teaching, or tools we expect them to use in the classroom.

Carrying Out my GAME Plan

As I work towards my goals, I have chosen a class and teacher I want to work with to integrate a UDL approach for instruction. I have already started creating a class profile matrix that helps me outline and visualize the students’ strengths and needs as learners. I need to complete this summary before I can even think about moving forward in choosing technology tools for a lesson.

I still plan to explore certain resources further as I pursue my goals. I have already inquired with our media specialist to find out the technology we have available in our school. I also plan to learn from my Walden colleagues as they also work on integrating technology into their own lessons. I have also subscribed to several educational technology blogs, including http://ilearntechnology.com/ and http://www.freetech4teachers.com/. These resources have been excellent in opening my eyes to various tools that I could incorporate in my lessons.

My next step, after I complete the class profile, will be to identify an upcoming lesson that could be modified to fit the UDL approach. Then, I can use the students’ profiles to determine appropriate tools that will support them in their learning.

GAME Plan

After much self-reflection, I have determined two areas in which I would like to improve when it comes to integrating technology into my teaching. I have decided that I will focus my time and energy on the following International Society for Technology in Education standards (ISTE, 2008):

2c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

3a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations

In order to achieve these goals, I need to take several actions. To accomplish indicator 3a, my first step will be to stay abreast of new educational technology that I can use in my classroom. I plan to read educational blogs and access the expertise of the technology experts in my school system (King-Sears & Evmenova, 2007). This also means I must become familiar and comfortable with using these tools on my own, before even considering their use in my instruction. This leads to indicator 2c, applying technology to meet the diverse needs of my students. If I become an expert on certain tools, I will be able to integrate technology that is best suited to my students’ strengths and needs.

Once I conduct some research and become familiar with the technology, I will approach the educators I co-teach with and get their insights and suggestions into the integration of these tools. Working together, we can determine the best ways of supporting our students with educational technology.

To monitor my growth, I will check my progress weekly. I would like to start researching tools in the first week, and by the second, I should be discussing the options with classroom teachers. My goal is to incorporate new digital tools into one classroom setting per month.

International Society for Technology in Education (2008). National educational technology standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx

King-Sears, M., & Evmenova, A. S. (2007, Sep/Oct). Premises, principles, and processes for integrating TECHnology into instruction. Teaching Exceptional Children, 40(1), 6–14.