Revising My GAME Plan

Throughout this class the use of a GAME plan has defined our actions and our classroom learning. So far I have created the GAME plan while putting it into action, refining and evaluating my work along the way. This post looks at the possibility of refining my GAME plan and changing my goals in preparation for a new direction and thus a new plan.

I would say that one of the main things I have learned is there is a definite need to have a solid, well established GAME plan in order to reach your established goals (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). When I began looking at my goals I thought my GAME plan would easily allow me to reach them successfully in a few weeks. I have found however, that my initial GAME plan may have been too broad as it did not seem to define exactly where I wanted to go. I knew that I wanted to include technology in the form of multimedia and primary sources but did not initially know where to start. Overall, I feel that I needed to put more thought into my GAME plan specifically with how I wanted to accomplish my goals. When I use this strategy again, I feel I will spend more time on this section which in turn may help me to reach my goals easier.

Also, I have found ways that the Internet can be of use in my classroom. I have always used this tool but in a very basic format, often bringing movies and photos into my lessons. It seems that in the past I have neglected opportunities to bring different ways of teaching and manipulating the material that can be accomplished by using the school computers and the Internet. I have found that bringing the students into a virtual fieldtrip is an easy way to accommodate technology usage into my classroom while using my lessons as a starting point for my work (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). For me this has been successful with bringing the students into the material. I found success with this method by creating a Podcast that played along with photos and movies clips to display information about the time of the black plague. This is a fairly interesting topic to begin with, but the photos and sounds really brought the information to life.

Upon further reflection, at this point I really do not want to set new learning goals but rather I will extend the goals that I have already begun to use in my class. I have begun to look at ways that technology can be used in my classroom and would like to continue in this direction, pushing the boundary of what is actually possible given my current classroom situation. I feel as though I have only begun to scratch the surface, identifying ways to use multimedia found on the Internet to enrich the learning experience. I have found excellent websites that provide primary sources in the form of audio clips, videos and pictures and would like to use these in more of my lessons to augment what the students are reading in their books and finding on their own. Once I feel that I have reached this specific goal I will then expand my examination of this topic, creating a new GAME plan to accommodate my goals. As we know the last step of the GAME plan is to evaluate and expand your progress with your goals (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). Although I am at this point, I still feel there is much work to be done before I can move onto a new topic.

Lastly, I think that in the future I will not be as hesitant to try new methods of teaching and learning in my classroom. I often approach new methods carefully examining each minute detail before and during implementation both in my classroom and in my own work. Although this is an excellent trait to have and beneficial in many cases, it seems to hinder my success as I often change and implement strategies in a minimal way as to not destroy what is working in the classroom. I feel that if I am able to really dig into the material without fear of failure I can really begin to benefit my students and provide even stronger lessons than I am already completing. The few lessons I have completely redone have worked successfully and have built my confidence to trying new methods of instruction in the classroom. I think at this point I really need to continue to add new strategies and take chances that may pay off exponentially for my students.

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful
classroom use: A standards-based approach. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.