EDUC 6714 Reflection

Until I have secured a permanent teaching job, I will be simply bookmarking the resources that have been posted on our social network because I have little material to manipulate using the resources. Once I have a permanent teaching position, I will be using the resources to evaluate the various learning styles that my students have and also to create lessons and activities that accommodate all students no matter what their learning style or interest survey indicates about their learning.

I have decided to work on integrating technology into various lessons that I do have. Until I have a more specific curriculum to look at and to integrate, this task seems quite difficult. I cannot really do much more with the resources that I now have except to make sure that I file them in a place where I can access them easily in the future.

GAME Plan Reflection

As I look back and think about the progress I made on my GAME plan throughout this class, I am amazed at how easy (yet time consuming) the process is. I developed a plan where I set goals to incorporate a bigger variety of activities into my lessons to incorporate students' learning styles and also to network with other teachers to share ideas that incorporate technology in the classroom. Although my progress seemed to be stalled at first because I was not sure what direction to move in (due to the lack of a full time teaching job) I finally decided to modify my plan and find general resources for students of all ages. I also was able to begin communication with teachers in my area who were interested in sharing ideas that they had for technology within a community of teachers.

One thing that I learned in this process is that other teachers are the key to finding good resources. Also, knowing how to search for reliable and worthwhile resources is also very important because otherwise a lot of time will be wasted looking for resources. I also learned that the GAME plan process can be very beneficial to use in the classroom and not just for teachers, but for the students as well. It gives the students a pathway for setting and completing goals that is easy to follow. I will definitely be using this process with future students!

I am going to continue working on my goals until I have a classroom where I can apply what I have learned and what I have found through this process.

Using the GAME Plan with Students

After working with the GAME plan process over the past few weeks I think that it would be very beneficial for students to use this process in the classroom. The steps are clearly outlined and should be quite easy for the students to follow. The first couple of times that I use the GAME plan with students I think that we should set goals and complete them as a class so that they students can get used to the process. I believe that after we complete a couple goals together, the students will be able set up and use the GAME plan process individually with little guidance.

GAME Plan Revision

Sorry for the delay in this post. The past week has been very stressful as I was attending family functions and calling hours/funeral for my grandma. Anyway, hopefully I will be getting back on track now.

I have learned that there are a lot of resources on the Internet that are both very helpful and a waste of time. It has been quite time consuming weeding through the various resources that could be used in the classroom. I have also learned that teachers in my area are more than willing to collaborate and share what resources they have. I am still working on organizing the resources that I have collected.

I am not going to be setting any new goals for myself at this time, although once I have been placed in a classroom full time I am sure that I will take a new look at the NETS-T standards and decide the best route I should take. I am going to continue collecting resources and organize the resources that I do have.

Evaluating my GAME Plan

• How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?

I have successfully connected with a few teachers in my area that are interested in sharing resources and information about integrating technology. We have been in communication through email over the past few days and are looking forward to expanding our circle. I have also begun looking for resources that could be used in my classroom. I currently have these resources saved under my Favorites list until I can decide how exactly I want to share and organize them.

• What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?

Through communicating with other teachers, I have learned that there are teachers close by that are interested in not only sharing resources, but also in networking our classes (my future class). This is an idea that I have never really thought about too much, but would be interesting to follow up on. Given the opportunity, I believe that it would be beneficial to all involved to network classes and work together on a project or activity.

• What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?

I still need to decide what the best way to organize/share my technology resources is. I am not sure if I should post them in a blog, on a wiki, or some other website. Any ideas?

• How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?

I adjusted my plan last week to fit my current need of simply searching for resources and not actually apply them yet. I don't think that it needs to be adjusted at this time.

GAME Plan Progress

I have decided to slightly adjust my GAME plan. Instead of looking for ways to adjust my teaching to fit my students' various learning styles, I will look for resources and begin a collection of websites, articles, and lesson plans that I could use with my students when I have my own classroom. Because I am able to teach any age, I will look at sites that are not age specific, but I will also look at a variety of resources that are age specific. I would like to create a location where I can keep all of the resources in one place (this blog would even work for that, but I haven't figured that part out yet) and organized so that they are easy to access for myself and anyone who is interested.

I am still interested in communicating with other teachers about technology related issues. I am working on contacting teachers in my area that would be interested in this. Some have asked if this networking would be for teachers and their students to join myself and my class on projects, but at this point I am simply interested in sharing ideas and resources with other teachers. In the future I do believe that it would be beneficial to network with classes, but not at this time.

Beginning the GAME Plan

Until I have a full time position, it is difficult to work towards my goal of incorporating more activities that teach to the students' learning styles. However, I am collecting resources to use when I am able to work on this goal. I have started collecting websites and information that will be helpful to me when looking at my lessons and how to adapt them to my students.

I have begun working towards my other goal of networking with other teachers in my area. I have started to locate teachers who I have worked with to see if any of them would be interested in joining a network that would be centered around technology.

I have received a few sources already for different ways to look at my students' learning styles, but I am always interested in other sources as well. As for networking, I am trying to figure out the best way to complete this goal and what would be the most efficient way to communicate with other teachers.