Marielle Staropoli

When it comes to my GAME plan, I have been very fortunate in terms of finding resources. This has to do with the fact that when I created my plan, I made an effort to choose goals that were new, but attainable, and to use resources that I might need to specifically seek out, but that I would ultimately be able to find. At this point, there are no major changes that I need to make to my action plan. There are, however, small steps or pieces of more specific information that I had not originally anticipated being a part of my plan.

For example, initially I stated that I would need to review my unit plans and try to determine where technology would benefit instruction. Since, I have determined that I will use Edmodo to administer group discussions. To plan for this, I met with one of the teachers on my grade level team. She uses Edmodo regularly, so I am fortunate in that my students are already well-versed in the technicalities like logging in and using their group code, as well as some of the online etiquette components that I briefly addressed in my last post. To remain uniform with what students already know, I will obtain my teammate’s rubrics and instructions, altering them slightly to fit my needs, but staying as close to her version as possible.

The other commitment I made is to begin supplementing my instruction with tutorials and videos that I am able to find online. In terms of gathering videos for use in the flipped classroom model, I have begun collecting links in a single document. I write a brief description of each link for my own records. My next step that I had not originally considered is how my students will gain access to these links. I will be able to post links directly on Edmodo, which will allow my students to participate both in their discussions and their out of class learning on a single site. For now, I will not require my students to access these videos in lieu of a traditional classroom lesson. Instead, these videos will serve as supplements to what students already worked on or have learned about in class. Eventually, I would like students to access these videos in place of a lesson, saving classroom time for practice implementing the lesson’s content.

Worth mentioning, as well, is my commitment to using the tools that are available on the computer to aid student understanding. While this might seem obvious, it actually does require me to make a concerted effort to direct students towards these tools. Quite often, students will ask me questions such as “How do you spell…?” or “What size font am I supposed to use for MLA?” and ordinarily, I would just give them an answer. Now, my response has become, “You are on a computer, you can very easily find that out for yourself, do you know how?” The majority of students do, but are not accustomed to having the freedom to open another tab and visit a dictionary website or to google something they need answered.

Utilizing the tools available works well for the general population of learners, but it is also beneficial to my exceptional learners. Rather than waiting until the moment in need to direct a student  to a useful tool, I have committed to planning ahead of time where in my lessons these tools fit in and which students (for the most part) will benefit from their implementation. I will do this by revisiting the data I have collected about my students (I have formative assessment data that I collect regularly as well as data from several baseline assessments I administered at the start of the school year). Though I have already familiarized myself with the required elements of my students’ IEPs, I will need to revisit the  IEPs in order to determine whether there are any resources available to me or adaptations that I could make to the computers that would be conducive to student learning (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). By planning how and when I will use assistive technology, I am implementing Universal Design for Learning (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).

As I continue working towards my GAME plan, I have learned the importance of trying to think through the long term plausibility of a goal and the fact that unexpected changes are almost guaranteed to happen. Though I feel confident that I will be able to achieve my technology-related goals, it is reassuring to know that the goals I have selected can be supported by my colleagues at school and peers at Walden. I have already learned a great deal from the conversations I share with my Walden classmates, and it has been useful to collaborate with my team member on something instruction related (unfortunately, the bulk of our conversations do not focus on student learning or effective strategies, but instead on student behavior/concerns). As we continue to have these conversations, and my comfort level with certain technologies and practices increases,  I look forward to setting new goals for growth.

Reference

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.