Final Reflection

The GAME plan I developed included participating in ongoing professional development opportunities, as well as encouraging student and parent communication through a classroom website. The professional development that I did and will continue to pursue is based on technology integration in the classroom. I want to make sure that I have the most accurate, up to date technology in my classroom. I think by doing this my students will continue to succeed and be excited about learning. As far as the classroom website goes, I have had great success. I have a lot of parents viewing my website and using it as a study tool to help their students.

Through implementing this GAME plan, I have found out that my students really enjoy technology use in the classroom. As I evaluated my students, the assessments I used online or on the computer were much higher than the ones I did with paper and pencil. This tells me that my students were more engaged and were willing to complete the quiz on the computer and were maybe bored with the paper and pencil test. Some of my students have trouble focusing and they get distracted while taking a test on paper and with a pencil, whereas the computer tests are more fun and keep their attention. My continued goal is to offer a variety of assessments as Dr. Ross suggests, so that students have the opportunity to use many different methods of testing (Laureate, 2009).


As a result of this course I feel that I am more confident in incorporating technology into my classroom. I feel that I now have some new knowledge of technology forms of assessment, etc. I look forward to seeing how my students will improve their language arts skills through the use of technology in our classroom.

Resource:


Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program seven. Assessing Student Learning [Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.

My GAME Plan and My Students

From the beginning of this course I have focused on how to involve parents in my classroom through the use of a website, as well as how I can be involved in professional development. I feel that I have made much progress through these goals and my GAME plan. My GAME plan will be used to help my students in many ways. By involving parents in my classroom through our classroom website, I am helping students to have the tools they need to be successful. Students will get used to using technology to help with their homework and skill practice. It will also allow parents to see what is going on in the classroom and be involved in their student’s learning.




In addition to this, I want to attend or be involved in technology professional development opportunities. By doing this, I am helping my students as well because I will be bringing to them what I have learned in these conferences. I want to continue my learning in the area of technology so that I am teaching my students with the most up to date information possible.



Through this process I have been reminded that it is so important to be a reflective teacher. I want to continually reflect upon my teaching and how I can better myself. By doing this, I am doing what is best for my students. I want my students to be 21st century learners and be motivated to learn.



Linzie

GAME Plan Revision

As a fourth grade teacher I have found that my students often struggle with organization. They are quite forgetful and the parents have trouble keeping up with upcoming assignments, projects, and events. By creating a classroom website, I am helping students to improve in this area. If they forget to write something down, chances are that can be found on my website. This also helps parents to be able to keep up with what we are doing in the classroom. Even though it takes a lot of time to update this website, I know that I am providing my students and parents with an online tool that will make a difference in their learning. In addition to daily things such as assignments, etc., I also include websites that are based on the skills we are learning.




In addition to my website goal, I am also working toward a professional development goal. I want to continue my learning as well. I hope to attend a technology conference in the spring that may help me in integrating technology in the classroom. As I strive to meet this goal, I have discussed this with other colleagues as well as my principal. Our school system is providing technology training during an in-service day at the first of the year. This will help me in achieving this goal as well. In our text, I learned that technology “offers a powerful resource for engaging students in authentic experience, typically increasing both their motivation and their learning” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 51). I want to make sure I am learning all that I can in order to engage my students in learning.


References
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.

Game Plan Reflection

I have tried to work toward my game plan goals this week. I have been updated my classroom website to make sure that it is appealing to parents and keeps them updated on what we are doing in the classroom. This is keeping open communication with them, as well as offering various websites that will help their students with the skills we are currently studying.

In addition, I have discussed opportunities for professional development with my principal. I led a technology in-service for teachers in our system this summer, and I plan to continue to do this. I also hope to attend a technology conference in the spring to continue to learn more about incorporating technology in the classroom.


I plan to continue what I am doing in order to meet the needs of my students as well as my game plan goals. I want to make sure that my goals are relevant and I will continue to reflect on that. At this time I do not think I need to change my plan and I do not currently have any questions.

Linzie Humphrey