MY GAME PLAN

MY GAME PLAN

Just as our students have learning goals and progress reports, teachers need to have goals that will make them stronger, smarter and better teachers. Professional development, independent learning through college courses, seminars or conferences, and collaboration with colleagues are just a few of the ways we can do that. The International Society for Technology in Education has set forth standards for teachers and standards for students giving both inspiration for setting goals. I have developed a GAME plan to reach my goals for two areas: student learning and designing and developing learning experiences and assessments.

My game plan is ambitious and somewhat out of my comfort zone but it is what I feel I need to do to become a better teacher for our digital natives. I chose ISTE Standard 1 and Standard 2. I do not know that I feel confident in the other standards but I feel compelled to focus on these standards first.

My goal for Standard 1, facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, is to create lessons that mirror real-world issues. We are reminded that students need to be prepared for real-world issues when they leave our classrooms and it seems logical that students could learn how to do this best by “hands on” experience. I need to effectively guide students as they use technology resources to solve an authentic problem. To reach this goal, I will encourage students to do some of their research at home or at the public library if they do not have internet access at home. Progress will be monitored by observing students as they become better researchers and problem solvers. They will be more confident while working on their own and will need less guidance with each lesson. Students will also become more creative and innovative in their abilities to problem solve. Another goal I have is to prepare a proposal for our IT department on the reasons why our students need less internet restrictions when on the school computers. Teaching students to work creatively using technology and preparing them for their future outside of school requires access to the programs available to help them as well as access to the world outside their community.

My goal for Standard 2, design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments, is to continue my classes at Walden University. I have learned a great deal about technology requirements for today’s classroom. Before my classes I thought if students were going to the computer lab once a week, they were getting all the exposure to technology they needed. I was unaware of the many uses for podcasts, digital storytelling, blogging, and wikis. I now think about these tools when considering a lesson but am unable to act upon the lesson ideas because of our restricted access. Again, I will push for these programs to be allowed by presenting the many benefits to our students. My progress will be measured by the results of my push. If I can get access to even one of these programs, I will consider that progress. My learning can be extended by collaborating with colleagues in other districts that have been using these tools and can share lesson ideas I can incorporate into my curriculum. I would also like to become more skilled at using technology to adapt for different learning styles and modalities. I will look into conferences in the area offering classes that could help me. My progress will be measured by the programs I learn to use that will help me develop more diverse lessons.

My hope is to accomplish these goals by the end of the calendar year. Technology quickly changes and I do not believe it is possible to learn it all before it becomes the “new and improved” version. However, developing a strong foundation in technology will make it easier to learn new things when they come along.