Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress

Throughout the coursework in my current Walden University class, we have been developing a GAME plan. According to Dr. Katherine Cennamo, in order to be effective at achieving a desired learning goal, self-directed learners must first establish a GAME plan. A GAME plan consists of the following areas: G.oals, A.ctions, M.onitoring your actions, and finally E.valuating how effective your actions have been towards meeting your goals (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). There are two areas that I have chosen to focus on for my GAME plan. The first area has to do with the area of communication. In order to effectively communicate with my students and their families, I have been working on constructing a class website. The second area of my GAME plan that I have been working on has to do with developing the leadership and technology skills of others. I am specifically working on a technology called the eBeam.

I am currently working on finding both the information and resources I will need to be successful with my initial GAME plan. For my class website, I currently downloaded my school district’s SWIFT website instructions for creating a class website. I am also utilizing a lot of the support from a fellow teaching colleague who is currently our building’s technology specialist. This teacher has already created her own website, so I have been turning to her website for examples of what types of information to add on my website.

For my second area of focus, I have continued to explore different options for effectively using the eBeam in an elementary classroom. I have had a few issues with proper connectivity and collaboration with the tool on my whiteboard. In order to remedy this situation, I turned to my building administrator for support. Within just a couple of days, he had a district contractor in my class to help construct a custom designed board that we placed above my whiteboard. This seemed to help level out the whiteboard and wall so the projection would have a level plane surface. I am still experiencing a few technical issues, but it has been working much more effectively within the last couple of weeks.

Overall, I do not see any reasons for modifying my initial GAME plan. Within each of the two areas of focus that I started working on, I have been able to make significant progress and am pleased with the changes this plan has already added to my teaching experience and classroom. The work that I have completed so far has provided me with further insight as to how teachers can working in today’s classrooms can effectively use technology to increase both students’ skills and engagement. The main concern that I have come across so far is whether or not the eBeam tool is a practical tool for my teaching style. I have found that there are several times when it is much more efficient use of our time to simply use a traditional method of marker/whiteboard. I have had the most success with switching in between using the eBeam and using a maker/whiteboard. With today’s students experiencing so much visual/audio stimulation through video games and internet tools, it is critical for my as an educator to provide an active and engaging learning atmosphere. According to Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009), this type of learning environment, “enables you to meet your curricular standards in ways that can engage and support your students’ interests, creativity, and motivations (p. 40). I believe through the right integration, the eBeam offers this type of learning experience for students.

References:

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

Laureate Education, (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author