Reflection

            Having a GAME plan for developing lessons allows teachers to improve instruction.  By “setting goals, taking action, monitoring progress and evaluating” (Cennamo, Ertmer, & Ross, 2009, p. 3), this method allows for a “customized approach to learning goals and develops relevant skills important to you” (Cennamo, et al., 2009, pp. 3-4) this to your students.

            Using the GAME plan template to create my unit on Google Maps helped me to see where we are, what we needed to learn and where we can build on knowledge after completion of the lesson.  It lays out the lessons nicely and I can make adjustments where necessary.  The first adjustment that I would make would be to extend the unit for an additional class period.  The students really enjoyed the research on the volcanoes and earthquakes and I had to limit them because of time.  Next time I will build an extra class period in so that they may extend their research.  Another adjustment that I would make for the future would be for the students to collaborate with a small group or partner from start to finish, instead of the students collaborating at the end for the assessment portion.  This project would do well with the collaborative nature of a digital storybook and the technology aspect. 

Sharing this unit with my learning community, I was able to get great constructive feedback from my peers.  Upon reflection and a suggestion from my group, I would like to include a video chat with a volcanologist at the beginning of the lesson to serve as a motivation for the students.  This will also offer insight into certain volcanoes and earthquakes and students may ask any questions that they might have.  The lessons have a high engagement level but I think that video conferencing with an expert would send it over the top. 

I have set some goals for myself in regards to technology integration.  Upon reflection of digital storytelling, online collaboration and project based learning; I wish to have my students produce their own portfolio of work that they can look back on for a reference.  By using portfolios as a learning tool and as an assessment tool offers many benefits.  For instance, portfolio’s can stretch across curriculums, “easy to repurpose, and easy to distribute work” (Cennamo, et al., 2009, p. 13).  Also, and most importantly they can show students growth and change over a time period. 

In closing, technology opens up many possibilities.  Implementing the structure of a GAME plan can allow teachers to focus on the collaborative technology that can enrich the learning experiences of students.

 

 

Resources:

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.