Reflecting on my GAME Plan

Thanks to this course I have devised new and improved ways to enhance my pedagogical skills. I have met all the goals I had planned in my GAME plan. My students are benefiting from the resources and some of my coworkers have come on-board. I know my principal has been thinking of ways he could use this medium to communicate with staff. My students are offering constructive feedback on their classmates work and offering creative problem solving strategies. My pass rate has improved by over 50% based on the regents scores and I will get even more success as I incorporate more strategies and tools to help my students to succeed. The podcast works well because I had one student tell me that she could listen to the podcast when she was having difficulty completing an assignment. I have recorded pointers students need for problem-solving.

Reflection

In retrospect I have realized that I was not teaching my students how to critically evaluate a website prior to using it. I do not even think my district was aware of the intricacies that are involved in us allowing our students to use various websites. I will definitely have my students check the validity of websites using REAL prior to using information presented.

I have grown even more in my area of expertise. When it comes to locating information I am encouraging my students to set up accounts with Delicious which will help them to narrow their search results. I like Delicious especially because it narrows the content and it even shows applicable videos that can help with their research. Students will be encouraged to ask essential questions when working on a project and to share the challenges they faced and how they overcame the challenges. They are encouraged to think critically and to synthesize information prior to using it.

One goal I have is to incorporate more technology in my class. I think I want to focus of digital storytelling to help my students apply themselves. Digital storytelling is an interesting way to compile all the information learned and real world applications into one application. I can use this tool as an alternate means of assessing learning.

Reflecting on GAME Plan for students

As I think of what I have achieved since I implemented my GAME Plan, I realize that I am even closer to my goal which is to implement more technology in my classroom to aid and enhance my pedagogical skills. My students have learned to collaborate with their peers by offering suggestions, help and support as they learn together through use of email and blogging. The NETS-S standards encourage the use of digital tools to communicate and collaborate efficiently. I believe I am closer to achieving this goal since my students have learned to leave constructive feedback, whether by asking a question or offering an alternate means to solving a problem. They have also learned to respect each other's opinion in that they are becoming great digital citizens. In my GAME Plan the goal is for them to use and improve their critical thinking skills. They are working on such based on the assignments they are given to offer feedback. Sometimes I may give them a problem with a step by step solution and they need to explain to me what they think the person did wrong and tell what the person should have done. Sometimes they have to perform research as was evident in a lesson taught on inequalities where they had to find illustrations of inequalities in their everyday to reinforce the concept of 'less than' and 'greater than.' Technology has definitely made a difference in the way I approach my lessons since I want to make math come alive for students in high school.

GAME Plan Update

So I set up an account at www.ning.com so that I can restrict who is invited to view the blog. I have also uploaded clips from YouTube for my students to watch. The videos will help them if they have forgotten how to solve a particular problem. I am thinking of creating a podcast for my lessons, that way I can include my pointers that I want them to remember. My nagging thought is 'do I allow them to use their personal email accounts or should I allow them to set up a new account and link it to this account?'

GAME Plan update

So far I have been able to converse with my colleagues on integrating more technology in the classroom. Some are eager to do so while some are still reluctant saying there is not enough time with the deadlines to meet and students to prepare for regents. to them it seems impossible. But as Steve Ross said in his video that integrating technology may in a way help students to learn since it addresses multi-levels. If students are comfortable with the mastery of one skill they can move on to more complex skills while others who still need more time to gain mastery can work without feeling pressured.