Going forward with the GAME plan

One of the biggest challenges I face in incorporating technology in the classroom is the time in the instructional sequence calendar and having the time to plan lesson that involve technology. I feel that I have gained a lot of valuable skills and tools in this class that will allow me to overcome these restrictions on technology. In my GAME plan that I initially created I discussed that I will be using technology more in my classroom by implementing at least one new form of technology from each class. While it is summer, which has delayed my implantation of new teaching technologies, I am using my time this summer to begin planning some lessons and/or units for next year. I am planning to use more differentiated instruction in my class next year and I would really like to focus on using technology increase involvement and increasing literacy skills in my classroom. I think that by incorporating Voice Thread and blogging I will be able to meet the needs of all the students in my classroom.

I have enjoyed the creating of a unit plan during this course as this is something that I can take and put into place in my classroom in the fall. I really enjoy that we created lessons that were in our curriculum area, that the lessons incorporated different technology skills, and that I will be able to implement the lessons in my classroom in the fall. I thought the process of using the wiki to provide feedback was an amazing idea. I know that I will be able to use that effectively in the classroom to provide more rapid feedback to students. I think that my students are going to be engaged at a higher level and gain a deeper understanding once they begin utilizing these forms of technology.

As I move forward beyond this class, I will remember the steps of developing and implementing a GAME plan. I think the most influential stage is the monitoring, because by monitoring I can determine if my students are achieving the objectives. So many objectives are required for students these days, teaching them skills to self assess their engagement will increase the level of student knowledge in the classroom. Next year, I am going to use blogging to respond to novels we read in my Social Studies class, additionally, I want to implement using wikis for sharing information in class. That way if students are working in groups, they can participate, collaborate, and contribute to the discussion whether they are physically in class or not. This contributes to the idea of having a "flat classroom" where there are not the traditional boundaries that restrict the classroom and learning. I can't wait to see what happens!