Road to Implementing My Game Plan

Finding the information and resources I need

I have not had many problems finding the information I need for my game plan.  There are many examples of Wiki’s on the web, so there are many ideas out there for the grabs.  Actually, the only problem I have had is that there is so much information available.  It has been hard to sort through a lot of it and come to a decision on what I want to use.  I have changed things so many times.  I really need to settle down.

Modifying my action plan

So far I do not see a reason to make any modifications to my game plan.  I am enjoying the work and progress I am making.  I have added four students to my team which has enabled me to have support from administration, teachers, college personnel and students.  My circle is getting larger.  The only thing I am missing is a parent representative.  I may seek the advice of the parents of one of my students to complete the circle. Hopefully I won’t recreate the same issue I have had with the information overload I had in my first point.

What I have learned

I have re-learned a lot.  I have learned that one person can not think of everything.  I really appreciate the support I have received on this project.  I have also learned that having a lot of information can be overwhelming at times.  Too much info is not always a good thing, but a lot of meaningful information is always a joy!  I have also learned to tame down my perfectionism.  Just a tad though.  I fall in love when it comes to technology and I can tend to really get involved. 

New Questions

My main question is how far could I take this?  So far I do not see a limit is sight.  I have so many ideas.  I could run my classroom from the Wiki and my students will have access to my classroom on weekends, evenings, holidays, snow days, etc…  I know wishful thinking on my part that they would actually access it, but still!  Another burning question is how effective will my Wiki be?  I can dream up uses and purposes, but what will the actual outcome be?

Carrying Out My Personal Game Plan

I have gotten a lot of encouragement in starting my GAME Plan.  Many of my colleagues have agreed that this is a good way to help build up my confidence and gain the feedback I need to improve my instruction.  I am really excited about getting the work done.

Resources Needed

I have looked into the Tech Resources and found the link for Wikispaces.  The service is free and the set-up is very user friendly.   I have a laptop and it meets all of the required specifications. All of my files are organized and backed up in two spaces.  I will need this information and I have it ready to retrieve.

Additional Information

The only missing item is the student work.  I have some good example of student artifacts but some of them will have to be translated.  I will have to get my students to work on some of this as a project.  In addition I would also like some “fresh” work of the students to display in my wiki.  In addition since my Wiki is has representation of student work.  I may invite some of my high performing students to assist me in developing the Wiki.

Steps taken so far

I have already sought the advice of some of my colleagues at the school district as well as the college.  Many of them have agreed to help monitor and provide feedback on my Wiki.  Many have also agreed to go over the feedback with me as this is a project they may want to try out.  I feel as if I am sparking some very need interest in a school district that really needs the focus. Recently our school district was taken over by the state so of course moral is very low.  I would like to champion the project and show the teachers that learning is still the main purpose of the district and that our kids still need us to be the best teachers we can be.

The GAME Plan

The GAME Plan

I have really been thinking hard about my GAME Plan for strengthening my confidence and proficiency in two of the ISTE indicators:  Promote and Model Digital Citizenships and Responsibility and Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. I am fair with these two indicators but feel as if I could really improve on some of the finer points of these two indicators.  The goal is to present the most beneficial opportunity and situation to my students in order to maximize their learning.  I am willing to do all I can in order to ensure that this happens.  My GAME plan will become a strategy that allows me to improve in the areas of Promoting and Modeling Digital Citizenship and Responsibility and Engaging in Professional Growth and Leadership.

The area I need to work on most is engaging in Professional Growth and Leadership.  There is a portion of this indicator which states:  Teachers should participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning (ISTE, 2008).  I feel like I could really use some more experience in this area.  In the next indicator; Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility it states that teachers should:  address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources (ISTE, 2008).  I really feel I can offer more strategies to include a more diverse learner centered experience. 

My goal to establish the work towards increasing my confidence in these areas is to integrate technologies to address my deficiencies with the use of a successful Wiki. I have planned the following actions.   I plan to start a Wiki which will allow me to post my entire curriculum and lesson plans in order to gain some constructive criticism. I also plan on using the translator option in word to have my students translate their work into different languages. I will also post examples of my student’s work in my Wiki. I will monitor my Wiki for feedback in order r to help me improve and know what works.  Finally I will evaluate this process to see if it is working and make revisions in order to streamline my experience into productive instruction.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx