My GAME plan is designed to help my students devlop proficiency mainly through action. In the technology integrated lessons I create my students will work with a variety of tools and techniques to better understand their applications and use. It is difficult for many people, regardless of learning styles, to learn without doing. In the lessons I will select technology that supports my content and model the activities that the students will complete. But the most critical thing that I can do to help my students is to give them time to work with the technology and try things out for themselves. I know I have learned most of my way around new programs by playing around with them and through trial and error. I want to point out to my students that although they may not initially succeed in using technolgy, they will undoubtedly learn something in the process.
Another key goal of my GAME plan was to share what I learn throughout my coursework and projects with my colleagues in order to provide a better level of reinforcement. When students work with tools and even use similar strategies in several classes, it makes it so much easier to learn. This will also benefit the teachers, as the students are already trained and ready to work. A main concern that teachers have about integrating technology is the amount of time involved in preparing the students to do the work. In this case, they would already be proficient. Additionally, I am using technology more and more for my own effective communication and organization and the students can see the benefits. They know that they are able to email me and access class information via my wiki page. They see that they can establish similar relationships with their classmates for help on homework and I think that my own progress in my GAME plan have been influential in this respect.
Our students live and will work in a different world than we do. It is our duty to model, engage, and promote effective use of technology both inside the classroom and out.
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April,
ReplyDeleteI think you are right on the money! I agree that the easiest way to learn anything is by doing it yourself. Sharing your own struggles and steps of learning how to use the technology lets them see another, more personal side to you and may help to encourage them to take more risks. Students seem to be less scared of technology in general so I think they will surprise us with how quickly they learn new forms of technology. It might be fun to let them explore technology and come up with ways to integrate technology into lessons or assessments.
You are doing a great job of preparing students for the 21st century, modeling, and helping them see the benefit of collaboration. Keep up the great work!
Sometimes the students have the best ideas or know how to do things we can't. I like to see what they can come up with too! Have your students given you any suggestions that were helpful?
ReplyDeleteYou are totally correct when you say that students should learn the material on their own. I mean that they need to figure things out on their own instead of everything being handed to them. Having them explore a program makes them understand how to navigate the site and see what it has to offer. It is also hard to implement the technology since the students need to be taught it so they can have a very basic understanding. It is time consuming and that is why many teachers shy away from it I feel.
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