Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

My progress for indicator 2a has been more of a success that my progress on indicator 3b.

My progress for indicator 2a has been moving in a positive direction as of late. I have been able to obtain computer lab time and more computers in my classroom. I use to have 2 desktop computers, but now I have 2 desktops plus 5 laptops. What I have been doing is scheduling time in my schools computer lab, but my time has been limited. The students who seem to need more assistance or time are allowed to use the PC’s in the classroom during our recess or down time (enrichment periods). I wish all the students could use the computers in the classrooms but I have to limit it to those who need more exposure to it. The availability of digital cameras is probably the biggest issue. Our school has perhaps 3 or 4 working digital cameras, and only 1 class at a time can borrow just 1 of them. And sometimes not a single camera is available, or in some cases even working. I’ve asked parents and students if they have a digital camera please bring it in for our projects. Our school does not permit the use of personal recording devices, but I have written my own permission slip or notification to the parents so they are aware that I or the school cannot take full responsibility for the cameras. Most parents and students who do have a digital camera were ok with the procedure. The only thing is, I haven’t told my principal yet, due to the fact she might turn down our ideas. Out of sight out of mind. (he he he). Same thing goes for the Wiki and Blog sites. I have just been using it without definite permission. I asked the computer teacher and she said she saw nothing wrong with it, so I went ahead and did one.

Even though indicator 2b sounds like it has hit some bumps in the road, indicator 3b has been more of a challenge.

I have created a classroom blog to collaborate with parents. What I have found is only a handful of parents actually visit the blog. My counter only changes about by 3 or 4 each night. I ask some of the students if their parents have been going on, some say they don’t know and others say not at all. Some of the students say that are the ones who have been visiting the blog and not their parents. So, I’m not sure how to get it out there or to persuade parents to visit the blog. I’ve been sending letters home about the blog and also letters about what’s happening in class. I really want to get away from that. So, what I think I need is a way to get the parents more involved in accessing the blog.

Carrying Out My GAME Plan

The resources that I would need to carry out my game plan for NETS-T indicator 2a is to have computers, a variety of software, internet access both at school and at students’ homes and the access to either a Wiki site or a blog site.

The information that I will need is what are my limitations to using the Wiki and Blog sites? Are there district policies against it or guidelines to follow? I can gain this information hopefully from our computer teacher at school.

The steps I have taken so far is allowing students to use the computers we have, but I wish I had more computers in my room so students can all use them at the same time. I’ve been letting the students show me what programs they use at home that they would use to help them with a project. And I have been showing them some sites and software that can also help their projects. The problem though is some of the things they use aren’t accessible at school, and some of the things we have at school, they do not have access to at home. In the near future I will reserve some computer lab time, but sometimes the times available do not correlate with my schedule.

For NETS-T indicator 3b the resources that I would need are a computer with internet access with access to a Blog site. For my students and parents they would need a computer with internet access as well at home.

Again the information I will need is what are the guidelines to using an outside source such as a Blog to keep parents informed? Our district gives every teacher their own webpage, but at times is very difficult to update regularly. Blogs are easy to set up and update.

The steps I have taken is that I have created my own blog where homework is posted everyday. I haven’t expanded just whats for homework just yet. I did have parent teacher conferences and made it known to all the parents that I am using this new tool. Most thought it was a great idea but others say they aren’t around or use a computer very often. So I will evaluate perhaps in a month the effectiveness of this Blog and move on from there.

Developing MY OWN Personal GAME Plan

The two indicators from the NETS-T that I choose to GAME plan to strengthen my confidence are 2a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity, and 3b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.

My GAME plan for the first indicator, 2a would be as follows:
Goal- design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
Action- is to supply my students with most if not all the tools they would need to accomplish this goal. I want to create a learning environment where there are no limitations. A student’s creativity should never have any borders our boundaries. Modeling the digital tools and what we can do with them will encourage them to put their creativity to use in a “digital way.”
Monitor- I will have the students create a journal after each session and record what they did and how they got there by using the technology. I can monitor the students progress and they can monitor their own progress as well.
Evaluate- the students progress by their products. I can then use their progress to evaluate what they will need to get where they want to be. Their creativity will steer them to the final project and thus giving me insight on their limitations and how we can break down those walls.

My GAME plan for the second indicator, 3b would be as follows:
Goal- collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
Action- creating a website or blog where upcoming events in the classroom are happening.Such as, tests, quizzes, holiday parties, etc. The website/blog can keep parents up to date with whats happening in the class and can give them an opportunity to get in touch with me to see if there is anything they can do to help out.
Monitor- My website and blog has areas where anyone can get in contact with me. There is also a counter that can be placed on the website/blog and it tracks how many people visit the site. Through this counter and possible feedback I can monitor the progress the site has based on visits.
Evaluate- ask myself has this been useful to me and the parents. I can base this on the counter and the feedback. If it seems like there aren’t many visitors or comments might tell me I will have to try another outlet.