Reflection

The biggest lesson I have learned through the GAME plan lesson is that I do not have to reinvent the wheel in order to make new lessons. When I first started reading about the game plan I was honestly overwhelmed. Once I started into the process however, I realized that I can use what I already have any just modify it to incorporate more technology, as well as have more success getting the interest of my students. No longer am I using technology for the sake of using technology (Laureate, 2009).  I have learned that it will be very beneficial to use the GAME plan in my classroom because not only does it serve as authentic assessment, but it also allows me to cover multiple standards at once. With the shift to Common Core standards, this is more important than ever. Since teachers are expected to “develop students’ critical and creative thinking skills,” authentic assessments is the best way to do it (Cennamo, Ross,&  Ertmer, 2009, pg 28).

A major adjustment I am going to make in my instruction in regards to technology, is to consider why I am using the technology. Oftentimes I am just using the technology because I think it will produce better products, or it will interest students more. Now I have learned that it is important to think how the technology will actually enhance the learning. I now know what to use technology for and will work harder to implement technology for these reasons. An example of using technology as a digital storytelling tool would be to have my students produce book talks for their independent book reports. Social networking or collaboration is also easy to incorporate by introducing my students to blogs and wikis.

 

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

Laureate Education, Inc.(Executive Producer). (2009). Spotlight on technology: Digital story telling Part 2.[Webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Reflecting on the GAME plan

I have found quite a few examples of authentic assessment. The biggest struggle is finding assessments that fit into the English classroom. It seems like math and science are the easiest or most susceptible for authentic assessment. The English assignments I have found don't lend themselves to my current curriculum. I need to start modifying my searches to hopefully find more useful assignments to my classroom. Also I want to start looking at schools that have already implemented the Common Core curriculum, since that is what I will be teaching next year.

So far I have learned that teachers who have implemented authentic assessment into their classrooms have had a lot of success with them. Students tend to take more ownership in their work and they learning still occurs, and usually is learned in a way that will stick with the students.

The main question that I have formulated is while using authentic assessments, how do I differentiate but yet make sure all of my students have learned the material?

Week 3

Some resources that I will need to follow my game plan are examples of authentic assessments. My first goal is to incorporate authentic assessments into my classroom. Instead of trying to "reinvent the wheel" I would like to see what other teachers have done, and what has worked in other classrooms. I can use the successes and failures of other teachers to formulate my own authentic assessments. Some more information that I may need will come from people in my community. In order to make a true authentic assessment, I will ask community members about real problems and have my students use their skills to solve the problem. For example, maybe the problem is writing a news story while not showing any bias. Not only will my students research a local story, they will also learn how to look at a story from both sides.

So far I have talked to other local educators about what they have done. While I haven't had a lot of success, I have found other places to look. With the Common Core coming in, authentic assessment is becoming much more common and examples are much more available.

I plan to continue to research different authentic assessments and also try to incorporate one into my classroom.

Setting a GAME Plan

The first standard I am planning on working with is "Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments." I try to use technology when possible as I am developing my students assessments but the performance indicator that I fall short of is "design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity." My assessments are always relevant to what we are learning in class but I would like to make them more relevant to my students' everyday lives. Another component is allowing my students to persue their "individual curiosities." This is another area that I struggle with when it comes to planning assessments. To meet this standard my GAME plan looks like this:

Goals-
* Develop meaningful and authentic assessments for my students while using technology tools.

Action-
 * Research different authentic assessments that other ELA teachers have used in their classroom and evaluate how I can modify the assessments so I can use them in my classroom.

The monitor and research steps are self-explanatory and I will follow the outline given by Cannamo, Ross and Ertmer (2009).

The second standard I would like to work on is to "Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership." For the most part my technology integration has all been blind. I have had no training on using the technology and it has been all trial and error of how I use it. I feel that if I would get proper training for some of the technology I use, or would like to use, I could not only be more effective for my students but help other teachers in my building as well. My goals and actions for this standard are

Goals-
* Learn how to better implement technology into my classroom

Action-
* Attend a professional developmental training that deals with technology that I use in my classroom.
* Register for an online webinar to learn more about how to effectively implement the technology in my classroom.