Monitoring my GAME plan

As every teacher knows, we are approaching the end of the school year. I only have 5 more days of teaching this school year. However, I feel I am preparing myself to incorporate my 1st goal (have students blog and reflect about their learning) by collaborating with the other teachers for ideas and cross-curriculum suggestions. For example, one of my fellow classmates at Walden mentioned talking to the math teacher when the students are using their pedometers in class. The math teacher is already excited for this unit, and to view the blogs that the students post about P.E. class and math class. I feel I do not need to modify my action plan, as of now, because I plan to start it in the fall and have received only positive feedback from other teachers who will be involved. I have learned the importance of collaboration even more. Prior to this plan, I usually only collaborated with Physical Education teachers about content in my class. However, after this assignment I have learned new types of strategies to combine content from other subjects with Physical Education. The only new question that has arisen since starting, is what time of the school year do I want to start this plan. As of now, we are thinking of starting in the middle of September, because we can make sure the students understand the routines, rules, and procedures of a normal school day.



My second goal is to expand my knowledge of technology. I plan to attend summer workshops, as well as P.E. workshops in the winter of next year. I feel that I do not need to modify anything at this time, nor do I have any new questions. I have not learned anything yet, because I have not attended the workshops. However, I am excited to gain new knowledge about the technologies offered in my district and in my content.

Carrying out my GAME plan

Since one of my GAME plans focuses on blogging, I will first need to teach my students how to blog and blogging etiquette. In addition, I will help them set up their sites and walk them through the process the first few times. "Web-based communications such as blogs or threaded discussions allow for an added layer of complexity as you, other students, and even the original author can return to a posting and provide critique, clarification, or demonstration of further understanding or skill" (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 146). Also, I will communicate with their teachers to make sure that they understand the skills I am teaching the students, and what study halls the students are allowed to work on their blogs. Collaboration is important to help the students find success and to grow new ideas and strategies together as a staff. For example, in our masters program we are sharing our ideas and collaborating about what might and might not work. The final step in this GAME plan is careful planning when preparing this Unit. I need to make sure that I have signed out the computer lab when needed, and the laptop for my the days I plan on using it in the gymnasium. In addition, I need to meet with the teachers prior to starting the Unit to make sure I am not conflicting with their content and planning. After creating this GAME plan last week, I have already started collaborating with the teachers to set up this Unit plan for the next school year. They are excited to see technology brought into Physical Education.

To meet my second goal, I have signed up for a summer workshop on using the SMARTboard. I am excited to learn how to use this new piece of technology that was put into our school this year. Our school district has placed at least two boards for each grade level in our building.

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use. (M. Staudt, & M. Stranz, Eds.) Mason, OH, USA: Cengage Learning.

My GAME Plan

Through my masters course at Walden, I have been able to open my eyes to the value of technology in Physical Education. This week, I am focusing on two NETS-T (National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers) Indicators that I feel confident in performing through my teaching.

The first indicator is Standard 2. a. -design and adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. To strengthen my confidence in this standard, I plan to incorporate blogging into my lesson plans, at least once a week. For example, during study hall, after a P.E. class, students will be required to log in and view the two reflective questions posted in my blog. Next, they will answer the questions in their own blog, and then respond to two or more of their classmates posts. I will monitor the progress of these blogs daily, and challenge the students to continue the discussion throughout the week. The next time I see the students in class, I will bring up some of the discussions that I had read on their blogs. To extend my learning, I could bring a laptop into the gymnasium and project the blogs onto the big screen so all the students could view some of the blogs I am discussing in class that day. Or, I could use the laptop and projector screen to help guide the students in strategies to improving their blog discussions. I will evaluate my learning by reflecting on the students blogs to see if they are transferring the information from the classroom into their group discussions. In addition, I will be able to assess if the students understood the content from class more effectively by viewing each students blog.

The second indicator that I want to strengthen my confidence in is Standard 5. d. - contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community. I plan to achieve this goal by attending local workshops, and my Ohio PE conference, both of which will focus on implementing technology into the classroom. In the past, I have not taken the initiative to view the workshops focusing on technology, because I did not see the need for my content. However, this past year, I made technology the focus on all the sessions I attended at my Ohio PE state convention. I learned valuable techniques and tools that I was able to transfer into my daily Physical Education routine. For example, I now have my 5th grade students track their activity time and steps taken through pedometers, which they wear every class. In order to monitor my progress in this standard, I plan to seek out other local workshops that are offered in my district and at neighboring universities. I will be able to evaluate my progress by whether I attend more workshops and implement more technology into my classroom.

References:

ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf