Reflection

Creating my own personal GAME Plan has helped me plan, monitor, and evaluate my progress with learning how to design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments. More specifically, I have developed my own learning goals and developed a learning strategy to attain the knowledge I need to achieve my goals. I followed the specific actions of my GAME Plan and dedicated time to think about my progress. At some points during the process, I decided to add in new steps to make my plan more effective. For example, I began logging useful websites that I encountered and also tagged them on my Delicious site for future reference. Overall, the GAME Plan has helped me stay focused on becoming a more self directed learner.

A big part of my role as an educator is to continuously customize my lessons in ways that support all of my students' learning needs. My new knowledge of Universal Design guidelines(UDL) has introduced me to many technologies that support young children with physical and developmental disabilities. As a result, I feel confident that I will be able to locate resources to level the learning field for any student that enters my classroom. It is a great feeling.

In addition, I am sincerely grateful for the exposure to collaborative learning forums and tools like wikis, blogs, and digital story telling. The hands on experience has helped me understand how technology can be used to enhance content knowledge.

Finally, the course learning has inspired me to approach lesson planning with some new goals in mind. First, in accordance with UDL principles, I will provide multiple options for students to receive and share information in order to engage all types of learners. Second, I will continue to review learning goals at the start of each lesson but I will also encourage students to establish their own learning goals. Doing so will promote students to think creatively about what they want to get out of each activity making the learning broader for all, including me. Last but not least, I look forward to expanding my use of technology in the classroom beyond my Promethean board.

Using the GAME Plan with kindergarten students

In order to assist my students with meeting the NETS-S standards of creativity, collaboration, information fluency and digital citizenship, and engaging in growth and transfer of knowledge I will begin by planning each lesson to ensure it includes the content information students need to get started.

Setting goals at the beginning of the lesson will be a good way to start discussion to encourage students to establish their own learning goals as well. For instance, I may set a goal for all students to learn about mammals. Students could search for information about a specific mammal they have an interest in thus expanding their knowledge to include their own personal learning goals. I will also give the students multiple media to use to find information including books, videos, and online searches. This will teach them that multiple resources provide vaster information about a topic.

It will be important to provide tools for my students to revisit their learning goals so they can monitor their progress with locating information they need. Because my students are young, I will provide a check list on a chart that we review together throughout the lesson.

Evaluating the students' learning will include consideration of their efforts, collaboration with peers, and progress with understanding information from the different literacy formats presented. The end of the lesson will include a discussion about the learning process and the academic achievements. I will point out that achievements include learning to master the mouse, sharing knowledge with peers, working hard, and learning new facts about mammals. Finally I will ask my students to tell me what they liked and disliked about the activity to help me do a better job of helping them learn.

Most importantly, I feel this GAME Plan approach will help students realize that learning is the path to where ever they want to go.

Revising my GAME Plan

Reflecting on my Game Plan in week 6, I find that I am actively working on my goal to collaborate with other educators to learn new digital tools, specifically a wiki! Working as part of the language arts/social studies team to construct the wiki and utilize it as a tool to interact with each other continues to be a real learning experience for me. The team work has enabled me to get to know my terrific peers. We have become real comrades through our efforts to achieve knowledge. We share information and help each other through the challenges of the project as well as the stress of our daily lives. I thank all my team members for this rewarding experience.

Also, one action of my Game Plan is to determine my progress with increasing my technology skills by asking the question, "Do I know more?". I am pleased to reply that I do know more about designing digital-age learning experiences. As a result of my efforts this past five weeks, I feel confident that with additional practice, integrating technology to enhance content learning will become more and more natural to me as an educator.

Week 5 additional comments

Hi Ashley Y,

I wanted to response to Ashley Young's question about ideas for fifth grade blogging projects. The children I know in that age group are really loving Wii games, Nintendo, etc. They have hand held devices as well as gaming systems at home. For Language arts, you could ask them to compare to gaming options and tell you what they like and dislike about each. This would give them an opportunity to show off their knowledge to peers and share information about a topic they are interested in. For those students who may not have the interest or access to the games, you could expand the project so they can research online games. Possibly use some computer lab time for those with no computers at home?

Ashlee Menar,
Thanks for your comments. I do use flip charts and find them very useful with charting. Thanks for noticing that I am trying to stay on top of my assignments. Really, my goal is to finish this classwork a little ahead so I can have some time to enjoy the holidays. We'll see!

Week 5 comments

Denise-thanks for the tip on Microsoft movie maker!

Jeya, We'll just stick with it and try to remind ourselves of how far we have come. What was it I read? Technology is constantly changing and evolving--- So are WE!

Evaluating my Game Plan

Last week I began logging my time spent visiting sites for information. I spent almost three hours doing Internet searches. Mostly I was reviewing PBL sites from our resources to begin the unit plan. I also used the Walden tech resources to guide me through setting up a wiki for use during the rest of this course.

I hope to allot some time to Internet searches that are not related to Walden work but more for my own learning. This will be difficult with the holidays, homework, and my job. Time seems to consistently be my biggest constraint to developing my skills with technology. I am sure that I am not alone--right?

I have learned that incorporating different types of technology is a good way to enhance student learning of content because the tools enable me to provide information in a variety of formats to help different types of learners. Currently, I am only really comfortable with voice threads, concept maps, my beloved Promethean board and blogging. I really am looking forward to learning about wikis and digital story telling.

Comments on my game plan update

Thanks to all of you (Deborah, Ashley, Denise, and Ryan) for your ideas. Some of you mentioned social bookmarking as a way to track the web sites I visit. I actually do use delicious.com to keep a list of resources. The log I mentioned is really a way for me to track wasted time due to inefficient searches but when I do find a site I think could be useful again, I will bookmark it.

thanks again for your guidance!

Monitorig my Game Plan

After reviewing my game plan, I am satisfied that it does outline my intended goals, however, after progressing through searches for information about digital tools over the past three weeks,I am going to add an action item. The action is to keep a log of sites I visited and the time I spent. I have created that log and it also includes a column for me to note if the site was useful to me. This info may help me develop a better search method to find what I need faster.

I did not update the table on my blog yet as I am having difficulty editing it online. I am making the changes to my file so at the end of the course(if I don't figure out how to edit the posted document), I can post the template with all revisions.

Thanks for comments on my Game Plan

I really appreciated hearing some other ideas on digital storytelling. I really like the idea of having my kindergartners dress up and role play for the recording---

Carrying Out my Game Plan

In order to develop my skills with designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments, my first action is to assess my current skills. This week, I reviewed table 2.1 in chapter one of our text book. I focused on the performance profiles related to my role as a kindergarten teacher. I am confident in my ability to locate information, evaluate the resources, and present the information in multiple literacy forms. I am really comfortable with PBL and inquiry based lessons, however, I am not familiar enough with many of the kindergarten appropriate digital age tools that can enhance student learning. For example, I want to create a classroom wiki but never have. I love digital story telling but do not know how to create one.

This class offers many opportunities to help me get some much needed training and experience with integrating these types of tools in my daily lessons. In addition, I will need to spend time playing with free software downloads and reading tutorials to gain knowledge and confidence with using new technologies. Some of my peers have earned their masters in special education so I hope to work with them to become better at designing UDL lessons.
Also,I plan to keep a simple journal during week 4 to help me track how much time I spend on learning. I will include all work for Walden as well as addtional time spent on locating new resources to expand my ability to provide digital age learning experiences.

As this first game plan evaluation indicates, I still have a lot to learn about integrating technology in my classroom but I remain determined to do what it takes in order to provide a learning environment that suits all my students’ needs.

Hi all,
I received many nice comments about my use of the template to present my game plan. I just want to let everyone know that the template is from our text book, chapter 1, Page 4. I really found that it helped me organize my thoughts.

My Game Plan

Click for larger image.

Reflection: My Personal Theory of Learning

Eight weeks ago, I defined my personal learning theory as an evolutionary process. Since then, I have been submerged in new learning theories, instructional
practices, and many technology based tools; and so the evolutionary process has continued. All of the theoretical perspectives described throughout the course explained the complex process called learning. Social learning considers that people learn from each other while the Constructivist approach is based on the premise that people create their own meaning through active learning, just to name a few (Laureate Education, Inc. 2009). In addition, I explored nine different instructional strategies and countless technology tools.

The process of grasping the course information while working to develop my technology skills and improve my teaching ability has been challenging. The process, however, has given me the knowledge to construct learning environments that will help my students achieve higher levels of learning. While my preferred learning style remains constructivist, I also want to focus on the behaviorist style of learning. Project based learning will continue to be my method of choice in order to engage my young students in activities that stimulate their interest and motivate them to learn. By simultaneously incorporating instructional strategies in the classroom to promote learning through positive student behavior, I can help my kindergarten students learn academically and aid them with the development of positive social skills. Their social development will further enable the students to interact successfully in group learning activities.

Further development of my students’ ability to construct knowledge, can be achieved through virtual field trips. I plan to utilize my course experience with Kidspiration and googlelittrip.org to create virtual field trips that will help prepare my students for learning new information. Because kindergartners are emerging readers, I will also incorporate nonlinguistic representation in my lessons via word processing software. In the beginning, I will model use of the cursor to perform actions like inserting clip art. Gradually, as the students become familiar with the process, the lessons will become more student centered with opportunities for the students to experiment with clip art in order to create graphic representations of things like fruits, vegetables, shapes, etc.

Beyond the immediate changes I have outlined, my first long term goal is to build on an existing behavior tool, my classroom stop light chart. Today, the traffic light chart is posted on the classroom rules board. Poor behavior results in students’ names being moved from green to yellow to red. Improved behavior results in progressing back toward the green light. I envision supporting the traffic light chart with a concept map. The central nodes will be a smiley face icon and a frowning face. Pictures of children displaying different behaviors will be linked to the central nodes. As the children click through the pictures of behaviors in each category, they will gain a clear understanding of the behaviors that correlate with good choices and bad choices. The technology based chart can help children associate actions with consequences and help them learn how to modify their behavior in order to achieve positive results in school. I am required to discuss this type of change with my team, the peers who teach the same grade level as I do. If they all agree to the change, we then request approval from the principal to work on the project and implement. My best efforts will hopefully gain the support and enable implementation in the 2011 school year.

To further enhance my students’ learning, I plan to use Voice Thread. Voice Thread will provide students with a way to display their work and share their thoughts about the work they create. This web based tool is particularly valuable because I can grant parents and other family members’ access to the children’s school work. Unrolling this form of communication will entail collecting permission for students to use the internet and email addresses of the family members. By connecting the family members to school, I hope to gain more family involvement in my students’ education. Parents who feel welcomed and respected by their children’s school support school policies more than parents who do not feel connected to the school. Likewise, children with parents who encourage appropriate school behavior perform better academically and display more positive behavior than the children who lack parental support (Jones, V. & Jones, L. 2007, p. 158). Creating this network will ultimately be a winning strategy for all.




Canter, L. (Director), (2009). Behaviorist Learning Theory. [Motion picture] In Laureate Education, Inc., (Producer), United States: Solution Tree (publisher).
Canter, L. (Director), (2009). Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theory. [Motion picture] In Laureate Education, Inc., (Producer), United States: Solution Tree (publisher).
Jones, V. & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Voice Thread

Click Here to view my voice thread project. My students are currently working on a construction unit. The three kindergarten students designed a house and recorded a few sentences explaining what made it special!

Cooperative Learning

The cooperative learning instructional strategy assists educators with creating a social learning climate. In this environment, the students work together in small groups to understand new knowledge. The interaction and discussion among students promotes the development of positive social skills while providing opportunities for the group members to share ideas and validate assumptions.

Embedding multimedia, web resources and communication software in cooperative learning forums further enhances student learning by providing structure for group tasks. These forms of technology also allow members of groups to learn and produce cooperatively, even if they are not working face to face (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007). Global telecommunication networks, such as ePals enable students to engage in project sharing and language learning. WebQuests also provide students from multiple locations with easy access to information, which increases the time they have to focus on understanding and using the information.
Think about this: most parents and employers today view social networks such as Facebook as distractions from constructive activities and work. Yet, in the next decade, our students will enter demanding work places that require global networking and collaborative problem-solving. Their future success is somewhat contingent on their ability to locate and share information globally.

So, should employers and parents embrace social networking in support of our children’s future success? Take a look at this clip I found on YouTube and decide.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

Constructivist/Constructionist Theories adn Correlating Instructional Strategies

The Constructivist learning theory is based on the premise that people create their own meaning through active learning. Educators who provide students with authentic constructivist activities engage their students by allowing them to explore a concept, idea or topic. The Project Based style of learning also help participants clarify and correct misconceptions about a topic or an idea (Laureate Education, Inc. 2009).

Once the students have learned the main idea through the details of their experience, it is important that they can elaborate and evaluate their findings (Innovativelearning.com, 2010). The incorporation of tasks like problem solving, experimental inquiry, systems analysis, invention, decision making, or historical investigation in technology based lessons significantly improves students’ ability to generate and test hypotheses. Why? Because students can spend more time interpreting the data. For example, an interactive spreadsheet can be created by the educator for students to problem solve with. The students can manipulate the data provided to test their predictions by receiving quick feedback on different scenarios.

In summary, when teachers implant instructional strategies that provide students with hands on opportunity to learn and then reflect on their experience, it enhances the students’ overall understanding of the lesson content. (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. 2007).


Canter, L. (Director), (2009). Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories. [Motion picture] In Laureate Education, Inc., (Producer), United States: Solution Tree (publisher).
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA.
http://www.innovativelearning.com/educational_psychology/constructivism. Retrieved 3/22/10

Community Helper Concept Map

This is an image of the Virtual Field Trip I created using Kidspiration. Click on the picture to see a larger image. In my classroom, I would have the children interact with the Virtual Field Trip using the Kidspiration software, which is easy for a Kindergartener to use. They would read about the community helping professions by clicking on the provided links, then drag the pictures to the appropriate bags.

These are the links my Virtual Field Trip uses:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/firefighter/index.htm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/officer/index.htm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/vet/index.htm

To interact with the Virtual Field Trip, you would have to have Kidspiration software on your computer, so I'm displaying what I made this way for you all to see.

Cognitive Learning

The cognitive learning theory focuses on helping students understand, retain, and recall new information. Atkinson and Schifrin’s approach recognizes that learning begins in the short term memory of the brain and then progresses to long term memory storage. Successful learning will only occur when the initial stage of learning is carefully managed with consideration to the limitation of the 7+/-2 pieces of data that a learner can attend to at one time. Once the student understands the topic, additional information can be added to help students retain the data in their long term memories through the use of facts, episodic events, and rote learning (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008).

One instructional strategy that supports cognitive learning is the structured use of cues and questions. Educators can use questions and cues to focus on the most important facts about the learning topic to leverage the fact that the students’ short term memory can only handle a limited amount of information (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). Word processing software enables educators to provide introductory rubrics containing both expository organizers like brochures and narratives such as stories and articles. Provision of the multiple organizers further prepares students for acquiring new information. Use of visuals like clip art can also provide students with images to remember in addition to the text props. To further enhance students’ learning, educators can create a table of data in excel that shows the text next to the correlating picture; a combination that connects the ideas and helps students store the information in their long term memories.

Note taking provides a way for students to revisit newly acquired information and address areas they need more clarification about. The traditional method of students independently hand writing notes only provides accurate and complete study aids when students take good notes. Not all students are willing to or able to take good notes on their own but fortunately technology offers creative ways for educators to help. For example, allowing students to share notes on a wiki will provide students with opportunities to collaborate and share information in their own words. Palincsar and Brown define this process of students teaching each other as reciprocal teaching which results in a broader understanding of the topic by all (as cited by Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007).

Tracking Student Performance Using Technology

The behaviorist theory incorporates instructional strategies in the classroom to promote learning through positive student behavior. In order to help my kindergarten students learn academically, I must also aid them with the development of positive behavior skills. Information presented through a variety of activities and flexible presentation styles can meet individual learning needs to enhance learning and simultaneously provide opportunities for the students to develop respectful and safe habits.

Homework and practice enables students to practice a skill or concept and further enhances their ability to reach their full learning potential (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007). Online resources such as Starfall are effective tools that help teachers meet the need to vary methods of instruction while helping young students work on particular skills such as learning letters and vowel sounds. BBC skillwise also offers worksheets, games, and quizzes to stimulate knowledge of mathematics concepts and the English language for slightly older students between the ages of three and eight. These types of accessible resources provide enjoyable methods for students to build on their existing knowledge of topics from home or school.

The responsibility for tracking students performance and progress traditionally falls on the teacher, however, technology now offers teachers the option of using effort rubrics like the excel spreadsheet template presented by authors Pitler, Hubbell, Kuln, and Malenoski (2007, p.157) in order to enable students to honestly evaluate their level of effort with meeting goals. Learning how their efforts relate to their achievements can be a powerful behavior changing tool for students because they can identify what to do differently in order to get desired results. The instructional strategy of reinforcing effort is not limited to academic learning. Effort rubrics can also be used to outline the problem solving process in order to aid students with developing positive reactions to social conflicts. This exercise helps students become more responsible individuals through positive relationships with others. The data collection tool Survey Monkey is an effective way to share ways other student have overcome problems and achieved goals.

Ultimately, reinforcing effort and use of multimedia that encourages students to practice skills and concepts will result in students taking responsibility for their behavior and enable them to achieve higher levels of academic success through perseverance.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA.