Monitoring my GAME plan
For my first GAME plan, I have already begun putting it into
action. After meeting with my colleagues, we found ways in which we could begin
incorporating the technology we have available within our lessons. Right now,
since it is the end of the school year, we are trying to prepare our students for
fourth grade. We have found many websites and interactive games that introduce
the same indicators we are introducing to students at this time. At this time,
the interactive games and websites are the only technologies we have
implemented in lessons, but we meet again soon to see if we can begin pulling
in more throughout our lessons. At this time, I do not need to modify this GAME
plan, other than the fact that it will continue into next school year as we
continue introducing new technologies. I have learned the importance of working
with my colleagues because they all have new and different ideas and knowledge that
we are sharing with each other. I have learned about different websites and interactive
games that I did not know existed through our conversations. I am continuing
this GAME plan, and hope to continue growing as a teacher and a learner myself.
The second GAME plan, I still plan on carrying over into
next school year. I have looked into many of the websites offered by my
colleagues to try and find what will work best for my students and parents. As
a grade level, we are still discussing the idea of having a grade level website
with general information for all parents. Before the year is out, I plan on
giving my students from this year a survey about their thoughts on this project
and whether or not they think it would be beneficial. I am interested in seeing
their answers. As of right now, I do not have any questions regarding this GAME
plan. I plan on carrying it over into the next school year to use with my new
third grade students and parents.
Overall, I feel that having these GAME plans are helping
me to stay focused on my technology driven goals for my classroom. I hope after
this experience I will be able to share with my fellow teachers the importance
of having a goal, with actions and monitoring when trying to implement
something new and different in our classrooms.
Sam,
ReplyDeleteThat’s great you started to put your GAME plan in action. I also started putting mine in action. I am gaining really good insight on how I am going to approach next school year and am confident it will be effective.
The students are going to enjoy navigating the websites and playing the interactive games you have located. What student doesn’t like to play games? Sometimes they do not even realize that they are learning through these games and just think of it as a fun few minutes on the computer. I also think it’s a good idea that you are finding resources and incorporating them slowly. You don’t want to get overwhelmed, and neither do your students. Too many new tools can be confusing, so I agree with the approach you are taking. Do you have any really good games and/or websites you would like to share? My students are always looking for new websites to play around with.
I see that you plan on giving your students a survey to get their ideas on the project. Do you anticipate that the students will just reply that the project is too much work and that you should not do it? My students are always trying to get out of doing work at all costs. Do you feel your students will provide honest responses? Just curious as to what you think your results will be.
I also plan to carry over my GAME plan to the following year. It is too late in the year to start a new project, especially with the remaining curriculum I have to address before summer hits. I think next year I will have a better insight if I have to modify my GAME plan or keep as is. But it sounds like you are on the right track and I wish you the best of luck reaching your goals.
Tiffini
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteI too have been spending time collaborating with colleagues and finding the value in sharing ideas. In my district it is unfortunate that we are not given much time to work with our peers and share all of the wonderful ideas we have come up with over the years. I recently began collaborating outside my department with the Library Media Specialists and have found they are quite knowledgable about a variety of different and insightful methods that incorporate technology into the classroom. I would reccomend seeking collaboration time both within and between departments to get an even greater sense of what resources are out there for educators to utilize.
Best, Kristy
Sam,
ReplyDeleteI think that having a grade level website, or blog is a great idea to create a connection between home and school. That is my hope for the blog I created for our Walden program as well. I also created a gmail account for my grade level team to share. Instead of using our school e-mail we all send out group or individual emails from a shared account. The account is linked to our cell phones so we can answer parents almost instantly. This might be a great way for your team to communicate next year as well. Good luck!
Chelsea
Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea, I will have to mention it to my team. Thanks!
Kristy,
I have not collaborated with the media specialist but it makes sense that she would be very knowledgable about technology and ways to integrate it. Thanks for the idea!
Tiffini,
To be honest, the ways I find the websites for my students to use is by Googling math games for kids or by putting in the topic I want the to practice. Mathplayground.com is one that always appears and I also use IXL.com on a regular basis, but it only gives you timed amount of time to use it if you are not a member. I am also lucky in that our math curriculum provides a games CD that I use when covering different concepts.
As for the survey, I know some of the students will say it is too much work, but I hope the rest of the will be honest. It is going to be interesting to see what they say.
Thank you all for your responses!
Sam
Samantha a grade-level website is a large undertaking that requires significant amounts of time to maintain and keep updated. You are beginning a hard journey that I think will pay big dividends by the time you complete the website. The more you can get parents involved in their children's education the more value the students will find in education. parental involvement is the key component of getting students excited about school. Good work and good luck.
ReplyDeleteDoug Baker
Samantha,
ReplyDeleteThe grade-level website is an awesome idea! It is assuring for parents that there is collaboration occurring across classes at the same level. How many teachers teach the same level at your school?
I agree with Doug about getting the parents involved in their child's education. Technology is a great tool for this especially the communication aspect.
--Brett
Doug and Brett,
ReplyDeleteIt is going to take a lot of work to create a grade level website, but I am lucky to work with a wonderful group that will all pitch in and help.
Brett- this year we have 7 third grade classes, but next year because we have a large group coming to third grade, we are going to have 9 classes. Overall, we will have 150 students in third grade and we like to keep our numbers below 20 so we are adding some teachers.
Thank you both for your responses!
Sam R.
Samantha,
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat idea to survey your students at the end of the year. I may do this myself with my tenth graders before the year ends. Like you, I plan to implement many of the ideas that I have read on variious blogs next school year. Thankfully I will loop with my tenth graders providing I am recalled next year.