Week 4

My game plan called for ongoing professional development that would facilitate my growth as a teacher of writing as well as a teacher who is integrating technology as an instructional tool. I have had many opportunities to grow my skills in the area of technology integration this year. I have become aware of a plethora of web 2.0 tools. I have also added some tools that have included a web cam and Flip video camera for capturing student projects and sharing these on line. As I continue to grow my skills I will continue to seek professional development trainings related to writing instruction. I feel that my students are excited and motivated to write, but I also realize that I need to grow their skills as writers. This is an area that continues to challenge me. I feel that this is due in part, to the fact that I witness skill growth in my students, but I realize that my students still have miles to go before their skills can be considered proficient on state-mandated tests.

Week 3

To carry out my GAME plan I will continue working to integrate the web 2.0 tools I learned about at the use the SC EdTech conference this past fall. I will be attending the NC state technology conference in the spring to gather more resources. I have also come to the realization that there are a number of instructional videos available on You Tube that provide tutorials for using many of the new tools I have learned about. I plan to continue “practicing” so that I can use the new technologies I learned about in the Fall as well as those I hope to learn about in March. I will also gather new information from my fellow classmates in this masters class. Additional information needed with the be actual experiences I have while practicing my GAME plan.
I realize that I need to continue growing my skills as a writing teacher so that I can fully use technology to support my students in their writing activities. As I develop new strategies for writing instruction, I also realize that I need to provide my students more opportunities to collaborate…to problem-solve. Ideally, I would like to observe master teachers who are successfully teaching writing and who are engaging their students in collaborative projects.
Steps I have taken so far to reach my GAME plan include: reading fellow students’ game plans to gather new ideas. As my masters program progresses, I am becoming increasingly aware of strategies to fully integrate technology as an instructional tool. I have gained insight from reviewing posts from other students as well as by conference attendance. I find that as I read and attend professional development opportunities, I am able to really “know what I am looking for.” I have also been afforded opportunities to share the ideas I am gathering with other teachers in my school both in whole-faculty meetings and in small groups. I am currently mentoring a group of 8 other teachers in the use of some of the tools I have discovered this year. All of these activities are furthering my “GAME” plan.

Application 2

As our county moves forward to address the ISTE’s Educational Technology
Standards for Students, I plan to make addressing the areas of “Communication
and Collaboration” and “Creativity and Innovation” a part of my “game
plan.” I feel that I have an
awareness of the use of many of the tools that will provide my students with 21st
Century learning opportunities, but I realize that I need to work to better
utilize these tools both to provide instruction as well as to engage my
students in the learning process.

As a relatively young teacher, I am working to grow my skills as a
writing teacher. As I grow my
skills in providing individual instruction, I realize that students need
opportunities to collaborate as well.
This is an area that I continue to work to improve upon. Classroom management is a concern for
me in this area as is assessing student progress. I find it hard to evaluate student growth when students
collaborate on projects. I realize
the need to provide varied organizational plans when engaging students in the
writing process, but find it difficult when one contributing partner of a
collaborative experience appears to be “driving” the project.

Promoting Creativity and Innovation is a challenge that I believe I
already address. I feel that I
engage my students in the creation of variety of products and allow them
multiple opportunities to share their ideas via podcasts, videos, and other
digital products. However, I
realize that my efforts often dead end as the teachers that follow me do not
use these tools. For that reason,
I have sought opportunities to engage the teachers at my school in trainings
that will allow them to learn to use some of the tools I have available and am
willing to share. I am also in
hopes that the administrators at my school will find it appropriate to purchase
some of these tools to support learning, too. Following some of the trainings that I have helped to set
up, I have made myself available to provide support to teachers. I have found that most have an interest
in using the tools that are available, but they are afraid to try as they are
unfamiliar with these tools. I
realize that my interest in using technology carries with it some
responsibilities to stay current on the trends and tools being used in
education. This is a challenge
that I am willing to accept.
Recently, I attended a state technology conference so that I could gain
insight into the educational trends related to technology.