Course Reflection

As my course, Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas, comes to a close, I am reflecting back on what I have learned in these seven weeks. During that time I have learned that the acronym GAME can help me to plan and reflect on my own learning and that of my students. I have also learned the importance of creating authentic experiences, using strategies such as problem-based learning, educational networking, to help students develop critical and creative thinking skills. These skills, when combined with a growing repertoire of technology tools, will help me to grow professionally and to prepare my students for the 21st-century marketplace.

Through out this course I have developed and carried out a GAME plan. A GAME plan consists of four parts, to set Goals, to take Action towards achieving those goals, to Monitor progress towards meeting your goals, and to Evaluate your achievements and Extend your learning by determining how new skills can be used and/or what else needs to be done (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, pp. 3-5). I am currently in the final two steps of the plan, to Monitor, and to Evaluate and Extend. I am continuing to work on my goals of creating more authentic experiences for my algebra students, as well as modeling, and creating more chances for students to engage in, collaborative construction of knowledge. My GAME plan notes show the steps I have taken and the plans I have for continuing to make progress on my goals. I feel that I have made a lot of progress in each area and will be able to apply my new skills with confidence when the next school year starts. I'm especially excited by the opportunity to implement my newly-created lesson plans that incorporate authentic and collaborative learning experiences as well as encouraging creativity and critical thinking (see my GAME plan notes).

Also, I have learned to develop students' creative and critical thinking skills using a variety of instructional strategies and technology tools. According to Dr. Cennamo (Laureate Education, Inc., 2013a), “in order to solve the problems that are facing us here in the 21st century, it is necessary to think in new and different ways.” Problem-based learning provides students with an opportunity to develop their creative thinking skills as they choose problems to solve and find creative ways to solve them. Using social networking in the classroom, what Vicki Davis calls educational networking (Laureate Education, Inc., 2013c), allows students to exercise their creative and critical-thinking abilities as they work to solve problems with others, no matter where they are located in the world. Students can also bring out their creativity as they develop digital stories, which also can improve their abilities in areas such as reading, writing, and visual literacy (Laureate Education, Inc., 2013b).

The use of not only makes some types of projects much easier to do, but has additional benefits as well. One benefit is that it makes some experiences available to teachers and students that were not avalable without the technology, such as the ability to see far away places, speak with people around the world, and interact virtually with objects that they would not have access to otherwise. Probably the most important benefit of technology, however, is the ability to make curriculum accessible to more students. I have learned that simple tools such as a scanner, optical character recognition software, and a word processor can make a textbook much more accessible to students with visual impairments and/or reading deficiencies by allowing them to zoom in on the text and have it read to them. While the needs of a majority of students can be met through a teacher's normal methods and materials, technology can make it easy to meet the needs of the other 10% (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).

Technology, along with a GAME plan and teaching strategies that encourage critical thinking and creativity, can help teachers to prepare all students for a place in the 21st-century marketplace. A GAME plan can help both teachers and students to become self-directed learners. Technology can help to bring content to life for students, while also making curriculum accessible to all students. Teaching strategies that focus on authentic experiences can encourage students to be creative and think critically. The combination of teaching strategies, technology, and a plan will help me to bring out the best in all of my students.

References:

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, Cenage Learning.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2013a). Promoting creative thinking with technology [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2818306_1%26url%3D

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2013b). Spotlight on technology: Digital storytelling, Part 1 [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2818306_1%26url%3D

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2013c). Spotlight on technology: Social networking and online collaboration, Part 1 [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2818306_1%26url%3D