My GAME Plan - Part 2

Thus far I have not taken concrete steps towards fulfilling my GAME plan, however the three main resources I plan to use include the Sloan-C Consortium, Education Week, and the Chronicle of Higher Education websites. All contain resources that include links to educationally focused blogs as well as information on webinars and in-person seminars that could contribute to my personal and professional growth.

To deepen my knowledge of the “Model Digital-Age Work and Learning” NETS standard and to gain a better understanding of how to connect my students’ technological skill development with their future career goals and society’s future career needs, I would like to emphasize a collaborative approach in my lessons.  I feel the Chronicle of Higher Education site would be best suited for this as it will give me information on the latest social and political trends affecting higher academia. This is especially important for me as I tend to tutor high school students working toward attending college.  It will be vital to have a solid base in how to connect their academic needs, with college’s needs as they are shaped by future workforce needs.

To become proficient in the “Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments” standard and therefore create more media centric instruction, I would like to use the Education Week site. I want to gain a better understanding of cutting edge learning technologies and ways to make sure I am making a distinction between them and instructional technologies with my lesson planning. Although learning technologies support the learning process like instructional technologies, the key difference is that they are more student-centered. Learning technologies allow the student to be an active learner, engaging in and shaping their learning resources and thus the process (Laureate, 2010).  If I learn more of technologies like Pinterest, Prezi, or wikis, I can be better at supporting my curricular goals and helping students “acquire and refine their analysis and problem-solving skills as they work individually and in teams to find, process, and synthesize information” (Edutopia, 2008). Effective learning technologies allow students to cull and share information from a variety of sources, emphasize collaboration, and expand their knowledge base.

To expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology - the “Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership” standard - by keeping up date with technological innovations through professional development opportunities I would like to attend a webinar offered by Sloan – C.  I am especially interested in how to leverage the online classroom environment and they have many webinars focused on how to engage learners through internet-based classes.

Resources:

Edutopia Staff (2008). Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?: The Reasons Are Many. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/tech-integration.

Laureate Education Inc. (Producer). (2010). Technology: Instructional Tool vs. Learning Tool [Video]. United States: Laureate Education Inc.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx