My Game Plan

Evaluating my GAME Plan

How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?

I have been reviewing my GAME plan and the actions I said I would take. There is always room to improve strategies and goals. I have looked at other blogging websites, paying careful attention to the names of the blogs, and how they were set up. I've gotten some good ideas for what I want to do with my upcoming class.

What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?

I have researched some educational benefits to blogging. I have read that it promotes critical and analytical thinking, but it also promotes social interaction amongst the 5th graders. Other teachers have commented that blogging with students allows for collaboration with projects, online sharing ideas, ongoing dialogues and a central place to keep everyone's work. Teachers have stated that this can be done with both the whole class and small group settings (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).

What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?

I have a few concerns that I need to find solutions for. We all know that blogs are posted on the web and can be viewed by anyone if the privacy settings are not set before blogging begins. Teachers need to discuss privacy issues in depth with students before we allow them to start. Teachers need to explain the importance of never sharing personal details or their last names on the internet for all to see. When the students were younger they were told not to talk to strangers, well I would want them to understand that this falls in the same category. My question would be how would I make them understand this?

With the first question, comes another concern. At what point do I not "filter" what is posted? I know that at first I need to do this, but when do I let them decide how to word things and post things without being "filtered" first?

How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?

I would like to start the school year off with blogging, and use it as much as I could, to get the children familiar with the "new way of responding." Change isn't always easy, but I would like to get them started with it as soon as they get back from summer vacation.

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use. (M. Staudt, & M. Stranz, Eds.) Mason, OH, USA: Cengage Learning.

Game Plan Progress

This past week I have been having the children ask each other what they would want the name of the blog to be for the class. We came up with some different ideas; but we "tried them out on the computer to see what they looked like." The students loved that idea. We also took a look at the curriculum alignment that we needed to cover. We picked out the appropriate AKS (academic knowledge and skills) that we would be covering. Some of the questions that were asked of us to answer this week were:

Are you finding the information and resources you need?

I explained to the 5th graders that we would be working on curriculum alignments and that we "must develop and select assessments that allow students to demonstrate mastery that is demanded by the standards." (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 141). I know that you must be wondering why I told my students all that information and those words, and the reason is because we continually talk to the children about tests, and content area information that they need to know. We found other class websites where the class had a continuous blog. I showed them what it would look like which then lent itself to more ideas.

Do you need to modify your action plan?

As of right now, I feel like my GAME plan is working like I wanted it to. As I get further into it, I might need to tweak some things here and there.

What have you learned so far?

By following this format and plan, I feel like my students and I are following some very similar protocols. I feel like I am learning some new things right along with them. I want to involve them in self assessments while blogging. In chapter 6 of our book, it talks about outcome feedback. It says that, "students will benefit most when they receive feedback about the quality of their work and suggestions for improvement - not just whether their responses were right or wrong." (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 139).

I believe in that comment, and have observed and seen it occur firsthand.

What new questions have arisen?

I would like to make sure that I keep my students focused and organized and wonder how I can ensure that to happen. How can I better teach my students to blog and take notes and show constructive criticism to one another.

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, Cengage Learning