Monday, October 18, 2010

Using the GAME Plan with Students




The GAME plan is a focus on goals, action, monitoring and evaluation. The benefit of this process is that it focuses on the thinking skills necessary to be a productive citizen. Whether it is a quick decision like what to eat for lunch or a more thoughtful decision such as buying a car, the mind goes through the same process. The ultimate goal of educators is to create productive citizens. This process supports that notion.

A twenty-first century classroom follows the standards set out by International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). When evaluating these standards, one will notice that standards focus on process, thinking skills, creativity, and flexibility. No standard states “The student must use PowerPoint.” This transition is a reflection on how society is changing.

By taking time to read the NETS-T standards, I have established a better means of communicating with my students and parents through the integration of technology. By incorporating the GAME plan into creating a web site, I was able to set goals and monitor my progress along the way. In many cases goals are set by both teachers and students with no clear direction on how to get there. In the end few goals are met. By making a plan, I held myself accountable and was able to accomplish my first goal: To communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital tools.

Teachers need to ensure that students are equipped with 21st century skills so they are actively engaged as a self-directed learner

1 comment:

  1. Nancy,

    You point out that ISTE “standards focus on process, thinking skills, creativity, and flexibility,” rather than on particular applications. This makes perfect sense, considering the rapid pace of technological change. I think the time when we could train students on how to use particular tools, rather than teaching them how to think, solve problems, and adapt, are far behind us. I sometime hear people suggest that because a teacher has not adopted this or that technology, her teaching is obsolete. While I agree that certain tools make teachers’ jobs easier and can help to engage students, I also believe that 21st century thinking skills could be taught in almost any environment with no digital technology at all. Many of the skills that have helped me to adapt to new technologies are those that I learned long before anybody I knew had a home computer. I could follow a process, think, create, and improvise with the early 20th century tools my father inherited from his father. Certainly, the power of digital technology has allowed me to use these intellectual capacities in exciting and more productive ways, but I sometimes find that those who grew up relying on modern technology are, in ways, less inventive than their older colleagues—especially when the power is out.

    -Dug

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