REFLECTIVE ESSAY

The GAME Plan was very new for me. In fact, integrating technology at this level is novel, because of the lack of resources to fully implement the kind of technology infusion that is required into the curriculum. The purpose of the GAME Plan is to create self-directed learners, because when both teacher and student are using technology, there is a great deal of learning that has to be done without formally learning about it. The GAME Plan ensures that this is so.

The teacher and the student is focused on remaining on course with the activity using the GAME Plan. G - the goals that are set for the realization of the final product, A - action to be taken to ensure the success of the project, M - monitoring the entire learning process; and E - evaluating the process, to ensure that the desired learning outcomes have been achieved. When I followed this procedure for my project with my GAME Plan, I realized that it made me remain focused on the desired outcome and learning objectives. It provided a very organized way to ensure that content learning took place, and both the teacher and students were able to learn together through self-direction.

Although I have had to make adjustments to some aspects of the project, due to circumstances beyond my control, it still ensured some measure of success. I would need to look more closely at how I have to infused technology into my content area learning strategies, and how self-directed learning takes place. I would be using more web blogs, wikis, digital storytelling, and other online and social networking tools (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Skype) to enhance content learning and student engagement. Therefore, as educators, we have to get ourselves into the world of our students, which is a digital world, by learning more about the technology through professional development, and using the tools. We take a lot of things for granted, and do not realize the vast potential that these digital tools have for student learning. In fact, this course has showed me that we are learning all the time, both formally and informally, and most times it is informally, or self-directed.


Pauline Branker