In the GAME plan, the last phase is to Evaluate and Extend (E). During this part of the process I will reflect on my plan to evaluate my success in meeting my goals and to think about how I could extend what I have learned to other areas. “Both self-monitoring and self-evaluation are considered essential components of self-directed learning” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).
Evaluating progress towards Goal #1: Learn more about WebQuests and how to create my own that will support my high school math curriculum.
For this goal, I feel that my action plan had some good points but I don’t feel that I have met my goal completely. I learned about WebQuests and got some ideas about how to use them in my classroom but I have not yet created one myself, which was part of my action plan. I still plan to continue to work on this goal over the next few weeks. I don’t think that I planned enough time to work on the creation of a WebQuest and I ended up putting it aside in order to finish other things that had to get done first. I need to make a better schedule and then stick to it.
Evaluating progress towards Goal #2: Learn more about digital portfolios (electronic portfolios) and how to use them to assess my high school math students.
For this goal, I feel that my action plan was very effective and I am satisfied with my progress towards achieving my goal. I learned many things about portfolios and how I could use them with my classes. In addition to my own research, fellow classmates offered insightful information that helped me to reach this goal. I started to make a list of items that I could have students include as artifacts along with room for some student choices. I feel that I met my goal as far as learning about portfolios but I will still continue to search for additional ideas. Also, I don’t think that I will truly be able to evaluate what I have learned until I can put the portfolio to use in my classes and see how it works. That will take time to implement, assess and reflect upon which I plan to start doing with my next semester’s students.
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While I carried out both of my action plans, I learned that I need to be more organized with the information I was finding. As suggested in the course text, I should have kept a journal (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009) and made folders on my computer to save useful sites and resources in a more effective way.
Throughout this process, I have learned how to use the GAME plan to guide myself through self-directed learning activities (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). Although I have always been self-directed and I can say I am self-taught in many areas, I don’t think that I have ever approached it so systematically. What I have learned is a procedure that I could use to learn new things and to use to help my students learn how to be self-directed in their learning. Going through this has made me consciously think about my learning and has made me more aware of what, why and how I learn.
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References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach (Laureate Education custom edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
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An effective way to get started with webquests is to find one and then update and modify it to meet your needs. Generally this is the way I get most educators going with webquests so that it is not too overwhelming. Here is a website that has links to a few webquest resources that I utilize regularly: http://www2.uwsuper.edu/media/advtech/webquests.htm
ReplyDeleteI worked recently with a middle school teacher on implementing a web-based portfolio with 7th grade students. Although we jumped in and undertook this task without complete familiarity with the technology, I think it was the right thing to do. I have observed on many occasions that teachers will wait to use technology until they are comfortable with all aspects of it. This attitude often prevents them from ever using it because; face it, doing something new always presents uncertainty. I think sometimes you just need to take the plunge, and work on the issues as they arise.
Hello Vicky,
ReplyDeleteI think that digital portfolios is a great idea. By the way, what grade level do you teach? I asked this questions because I teach middle school students and I think this is something I would like to use with my students. I am not sure if my students can handle the work load let alone myself. This is an activity that would need careful planning. I like the idea of creating folders. Folders allow for organization and a peace of mind. It sounds like a great activity, just continue to plan well and make sure you work in a schedule that compliments the activity. I found that when I do not schedule my activities, they usually run over into the next activity that I have planned.
It seems that we are all going through a bit of a struggle as we head into the holiday season. This is the tough days as a teacher. It is not a new year full of excitment anymore and we are in more in depth content. Our persoanl lives take on a bigger role and small things have added up to a bigger thing. Keep a positive attitude and realize that this is part of teaching.
ReplyDeleteKevin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link I will definitely check it out. I think you are correct about just taking the plunge.
Olu,
I teach high school math and computer programming. I think your students could handle portfolios, in fact your folders are the same idea just on a different level. I sometimes worry even about high school students being able to handle some things but they need to learn the responsiblity and school is a good place to do it.
Nate,
Thanks for the kind words of advice. Your right, sometimes we have to be able to put things into perspective.