Course Reflection - GAME Plan!

Final Blog Post for Educ-67131-1

As this course draws to a close, I have found this to be one of the easier reflections I have had to write.  I have enjoyed this course very much, as it has reintroduced me to some wonderful web 2.0 technologies that I have learned this past 16+ months.  More importantly, this course has given me a GAME plan (pun intended!) in order to implement these technologies.  I felt that I was accumulating so many great tools for my toolbox, but was starting to forget how and when I could use them.

Why hadn’t I been using them? Did I think they were too hard? Did they seem irrelevant? Or perhaps (shockingly) was I scared to use them with my classes?  Case in point; Edmodo. I have known about this site for years, but had strayed away from it.  Admittedly, I felt that because I was a Physical Education teacher, I wouldn’t need it.  But as I logged in and got my home form using it, I had a couple of epiphanies: 

1. My students immediately took to it, how could I have forgotten about its fantastic usefulness, and 2.  Why can’t I use this for all my Physical Education classes next year?  I could post fitness scores and ideas for games, and connect with students (11 classes!) on an entirely different level.

Up until these past few weeks (I am going back to the tool metaphor) I felt that I had all these tools, but just didn’t know how to use them in the right areas.  They were starting to get lost in the shuffle.  This course has made me realize that even as a Physical Education teacher, I can do problem based learning activities.  I can have my students collaborate on projects, and I can also use digital storytelling in a truly powerful way (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).  I am able to Integrate Technology Across multiple Content Areas.

The GAME plan (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer 2010) is already in my arsenal of teaching techniques, but I never called it that. When explaining new skills and tactics, I always set goals for my students. There was an action plan to try and meet those goals.  I monitored their progress, to see if I was in fact, teaching them properly, and I evaluated them using curricular rubric.  I did not however, create my lessons in an organized fashion as I did during this course.  I intend on using the GAME template for my lessons that are going to require use of technologies, and incorporating more of these technologies into my lessons.

Finally, I think I want my students to become more aware of the GAME.  I want them to know that the lesson is structured in a way that will help them learn the best.  I will definitely be going “back to the drawing board” this summer, it’s time for me to buck up a little more, and get myself deeper into the GAME.*

* as a pe teacher, I feel I need to try and use as many sports clichés as possible.

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful  classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Digital storytelling. Baltimore, MD: Dr. Arnie Abrams. 

Photos from:

http://www.plottopunctuation.com/blog/show/60

Monitoring My Game Plan

Monitoring My GAME Plan

            My GAME plan research has been going well.  I have searched the Internet and found a problem in and around the Yangshuo area; negative impact of tourism.  I know how my students can capture and share this problem; pictures and video.  I have an idea of how I want them to present their findings; podcast, vodcast, iMovie, PowerPoint. The problem that I do face, is what can I do with this information? Is there a way to contact authorities and present a problem? 

            I don’t need to modify my action plan as of yet.  In fact, I can’t initiate this idea until our next EOTC trip, which is in November.   I have learned a lot about the Chinese tourism, in particular the tourism around Yangshuo.

China will be the world’s leading travel destination around 2016-2018, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
[UNWTO World Tourism Rankings 2010; Wikipedia “World Tourism Rankings” ]

Yangshuo Aiming to Be World Class Tourist Destination

http://www.szdaily.com/content/2011-03/25/content_5466270.htm

Does anyone have any experience in this sort of matter?

A couple of examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgScFBvjzJU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L70XuasfSBg

Picture retrieved from: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/travel/2011-10/04/c_131173825.htm

Now What?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpkecYVRt_E

Game On! What do I do now?

          I re-read my GAME plan, and I came up with a few things I never thought of earlier.  I basically want my students to go into the Chinese city we visit (Yangshuo) and come out with the ability to help fix something that they found wrong with it. Really?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgUFlvclYyA

            Now, I believe that this is too broad; 

Mr. Pike:  “Hey guys, just grab your cameras and go video tape something that you think could be improved or helped in the city.”  

Students: "OoooKay?"

            I really like my GAME plan, of trying to institute some change, but I think that I need to narrow the focus. So I decided to look into the city myself; the resource I need is information.  What are some issues that are happening within Yangshuo, and what can I use to capture and display this?

           So, how am I to guide my students if I don't have the know how?  Laureate Education Inc. (2009) said that when using technology to customize instruction, we must have knowledge of what we are using.

            I found that there is a rising problem of over-tourism in the small city. Millions of people visit every year, and it is starting to leave a negative impact on the natural beauty of the area.  Perhaps I could have a lesson on this before we go their, to open their eyes to this growing problem.  Another lesson could be done on the value of eco-tourism, and the soft impacts it has on the environment.  Now my students would be armed with some background knowledge of the harmful effects of too many people, and some examples of tourism that is healthy and sustainable. With this knowledge, they could now begin the trip with a narrowed focus of what to look for, and what could possibly be done to improve the situation.

            Next step, making sure they are all comfortable using a camera. All of the students possess a smart phone, be it a Samsung or iPhone, and these all have cameras that will capture pictures and video.  My students will now be armed with an education of what to look for, and how to capture it.  

            Finally, the students will need to present their findings using a multi-media tool; PowerPoint, iMovie,  Vodcast or perhaps a Keynote presentation. 

            I feel that giving my students a narrower focus will produce less muddled outcomes.  They will have an idea of what to look for, how to capture it and how to share their discoveries with others in the class.  Once we have this complete, we can start to focus on some solutions to the problem.

            

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use.    Mason: Centage Learning.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009).Meeting Students Needs With Technology. Baltimore, MD: Author

GAME ON!

GAME ON!  I’ve shouted these words countless times throughout my life. Admittedly, it’s always been in the context of sports or athletics. Never have I said them trying to connect a self-directed learning technique (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2010) and national education teacher standards.  I guess there’s a first for everything.

I perused the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located on the International Society for Technology in Education website, looking for standards and indicators that I would like to improve on.  One thing I’ve learned in the last 15 months is that I should always be looking to improve on my teaching skills and knowledge.

As I teach Physical Education now, and have been out of the classroom for the last two years, I found that I am a little rusty on a few of the standards, and took it to heart a little after reading that ‘effective teachers model and apply the NETS-S as they design, implement, and assess learning experiences for students’ (ISTE, 2012).  I do none of these things!  Like I said, I used to be in the classroom. So I decided to connect the standards and indicators to what I have done, and set goals to what I would do if I had a classroom now. 

Throughout my somewhat teaching career, I feel that I have basically covered a couple of the standards, but would really like to improve on the others.  I have designed and developed digital learning experiences and assessments, promoted and modeled digital citizenship and engaged in professional growth and leadership (this program!) comfortably (ISTE, 2012).  Alas, there are two standards that I would like to set goals for.  I chose these, because I can cover these standards from the position I have now.  I do other things in the school besides teach gym, and believe that the goals I will set will not only help me, but my educational community as well.

I am a trip leader for my schools Education Outside the Classroom annual ventures.  We take students to rural places in China, to give them a taste of life outside the city and without the comforts they are used to.  Because of this, I would like to set a goal for the following standard and performance indicator; I want to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity by engaging my students in exploring real world issues and solving these problems using digital tool and resources.

How will I accomplish this?  I introduced my students to podcasting on our last trip, and it went over wonderfully.  For the next time, I will get my students to bring a digital recording device.  I want them to capture anything that they believe is a social issue on the trip; poverty, hunger, lack of education; I will keep the parameters pretty loose.  I want them to bring these images and videos back with us, so that we can brainstorm ways to help improve them.

I will monitor and evaluate my learning by following through with a solution.  I feel their isn’t much point to just taking video’s of social issues, if I’m not going to do anything with the footage.  Trying to come up with a solution will enable me to monitor what I am doing; did I find the information I needed, are my students understanding? Do I need to modify my approach, or change how I explained this to the students? (Cenammo, Ross & Ertmer, 2010)  Finally, I can evaluate my learning and that of my students by reflecting on if I should change anything for the next time or seeing if my lesson worked; were the students able to articulate the real world issues they saw with their digital resources?

A second standard I would like to improve on would be modeling digital age work and learning (ISTE, 2012).  I have been able to acquire so much knowledge this past year, and because I don’t have my own class, I feel I am unable to collaborate with students, peers, and parents using digital tools and resources.

A goal for me is to increase collaboration and information sharing through a blog. I want to start an athletics blog that I can communicate information with parents and students, so that it’s convenient for them, but allows me to use some of my expertise. 

My action plan will be to evaluate and assess what information I think I need to share, and comparing that with the information that our parents will need.  I am close with a few parents from school, so I feel comfortable in asking them what type of information they would like to see published on an athletics blog, this will allow me to streamline what I publish.

Actually creating the blog will help me monitor and evaluate the success of my idea.  Do I need to modify my action plan?  Is the correct information being displayed in a way that parents and students can understand?

In all honesty, reading the standards and performance indicators has made me realize that I miss the classroom. Teaching physical education covers standards, obviously, but a very different set in comparison to the classroom. I am grateful that I can extend my learning to cover the ISTE NETS-T standards, and hope that I can increase my proficiency in this area.

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Game on Logo. Digital Image. IMG game spot. May 15^th, 2013. http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/gsau_images/Forum%20posts/GameOn_280x228px.jpg

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (2012). National education standards for teachers.  Retrieved on May 15, 2013 from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Motivation Needed?

Motivation Needed?  Watch below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=egBF1w-sHR4

Screencast! 

Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie?

Living in China, I decided I needed a way to keep the government from reading the capitalist thoughts in my head.  I found a website that promised me that my thoughts would remain my own, so I decided to look a little deeper and investigate the site some more.
I couldn't help but think, did M. Night Shyamalan use this product for inspiration? 

Have a peak at my screencast review below, where I used our weekly resources to dissect what I saw.

http://www.screenr.com/puQ7

Thailand Adventures

Just arrived back into Bangkok for one more night before heading back to Shanghai. Just spent a great 2 weeks in Chiang Mai, Pai, Ao Nang, Railay and Koh Lanta. Unwinding was the goal, and relaxing we did. Motorcycle rides, zip lining, great food, swimming, beach slothing, snorkeling and casual beverages were just a few of the highlights. Can't wait for the next adventure. Myanmar in 4 weeks!