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 15th, 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
Hi Josh,
ReplyDeleteWow your job sounds like so much fun!
I really like the way you applied the GAME plan to your specific situation. I also think your students will learn a lot from the digital recording task you have set them. Social awareness is so important as we work to develop our learners not just academically but to become the leaders of their generation.
As you said, GAME on!
Lisa
Hey Lisa!
DeleteThanks for the reply. Yeah, my job is pretty fun, and working at an international school affords me some different experiences then if I were at a school back in Ontario.
I can only hope that the students get a lot out of it, but they were pretty pumped about it this past year!
Josh
Hello Josh, I like your Game Plan.
ReplyDeleteInteresting enough you said that you are missing being in the classroom, while so many teachers say they wish they were out of the classroom.
If I may I would suggest to you not to only target parents and students, but other teachers (not just PE teachers) in your school as well as in other schools or countries. The fact that those students get an opportunity to visit another country and learn the hardships of others, they are gaining so much knowledge first hand. You never mentioned what age groups you take on those trips.
It would be interesting to see how your Game plan turns out. I would be looking forward to seeing some of your blogs.
Thanks again.
Yvonne
Hey Yvonne,
DeleteThe students that I took were in Year 8 (grade 7 equivalent in North America). These kids get to see a lot of amazing things. They have done more and seen more living here then I ever would have imagined doing back home. Living close to so many countries an cultures is eye opening, and these students all come from affluent homes, and can afford to go just about anywhere. I don't want this to come across as they are spoiled, because this is just a way of life for international students, and the majority of them know how lucky they are. The point of the EOTC trips I describe, is to take out students to areas where they can help, and show them that the life they have is privileged.
Thanks for the response!
Josh