Reflection

Final Blog Post
The GAME plan I developed about seven weeks ago had realistic expectations but was difficult to follow through. Since it is the end of the school year it is difficult to keep up with everything that is going on. It was also a difficult time to implement new technologies since there was not much time for follow up.

With the time that I did have to work on my GAME plan I found some interesting resources that I can use next year. Implementing the GAME plan now allowed me to collect ideas for next school year and I can continue to search for new ways to use technology throughout the summer. I would revise my GAME plan by being sure to include other teachers and technology integrators within the building to help find needed resources such as classrooms to Skype with. I would not have students create their own GAME plan since they are five years old. However, I think we can create one as a class as needed to be sure we are learning new things together and using exciting new ways to learn and present our learning.

This course and the GAME plan have shown me how much a push there is to use technology. I feel like I have little time to implement the curriculum the way it is, let alone use all different types of technology to do it. I do see the many benefits of using it for my students, so of course I will try it. I try to implement technology as much as possible without “reinventing the wheel”. Once a technology is introduced, I will try to use it several times with students so once they are familiar with using it, the content of study will be their main focus.
After this course I really see how education is headed toward using technology in every way possible. As of now, I do not feel the pressure of using technology all the time in the classroom. I would be interested in seeing a high school or middle school classroom in my district and see how often they are using it with their students. This would give me a good idea on how and what I should be introducing to the Kindergarteners that are coming into my classroom.

I would like to incorporate more collaborative learning within the classroom for students to create artifacts to show their learning. We have used TuxPaint a lot this year since it was something they could do independently after a few short lessons. However, I would really like to use digital storytelling with my students. I think it would be a great way for them to show their creativity and practice their writing, communication, problem –solving, and content knowledge.