you've gotta have a GAME plan

Well folks, here we are again… another class with Walden so my blog is switching gears a bit and re-focusing on fun educational stuff! :) 

This week were asked to set up a “GAME” plan to strengthen our knowledge and proficiency using the National Education Standards for Teachers.  Now I will be the first to say that there are a LOT of standards and sometimes the less-important ones get overlooked when teachers try to cram as much into a semester as possible (I have block scheduling so I have semester courses rather than full-year ones).  That being said, the ISTE Standards (formerly NETS) are the kind of standards that can be met through many different avenues.  If anything, these are the standards I like the best because they focus on student learning and creativity.  The one standard I would really like to focus on is #5: Engage in professional growth and leadership.  The two specific standards would be 5b: “Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others” and 5d. “Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community.”

My GOAL is to set up a learning community within my building (specifically my department) and use that team to create a positive example for the rest of my school.  The teachers I work with will often times struggle to get along which leads to a self-distructing team of teachers.  My goal is to create a positive atmosphere within my school to promote teamwork and camaraderie.  I also want to help some of the teachers (very set in their ways) become more tech-savvy.

My ACTION will be to meet with my department and brainstorm ideas to take to our principal. These ideas could be ones that will affect the school or the entire district.  We can come up with ideas to present at our professional development days and coordinate with our tech department to have tutoring sessions for teachers who need help with the latest pieces of technology.

MONITORING my process will come in the form of journaling.  I think this will be the best way to keep track of our successes and failures when it comes to building morale and helping teachers incorporate more technology in their lessons.

Researching different ideas to use in my own classroom and then pass those on to other teachers will be my way of EVALUATING and EXTENDING my learning.  I will study different cases and focus my efforts on creating a positive impact in my school first, followed closely by my district.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education

standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers