Week 8: Reflection

In summary the actions involved in my GAME plan recognized as critical to meeting the goal to:

Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments and Model Digital-Age Work and Learning is to continue my work with the Touchstone series for learners of English which encourage students to be self-directed learners and to apply critical thinking skills through the application of the interactive whiteboard, self-access software and online resources such as our online workbook which is managed through Fronter, a virtual learning environment, which enables students to foster the understanding of the course content.

To model digital-age work and learning, I have been working as project leader for our faculty development courses for the implementation of technological tools in our English program. My responsibility is to “collaborate with students, peers, parents and community members using digital resources to support student success and innovation.” This semester we have been successful in involving students and teachers in the use of webquests, blogs and wikispaces. I am especially proud of our teamwork for the preparing students to present the Institutional TOEFL exam through the use of online resources.

Immediate adjustments to my instructional practice is to provide opportunities for promoting learner autonomy has become an important issue in teaching and learning languages. Learning a language is such a complex task there is not enough time in the classroom for students to learn in everything they need to be fluent in a second or foreign language. Integrating technology for differentiated instruction enables our students to become self-directed learners and at the same time supports creative thinking. Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer (2010) state that “Authentic instruction provides for, and builds on, learner autonomy. We can support the development of learner autonomy in our classrooms in many ways but one of the basic requirements is that students are able to pursue topics and questions that are interesting and relevant to them.” When students engage in inquiry-based learning through topics that are exciting and interesting for them, they will feel motivated to continue with their language use.

In continuing our pursuit to successfully train students to learn and practice the target language, it is important to identify the connections between the four concepts presented for this discussion and to include in our teaching strategies the GAME plan presented by Dr. Katherine Cennamo (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a) to set Goals, take Action, Monitor and Evaluate and Extend.

Miriam

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. (Producer). (2009a). Program One. Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology [Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Area. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program One. Promoting Self-Directed Learning with Technology [Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Area. Baltimore: Author.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T), Retrieved November 12, 2009, fromhttp://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf