After using the GAME Plan for the past few weeks it seems that it has gotten easier for me to determine what I need to do in order to keep up with today’s youth. Teachers that have not taken into consideration the NETS-S and how these will play out in our student’s college experience and job searches are really doing a disservice to the teach profession. Content is only one aspect of school, preparing student to do well in their lives whichever way it may take them is the other piece to the teaching puzzle. I would like to look at my units more closely and use the GAME lesson plan template for my curriculum map companion document. I like seeing all the standards that I need to cover and then designing lessons that use technology as a tool to accomplish my goals. By having my content standards right there will the lesson I am working on I have found that I am able to combine like standards that I have in the past wasted time covering individually and the meaning is not always there.
I think that the students would actually benefit from using a document like this to develop projects that they are working on to remind them to review and evaluate what they are doing on a daily basis. If a student fills out a Game Plan I would think that they are more likely to follow through on the evaluation and revisions because they were the ones that included that step, rather than having a teacher asking them to revise it (most students would give it a once over and be done).
NETS-S (for students) as seen in the website: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf
The NETS-S are an important aspect of using the GAME Plan. As I said above, content is only half of the puzzle, the rest of the puzzle are having students apply what they have learned and show that they really understand the material. By incorporating NETS-S like collaboration and problem solving in a technology based environment we are doing more than just teaching the content the students are experiencing the content which will take them much further in life (anyway, when has an accountant or financial planner ever really needed to memorize Newton’s Laws of Motion). However if they every needed to find out about Newton’s Law the NETS-S provide many avenues for them to locate that information.
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Erin, you have written this so well. I agree that we all must prepare our students for their futures - digital futures. As far as Newton's Laws are concerned, understanding that we can describe events using simple principles will help guide students in problem solving in any area of their lives.
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely correct about doing our students a major disservice by not addressing the NET-S goals. With the Internet and other advancements in technology, it is less about what we can retain in our heads but how we can access and apply information and then our ability to collaborate with others to develop what we find.
Knowing "stuff" is hardly enough to compete in today's world. Just like the change in the definition of literacy there is also a change in the set of essential skills that students must have in order to be successful regardless of their goals.