GAME Plan Update

As I begin to work through my GAME plan, I decided to focus on Indicator 4 specifically this week.  I went through several of the resources I found, and began thinking of what our school has in place for students to guide them in their internet usage.  Sadly, my school is lacking in this department.  My principal showed me our parent permission slip, and I realized it's just a modified form of a "Can we take your child's picture?" form for use on the website.  Further digging, and I can't find any documents that do more than tell our kids it's against the rules to steal or break the technology (although somewhere there's a Facebook addition that allows kids to be punished at school for inappropriate behavior on Facebook at home).  Personally, I was shocked that in all the paperwork that goes home to be signed at the beginning of the year there isn't a student or parent contract outlining how to behave online as a Digital Citizen.  My principal and I are looking into changing this and I have a great starting point!:
Kid's Pledge
Parents' Pledge

I could use help in coming up with ways to promote digital etiquette to other teachers in my school.  I certainly don't want to add more to their plates, but I feel it's important for students to learn to be digital citizens from their teachers.  What ways can I encourage our faculty to make an effort, and what could I do to get my kids excited about it?

GAME Plan review

Indicator 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility




Some resources I have found on this subject mostly fall under the online category:

Digitalcitizenship.net promotes 9 themes of digital citizenship, includes contracts for students and parents, and also provides multiple resources for teachers.

Ecitizenship provides a free online course for K-12 educators, and was created by the California School Library Association.  This resource is made up of 6 modules and offers tutorials and other tools for educators.

Edutopia has a fantastic set of articles and videos on the themes of cyber-bullying and "Netiquette" as well as internet safety.  I read a fantastic article on Teaching Digital Citizenship in the Elementary Classroom that provides insights on the importance of digital citizenship and its comparisons to simply being polite to people you see face-to-face.  This article itself has links to additional lesson resources.


Indicator 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership



For professional growth, I have been searching for opportunities in our area.  So far I have attended an apple workshop for several days on the use of iPads in the classroom, and worked with our school's tech supervisor to install technology in classrooms as well as train teachers on the devices.  I would like to have more opportunities to learn about tools my teachers can use in their regular education classes to supplement what they are teaching.  Unfortunately, I will need some time during school hours to meet with teachers, as well as time away from school to attend meetings and professional development opportunities.  At this time, I haven't been able to find any new sessions available in the area, but I am planning on working with teachers around the district as we implement our iPad labs in every elementary school.

Personal GAME Plan

As I continue to reflect on Self-Directed Learning, I have identified two NETS-T indicators that I would like to focus on for growth.  Indicator 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility is essential in creating a generation of positive digital citizens.  Although I am well-versed in what makes a good digital citizen, I have never had to teach students as we haven't had the availability of individual internet connection in our classroom until this year.  Since I see all students in our building, I want to start my students with a strength in digital citizenship.  Indicator 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership - as the Technology Coordinator in my building, I want to find ways to strengthen the use of technology in our students through their teachers.  I want to be sure I am knowledgeable enough to bring my teachers valuable information that they can use in their own classrooms.


Katherine Cennamo's GAME plan consists of creating Goals, Actions, Monitoring information, and Evaluating the process.  Here is my personal GAME Plan:

• GOALS: 
• Indicator 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
• I want to know effective methods of teaching safe and ethical behavior for use with technology in the classroom.
• I know how to interact with others online, I want to be able to model that for my students.
• What can I do in my building to promote digital etiquette and responsibility?
• Indicator 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
• I want to exhibit leadership in my school by modeling instruction that is fully integrated and enhanced with technology.
• I want to contribute to the well-being of my school to better prepare students for the digital age.
• I want to continue to learn and grow as an educator in an ever-changing field.
• Action:
• Indicator 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
• I need to research how others teach safe behavior online in the classrooms.
• I need to consider my diverse student body and how to best present my information.
• I need to collaborate with other technology coordinators in the district to see what models we have available for teachers in this area.
• Indicator 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
• I need to find out what professional growth opportunities are available in our area.
• I need to meet with other technology supporters in the building to collaborate for staff opportunities.
• I need to reflect on what my school currently expects of teachers in the area of technology.
• Monitor:
• Indicator 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
• Is my research method successful?
• What is the preferred learning method of students in my building?
• What are my findings from other technology coordinators?
• Indicator 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
• Are there sufficient opportunities in the area?
• Do I need to move to online sources for staff development?
• Do we need to revise our school expectations?
• Evaluate/Extend
• Indicator 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
• Have I met my goals?
• What do I need to modify and continue to explore?
• Indicator 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
• What needs to be done differently in the future?
• Are there other options that I need to continue to explore?

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved fromhttp://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx