Moitoring my GAME plan progress

I have made significant progress toward learning about how other teachers in my school have used the wiki program provided by the school. Two of the teachers I spoke with told me that they have used it with great success. I had many questions about student grouping and assessment for wiki projects. I originally thought that each student or group would be assigned to a different wiki page, but it seems like a better idea to create just one wiki for the class. That way, all students can see everyone else’s work. Each student or group would create a different page, all on the same wiki.

My colleagues also shared some great ways to use the wiki once it is created. They have created projects in which each group is assigned one topic for their page. Once all the pages are created, students read other pages created by other groups. Then they add edits to the page with questions about information that they wanted to learn from the page but did not. The same students are responsible for finding the answers to those questions and posting them. Students are motivated to create thorough pages because they can then use the information on the wiki during an open-wiki quiz.

Discussing wikis with my colleagues was very helpful and sparked a lot of ideas on my part for how wikis can be used. I also feel more confident about using the school-provided program, and I know I can count on my fellow teachers for assistance when I need it.

In working toward the goals of my GAME plan, I have found many educational blogs geared toward technology in the classroom, many of which address wikis. This information is also helpful, as I can learn about how teachers outside of my school are using wikis and other technology. As I read more from teachers around the globe, it becomes clear to me just how large of a gap there is between teachers who use technology and those who do not. Teachers who use technology are very passionate about how keeping abreast of the newest technologies and about thinking of new ways to incorporate technology into instruction. I have found many teachers through educational blogs who can see instructional uses for cell phones and even Facebook! Yet many teachers do not incorporate any technology into teaching and learning at all. It may be hard to believe, but some teachers who still use an overhead projector! While I am not yet at the level of technology gurus like David Warlick, I do have a desire to incorporate technology into instruction. The more I read in the global educational community, the more obvious it is that technology integration is key to student success.

I still have work to do in my action plan. I would like to communicate with more teachers about how they use wikis in their classrooms. I also plan to seek out more resources through online educational communities. At this point, I do not plan to modify my action plan, but rather to keep working with my current plan.