Course Reflection

In this course, I discovered the GAME plan for personal productivity. It ties into the goal setting strategies I have used during my career. In this case, it became a system where I could be successful. By establishing goals, taking actions toward these goals, monitoring my actions and results, then evaluating my performance in achieving the goals, the system taught me how to better monitor and evaluate my actions. It was effective enough for me to teach my students how to use the game plan for their projects and goals. This system taught me to be flexible, to think about my end result, and to make adjustments to my goals as needed to improve the outcome I desired. This has become an integral part of my success toolbox, and eventually for more of my students.
My discoveries during this course have been numerous with one idea that stood out: Be flexible. When our instructor had us evaluate where we were along the continuum toward our goal or goals in weeks five through eight, he was using the monitoring concepts in the game plan to have us look at where we were, and how we could improve. He taught me to evaluate my unit plans and gradually add further complexity and academic demand to each level of the plan for my students.
To adjust my teaching practice, there are two areas that I am incorporating in the next term for my students. These include improving my unit planning to incorporate many of the tools I have learned in this course, as well as to have my students learn to become Game managers as well. My unit plans will be more complete due to this class, integrating my curriculum standards as well as the NETS standards for my students. In this way, my students will cross curricular lines for both music and technology. Adding complexity will allow me to create more demanding projects and work for my students, offering a more real world experience in recording, music creation, and composition. My students will be more successful by implementing the Game system of thinking in their individual and group work. By adding goal, action,monitoring, and evaluation tools into my unit planning, the students will be using the goal oriented system to their advantage while they work in my class, and in other classes as well. Tying the two elements together will allow my students more opportunities to establish their learning agenda, as well as their success in school.

Using the ISTE-S Gameplan

My first priority of the ISTE-S standards is to create responsible digital citizens. The computer keyboard has become at times, a tool to bully, or shout down a dissenting response. Students need to be taught that all people will not agree, yet respect for the other opinion must be granted.

Communication and collaboration tools are able to be used via a blog, a wikipage, or text message. Digital students use these tools daily to talk with their friends. I have witnessed High School age students text each other on a bus to a performance event. In some cases they were sitting two seats in front of them. These tools need to be utilized and taught to students to use them in an ethical and responsible way.

Critical Thinking, problem solving, and decision making are all part of working in a digital workspace. While not there physically, their thoughts, and ideas are communicated via the internet. Working with students in facing these challenges is where I think education will be heading toward. Online High Schools are already starting to work for students. They still have to use their intellect to create something from nothing.

Using the GAMEplan, students can set and achieve their goals, whether with technology, personal accomplishment, or any other area of their life. By establishing a goal, taking actions, monitoring your achievement, and evaluating your performance, students can apply these concepts to every aspect of life. I like to think of the parable about the tiger, who can do it all, yet must teach the younger tiger to do what he can do. In many cases with technology the kids have an advantage, yet I show my students daily tricks and tips that will assist them in being successful in music and in life.

Gameplan Week 6

In this week's reflection, there are many new opportunities for my students to learn about authorship. Using the Clemente "Night Before Christmas" poem, students created a rhythmic map and melody from their map to write their own melody for the poem. I was able to connect to a real application of their work with the website http://www.minimumnoise.com/Projects.aspx, where creative people can submit their musical work, and get a chance at being paid for their work. My students became quite interested when a commercial project on the site was valued for 1500.00. I let them hear some of the "winning" submissions as well. I think my students became aware of opportunities they did not know existed in North Georgia.
As for pushing forward with my NETS standards, I want to take my class blogs and wiki pages outside our school, connecting with other regional schools first, then expand it to the worldwide community. Two projects that I have begun to work toward include a flatearth music composition page, as well as wikispace pages that can be used for music composition and music performance. Students will be able to use NETS and Music standards in conjunction to create music. This will give a wider audience of people to offer suggestions, encouragement, and networking opportunities for my music students. It is taking the big fish out of the little pond and putting them into a larger pond with bigger fish. This is going to be exciting!

Gameplan Week 5

This week, I used many cited references in my teaching. One example was the citation for Clemente for the "Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem in my work. I cited at least three musical transcriptions of this work as well.

In reading my technology related reader stories, I discovered that Apple has created a 3D screen that does not need glasses, that Google is coming out with a social networking site called "Emerald Sea," and that Ion Audio has created an duo flip camera that will be available for consumers. What a cool time we live in.