Final Reflection

The most interesting part of my GAME Plan as I implement some of the components into my lessons is that I am finding that I do not need to entirely change everything I do in my classroom. I can appeal to many of the technology standards for my students by modifying a few parts of what I already do in my classroom.

Digital storytelling is a great addition to my lessons. Digital story telling is great for my language arts classes and social studies. The video "Spotlight on Technology" offers a whole host of benefits that our students receive when using digital storytelling. First, our students are really interested in the use of technology, and are fascinated with making visually captivating artifacts. Digital storytelling also reaches a much wider audience. Students also use digital storytelling to appeal to certain people to bring political, social, or environmental change, (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).

One aspect any teacher must keep in mind, also mentioned in "Spotlight on Technology" is the need to incorporate our local, state, and federal standards into the lesson when implementing a digital storytelling project into the classroom. I believe there are many ways to include these standards when using digital story telling in the classroom. My social studies classes can retell a historical conflict, show animal migration, or do a time line for ancient civilizations, all of which are mandated by our state content standards.

I like the use of book trailers for digital storytelling. My students recently completed a book trailer in my language arts class. The project hit many of our state content standards and used many of the writing steps. You can find book trailers with a simple search on Google. "Spotlight on Technology" also mentioned book, movie, or music reviews with the use of technology. I think this is also a really creative idea, "(Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Students could recreate Shakespeare scenes, animate their poetry, or recreate a book ending all of which would engage my students and involve them with the use of technology.

My GAME Plan uses “technology to accomplish goals instead of using technology for technology sake"(Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). My GAME Plan also shows my students how to problem solve with real world examples preparing them for their futures as adults.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). Program twelve. Spotlight on technology: Digital Storytelling, Part 1 [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Ertmer, P.