Community Chest

At the tender age of ten I bought my first house. Then I bought a hotel. I managed them, speculated on real estate, and collected rent from people who needed a place to stay. I bought a railroad and an electric company and eventually bought the bright lights of Broadway. I collected $200 every time I passed go and even got thrown in jail. It was okay though, because I had enough money in savings to post my own bail...and there was always the chance I would roll doubles. 

It seemed like an easier life back then. I didn't have to worry about my sink breaking or pipes busting in the crawl space under our slab. I didn't have to replace appliances or water heaters or carpet. All I had to do was observe the board and come up with a plan. After I had a game plan it was easy to run the board. All I needed was a little luck and a lot of dedication and eventually I owned the board. The only thing about a game plan is that in order to have any fun, and in order for your game plan to be effective, you need to play with other people. What makes the game intriguing is having other people with other game plans in place so that you can learn and share strategies. 


So here I am thinking about my GAME Plan again and I am coming to the realization that just like when I was ten, I need to share the experience with others for it to have real value. The idea of a GAME Plan can be effective for my students in the same way it is was effective for me. In fact, it will probably be even more helpful for them to create their objectives, take action, and reflect on the process than it was for me. I have spent my whole life doing this kind of planning. I have students who haven't had the benefit of my upbringing though and they might need a more explicit modeling of the process to prepare them for the demands of innovating, communicating, collaborating, and engaging with real problems. These are some of the standards for students defined by ISTE. 


The most powerful idea that I think I have come across while looking at my GAME Plan has been the crystallization in my mind of the story behind the GAME Plan. You see, each GAME Plan has a story behind it that tells you the values, beliefs, and history of the person creating the plan. Digital storytelling can be a powerful way to express an idea to your audience (Laureate, 2009) and a powerful way to cement understanding of a topic in the mind of the presenter. By telling a story we engage with others in a visceral way that creates a common bond between us. But in order to tell a great story we first need to make sure that we have done all of the work necessary to make that story powerful (Laureate, 2009). That is what the GAME Plan is, but if we know that we will eventually be turning it into a story for others, we can approach the GAME Plan on a number of different levels from the beginning. We can look at the research for credibility but also think about how we would visually depict it to others. We can think about how certain phrases might look on different scales for effect. This is part of the visual literacy described by Abrams (Laureate, 2009). 


So when I look at the NETS-S, I am thinking about all of the standards in terms of digital storytelling. I am thinking about ways to have students develop GAME Plans that specifically address how they will create a story that communicates with others in a collaborative environment the information that they have responsibly researched on their own in a problem based learning environment that they have approached with critical thinking skills. A great template should allow them the freedom to address their own self-defined issues in a constructive and thorough manner. Providing them with tools to take their research and make it relevant can make this process even more powerful. 


When I was little each game had a story to it and each story built on the last. This meant that each time we opened up the board and vied for a special piece we were really just continuing to play out parts of the GAME Plan that we had paused at the end of the previous game. That is how our students should look at their GAME Plans too. Each time they begin to look at a problem it should be with the understanding that they already have a fount of knowledge that they can build on and use. One of the best ways to get them thinking this way is to remind them that they have a story to tell and that they have the tools and resources available to make their stories both entertaining and powerful. 


References:


Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.