Alfonso Gonzalez Email and Phone Number

2022 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators Recipient2021 NCCE Outstanding Technology Educator of the YearGoogle Educator Levels 1 & 2Curipod AmbassadorMagic School AI PioneerSchool AI Certified Educator Brisk AI Pro 1 & 2Diffit Certified EducatorPear Deck CoachMinecraft Global MentorMinecraft Esports LeaderQuizizz Game ChangerAdobe Creative Educator Level 1Adobe Creative Educator Level 2My mission is to help my students become independent, self-directed and lifelong learners. I plan to facilitate this process by ensuring that my students enjoy learning even though they are in school. I want my students to feel safe enough to take risks in my classroom the same way they do in their real lives away from school. I plan to facilitate this by having my students involved in constructivist activities in the form of long-term, research projects where they will have access to the latest technologies. Students will learn how to effectively work in cooperative groups and will be taught strategies for problem-solving and getting along. Students will learn to use technology to work on performance tasks and students will be assessed regularly. I use different forms of assessment such as formative assessments and portfolios to help students understand how they are performing and to show them their growth. By using different forms of assessment and learning, all students, including special needs students and highly capable students will be able to learn and succeed. To help students in all these endeavors, parents will be included in all aspects of their child's education. Parent involvement is essential in helping students become self-directed and lifelong learners. I will keep parents informed about all we are doing.An emphasis in my class will be on gaining skills, not just knowledge. Students will learn how to connect, communicate, collaborate, curate, create and use critical thinking to accomplish their varied tasks. Choice will also play a part in my students’ lives as they engage in Quest-Based Learning opportunities. In order to help me reach these goals for all my students I find ways to make the learning fun through gamification and, when possible, game-based learning. By making my class more game-like with an exciting narrative, students will enjoy coming to school and become even more motivated to engage with the work and activities before them. By transforming my courses into videogame-like adventures, my students will have fun and engage with my content because learning that is fun and playful is learning that sticks.