1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes

500. d.Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
     

My Narrative:

I have met the first NETS.T by using and creative technology projects that I can share with my students. The Webquest project that I created is based off a 6th grade standard about defining decades, centuries, and millenniums. There could have been a simple way of addressing this standard such as having students look up the definition in the dictionary. But I wanted to students to really grasp the concept of the terms in a fun and creative way. For this Webquest project, students will be exploring real-world issues that have occurred  within the past few decades. It will promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness by having students create their own project to display the fashion, music, and dance of that decade.

Another example of this standard is the my technology project that I have created. I have SMARTboard in both of my student placements and these special boards are used everyday to facilitate learning. I wanted to learn more about the features that can inspire students learning. I have learned so much about the features of the SMARTboard by just exploring it personally. My presentation to my class explored only a few features that the SMARTboard can offer. I looked into the being able to drag objects and write with different types of pens, such as the magic pen that with dissapearing ink. I also explored the activities that are premade on the application. These premade activities make it easy for teachers to create their own activities to help inspire learning. There are also interactive tools that I have explored through the SMARTboard application. There is a response application where students can answer questions through their own digital devices and the answers will be automatically calculated and graphed out for data. Another collaborative tool is the SMARTboard lesson activity builder called “Shout-it Out”, it allows students to type their thoughts on their digital device and send it to the board without leaving their seat. This allows input from all students and will be seen displayed on the big board. This creates a great virtual environment for collaboration among students.

Exhibit 1: Webquest

Exhibit 2: SMARTboard

2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the Standards

a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools an resources to promote student learning and creativity

b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress

c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

500. d.Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
     

My Narrative:

One example of being able to design and develop digital age leaning experiences and assessments is a website called Kahoot. This website allows teachers and students to create their own quiz on the content of their choice. I have created my own quiz for my sixth grade class on their Pearson vocabulary. I opened the quiz on the SMARTboard and each student logged into the quiz using a code shown on the board. They each use their own digital device to answer the questions. Students are engaged and excited because it also has a bit of class competition. The faster the student can correctly answer the question, the more points they can earn. At the end of each question, feedback is given to the students on whether they answered correctly or incorrectly but also to the creator of the quiz with data on how many students answers correctly or incorrectly. Students also enjoy creating quizzes for each other as well. The types of questions asked vary from using video, pictures, or sentences to answer using multiple choice.

I have also met this NETS.T standard by using another website that my mentor teacher introduced to me called eduCanon. eduCanon is an online website that incorporates videos from YouTube and turns it into an interactive quiz. I have created one for my sixth grade placement as well as with one of my first graders. The sixth graders really enjoy the break from textbooks to learn content from a video. But instead of just having the video play, eduCanon checks for comprehension by pausing the video to ask teacher made questions questions where students can respond to using a digital device. Students can take answer the questions individually or as a class for class discussions. Teachers can also receive immediate feedback on the questions that were answered correctly or incorrectly if students were taking it individually. The teachers will choose where to add a question and the type of question to add. There are a variety of questions that could be asked such as multiple choice, short answer, choose multiple, fill in the blank and more. I created my own questions for my first grade student for a video about planes. I read him the questions I created, and instead of answering it digitally, I created discussion questions so we could talk about the questions and his answers. It allows for students to be excited about a video but also to know that they can learn something from every video that they watch. These videos can spark discussions amongst each other where they can create their own questions.

Both these websites allow teachers, as well as students, to design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments that incorporate contemporary technology tools that promote student learning and creativity.

Exhibit 1: eduCanon

Exhibit 2: Kahoot

3. Model digital age work and learning

Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.

a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations

b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation

c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats

500. d.Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning
     

Narrative:

To address this standard, we have completed technology projects in our technology class. The first example of meeting the third NETS.T standard is the podcast. For our podcast, I worked with a partner to research women’s rights activist Billie Jean King. I chose to do Billie Jean King because she inspire others through sport, when she beat male, Bobby Riggs in a tennis match nicknamed, “Battle of the Sexes”. Through creating the podcast, my partner and I were able to communicate relevant information and ideas to others using a digital format. A podcast consists of pictures with a recorded voice over to tell give relevant information about a given subject. The process in creating this podcast was interesting because there were many steps involved. First, we needed to research about Billie Jean Kine, then we created a script that addressed all of the facts we wanted to talk about, we then had to find pictures that were relevant to our script, at the end we put it all together using iMovie. This is different from a presentation because now I can share this podcast for anyone who wants to learn about Billie Jean King without having to give a formal presentation our project can be shared digitally.

Another project that we worked on for our technology class was called ProjectTEAM. For this project, we were asked to create and implement an expressive arts lesson of our choice in one of our placements. We recorded our entire lesson, then edited it using iMovie to condense a 45 minute lesson into less than 10 minutes. For this project I needed to coordinate with my mentor teacher on the lesson I was going to present as well as how she could assist me. After completing the lesson and editing the recording, I showed it to my mentor teacher and we discussed what went well during my lesson as well as how I could improve my lesson. Creating the ProjectTEAM helped me collaborate with teacher as well as analyze and evaluating my lesson.

Exhibit 1: Podcast

Exhibit 2: ProjectTEAM

4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.

a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources

b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources

c. Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information

500. d.Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital age communication and collaboration tools
     

Narrative:

To promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility I have completed a technology projects that address this standard. The first project is the Webquest that I created. This project was very time consuming because I was required to find all resources that I wanted my students to be able to access for information regarding their project. In the Webquest, I listed about 50 different websites that I personally looked at for relevant information that students could use in creating their project. I also briefly stated that teachers should be aware of students trying to research on their own because they may explore inappropriate sties. By providing the sites for my students, they are able to practice safe and responsible digital citizenship. I also compiled a list of every site that I used for my example Webquest as well as citing the resources that the students would be using. By providing multiple sties for each different decade, it addresses the diverse needs of all my learners.

Exhibit 1: Webquest

5. Engage in professional growth and leadership

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.

a. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning

b. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

c. Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning

500. d.Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community
     

Narrative:

I am excited to explore this standard even more with my critical question, “In what ways can the use of technology in a lesson set engage students?” As a teacher in a technology growing society, I understand that I cannot know everything about the use of technology in the classroom, but I would like to incorporate it as much as I can.

My first example of meeting this standard is the SMARTboard project that I shared with my classmates for my technology project. By exploring the SMARTboard by myself and using the resources I had, I was able to share what I’ve discovered in the SMARTboard application. By sharing my knowledge of what I have learned so far using the SMARTboard application, I hope that my classmates are inspired to use the features that I examined in their own classroom. I see that many schools are adopting SMARTboards into their classrooms. It is great that I have these SMARTboards in both my placements as well as other technology devices such as iPads or Chromebooks. By using the interactive features of the SMARTboard, we are taking learning to a new level. These resources definitely facilitate student learning because students can see their responses in real time, displayed on the board. This program is always finding advancements and updating it’s features that it is difficult to see everything it has to offer. I would still like to have a formal presentation, as we will in February, about this application. I know that learning about this application can further enhance student learning and I can’t wait to use it in the classroom.

Another example of meeting this standard are the different types of resources that I have learned about from my mentor teachers. I love that both my mentor teachers use a variety of technology tools in their classroom that they are willing to educate me about as well. By observing and experiencing some of the resources I have created a list of teacher as well as student websites that help facilitate learning. The teacher sites are great resources to create assignments for students. I specifically like NewsELA, which is a website with current event articles. These articles can be adjusted to fit the reading level of students so that all students can read the same article but at a level that is appropriate to them. The student list of websites are sites that I see students particularly interested in for learning. Some of the sites are provided by the school, such as Schoology, StrideStart, and MyOn, that Tom McCall endorses. But there are also other awesome websites that facilitate student learning such as the Kahoot and eduCanon that I have discussed in my other standards. Another great website program that my 6th grade students love is Flocabulary. It is a vocabulary curriculum that can be adjusted according to the students development level. Flocabulary incorporates vocabulary words into songs in which students are excited to listen to and watch the videos. It is a great experience and a fun way to learn vocabulary words. I wish to add more resources to these lists so I can have a variety of resources to use in my classroom.

Exhibit 1: SMARTboard

Exhibit 2: Student & Teacher Sites (Left hand column)

Final Reflection:

Overall, I have learned to appreciate technology so much more. I am excited to incorporate technology into my TIP. I want to be able to share with critics who are against technology and “screen time”, that the use of technology can truly enhance learning in ways that we may not have been able to experience when we were in school. So much of our students lives are revolved around technology because we live in a technology based society. Most of my students will already know how to use a computer, an iPad, or even an iPhone before they enter my classroom. I want to be able to show them ways to responsibly use the technology for educational purposes. By the time they enter their careers, technology will have advanced immensely compare to what it is today. Although I cannot learn everything there is about technology, I want to continue my education about technology so I can find ways to properly incorporate it into the classroom by joining technology committees or attending technology conferences.