ISTEA and The Personal Game Plan

It is important for teachers to constantly think about how they design, implement, assess and evaluate in the classroom. Thinking about teaching and learning throughout the process will ensure that students are getting the most out of instruction, and that time is being used efficiently. As we continue to move deeper into the age of technology, organizations such as the International Society for Technology in Education play a crucial role in helping teachers plan, deliver and evaluate lessons effectively.

After examining the International Society for Technology in Education website (2008), I feel that I am comfortable with the second and fourth standards. I feel that the district has helped me achieve the second standard by providing new technology in the forms of laptops, Promethean Boards, IPads and a media center in the library. These tools help me personalize learning activities and have a technology-rich environment for the students. The new technology also provides students and teachers with a number of ongoing assessment options to check the pulse of student growth. The second standard of designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments is now easily achieved. Also, as a teacher of any grade level, I feel that it is second nature to follow through on the fourth standard. This includes modeling digital citizenship and responsibility (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).  Digital tools should always be used responsibly, and teachers should practice modeling safe, legal and ethical use.

One indicator from the International Society for Technology in Education website (2008), that I feel can be improved is 1.d. Modeling collaborative knowledge by engaging with colleagues in particular via a virtual environment is something that I strive to improve. Much time and effort can be saved by creating a Dropbox or similar account. These online accounts allow multiple people to access a shared account. Users can add and take information from the account easily and from anywhere. Teachers can share resources such as modified work, tests, plans and much more. After setting up the account and showing colleagues how to use the resource, it would be helpful to create folders to organize the work. Monitoring the use or Dropbox would be easily achieved by logging on often and checking to see what has been added. After a year of gathering resources, it would be helpful to take an inventory check and evaluate what parts of the curriculum still need to be addressed.

According to the International Society for Technology in Education (2008), it is important to model digital age work and learning. I would like to specifically focus on indicator 3.b. Collaborating with students using digital tools is an excellent way to keep them engaged in the lesson. I would like to create a wiki or blog for students to post group research on regarding the Revolutionary War. Both the Social Studies and Language Arts curriculums dedicate a unit to this topic which has a vast amount of information. I feel that it is sometimes hard for student to synthesize all the important information. By having a forum for groups to post important information from what they read to, I feel students would benefit greatly. A rubric could be created to monitor student progress and ensure they are doing all the requirements. Evaluating the learning can be done by having groups share what they have compiled and presented in a final project. Other groups as well as teachers can give feedback on group findings.

Implementing both indicators mentioned would be beneficial to both teachers and students. Sharing information would be done easily. Implementing technology will also continue to submerge all in the digital age of technology.         

 

Resources

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers