I can remember when I was a teenager and my family got our first VCR. I was the VCR master in our house. I could tune in any cable channel and tape anything from daily television to movies on cable. My parents had no clue how to use it, and neither did many teachers at school. As time has passed the technology has become much greater; VCRs are all but obsolete. We have computers with projectors, elmos, Interactive Smart Whiteboards, BlueRay Disc and of course smartphones.
Do you know how to use all of these items? Me neither, that is why ISTE has given us the NETS for teachers. I will be exploring Standard 3, Modeling Digital-Age Work and Learning.
Do you know how to use all of these items? Me neither, that is why ISTE has given us the NETS for teachers. I will be exploring Standard 3, Modeling Digital-Age Work and Learning.
The Digital-Age is now, with all of the current technology and Web 2.0. We, the teachers, need to keep up with this technology and apply it too our classrooms. Our students are digital learners; can we connect them and keep them interested?
The first part of standard 3 refers to fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. Meaning, have a good understanding of what you are doing with the technology when you use it in class. Problems will occur, mistakes will happen; just be sure to model how to problem solve and handle those situations without panicking.
The rest of the standard deals with communication and collaboration. Using the telephone is always a good way to communicate with others, but with email, webpages, wikis and podcasts the ability to communicate has become simple (if you know how to use the technology). Communication has been put at our fingertips. Everything is now easily accessible and available on your time at your convenience. Our job is to use these tools of technology to communicate and collaborate with students, parents and community to further education. Get information to people in as many ways as possible.
Finally, model model proper use of technology as you facilitate the use of it. Allow the students to explore the technology you chose. Guide them through the process, allow them to make mistakes, and keep them focused on the ultimate end goal. Together the students and you may just figure out some new things.
I hope to incorporate the communication part of this standard. At the very least I plan to create a web page with links to learning goals, rubrics, a pacing guide, assignments past and present and notes. In the future I hope to explore a blog where students can journal and express their successes and failures in math.
Great post! The graphic is very interesting and engaging - I definitely stopped scrolling down the blog when I saw that graphic. Nice blogging!
ReplyDeleteLee,
ReplyDeleteI can really relate to your points in this post. When I read this I thought, "wow, this really makes sense!" I liked your point about understanding the technology that you are using and demonstrating good problem solving, it takes me back to the first year that I taught CAD Fashion Design. I didn't know the first thing about using CAD and there would be days where things didn't work the way that I remembered them in training. I have noticed that the way that that first class problem solved compared to my recent classes models the way that I taught them. My classes now are able to problem solve more independently because they see me work to figure out issues without getting frustrated. Also, I wanted to say that if you figure out a good system for blogging (since OPS blocks almost everything having to do with blogs) let me know because it is something that I am really interested in incorporating in my classes as well! Great job!
I loved the graphic also! Like Heather your comment about modeling problem solving when problems arise struck a chord with me. I am so new to so much of the technology that it often seems more trouble than it is worth to use some of it sometimes. Viewing it as a problem solving "teachable moment" for my students will be helpful.
ReplyDeleteI too had to model technology problem solving with my "dumb" board a few times this year. You would have laughed to see my studnet's shocked faces when I finally had to call it quits with a frozen computer and a twitchy SmartBoard and used the white board and markers! It was also fun to relate the SmartBoard use back to the new Standards Based Grading. Since I have had no training on the board there were a lot of level 5 opportunities, but there were also times where my students taught me to do things that they had seen other teachers do.
ReplyDeleteI am also curious how you communication goals go... My son's middle school expects the teachers to update the "homework hotline" weekly at a minimum. Of course some teachers are great about it and others, well it currently tells me what they were doing the second week of April!