New Tech Standards and Requirements

Because technology is so prevalent in today's society it is only natural to incorporate aspects of technology into teaching and learning at schools. Just the way society is going, children are going to need to know the in's and out's of using basic technology in their lives.

Three ed tech standards that resonated most with me are...

1. Communication & Collaboration: Much of the technological resources we have learned throughout this course are user friendly and help to facilitate productive communication and collaboration. For example, Google docs! This is something I have heard of prior to this program (especially this class) but have never really spent much time exploring. What a God send!! It is so much easier to work with groups, share and retrieve information through the use of these documents! I can see myself incorporating the use of Google documents as journals for students to write reflections on daily lessons. I'd also really like to create a classroom website (if I ever get a job and a classroom of my own!) :)

2. Digital citizenship: "Students understand human, cultural and societal issues related to digital technology and practice legal, ethical, and responsible behavior." Along with the freedom of technology comes great responsibility! I think it is so important for students to learn the importance of digital citizenship in classroom environments. There are so many stories about children & teenagers who abuse the internet by taking advantage of its resources in a negative way. Responsible behavior in regards to technology can be both modeled by the teacher and explored in class. For example, sending home a slip of paper notifying parents that I want to create a website for my classroom and to let me know if they have an issue or question regarding the purpose or intent of the website can be sent home. Students will be able to learn and understand the value in practicing legal and ethical behavior if they see their teacher modeling it.

3. Creativity & Innovation: This was another standard that I really liked. Being able to apply knowledge in unique ways to create original work can really empower students to take ownership of their learning. I think by simply creating a podcast, students can see how their learning can be applied to the real world and have fun exploring the different applications that are available to them that's only a click away. For example, in our Equity class my group is working on a video for our project. It is a lot more time, work, and effort I think we all wanted to put into the project but we are having fun and learning not only about the intent and purposes of the assignment but also how to make a video! I hope to have students make podcasts in my future classroom because they are so easy and fun to make!

While there are many cool things educators can do with technology, there are often many challenges and hurdles to overcome. One of the biggest is funding. Many schools don't have the resources for many of the cool tools that are available. And on a side note, I don't want to loose the value in the "old school" methods of learning. For example, I think it is still important to teach students how to use books as sources for research in addition to the internet. I mean, with the invention of the calculator, we still teach students how to solve long division by hand, don't we? So I guess what I'm trying to say is technology can be a great resource for the classroom and should definitely be incorporated into the classroom but not to loose sight of the foundational and traditional methods of learning. Diversify teaching methods so that students can grow even more in their learning.