Digital-age teaching professionals
Step 1: Self-Assessment
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
I am excited about this category. Next year, my classroom is going to have a SMART Board. My school is installing 3 and I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen to have one. (Helps to be the nerd studying Ed. Tech! lol) My goal is to integrate it into all of my lessons and into the daily classroom routine. I teach grade one, and my goal is for the SMART Board to be a tool that my students and I will use purposefully, not just as the “latest and greatest” trend.
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
This year, my school has focused on Universal Design for Learning. In this higher-level category from the NETS, my planning has changed in the sense that I have been able to “customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources” (NETS for Teachers 2008). This is an ongoing challenge and basically comes down to good teaching and differentiation. The Calgary Board of Education mandates the use of the LMS D2L, “Desire to Learn” and I have used this LMS to create my virtual classroom. I have created discussion threads with each of my grade one students and I use GarageBand to record my students reading. Their recordings are posted to their discussion folder and can be shared with their parents. I have started working on some short quizzes as well within my course shell.
3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
In December 2008, I introduced the concept of a wiki using PBWorks to the parent community of my grade one classroom. The main purpose of the wiki is to communicate with a very active volunteer base. Parent volunteers sign up on the wiki when volunteer opportunities are available. I have also posted our weekly spelling lists on the wiki, which are sent home in paper format, however, many parents have been pleased that they are able to access the information on-line as well. The wiki is a private wiki in order to protect the privacy of classroom activities, students and their families. So far, I have received only positive feedback, parents hope that the grade two teachers will use this technology next year and I have been able to mentor other teacher in the creation of their wikis.
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
In the past few weeks, I have taught my grade one students how to send an email. Each student in the Calgary Board of Education has an email address and they have learned how to access the webmail system, how to compose and new message and how to send and reply to messages. So far, they have been sending and receiving messages from their parents and myself and have taken to it like fish in water!
Our school has a partnership with an orphanage, Casa Hogar, in Guadalajara, Mexico. We have been able to use Skype to communicate with the children and staff who live there. So far only our staff have been doing this, however, our plan is to have our students communicate with the students there.
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
ETEC 565 is my third course in the MET program, and so far I believe that it has truly benefitted my professional growth and interest in Educational Technology. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner and have shown leadership in this area at my school by doing short presentations on wikis and social bookmarking (delicious).
Step 2: ETEC 565 and Camille’s goal
ETEC 565 appeals to me because I believe it will allow me to “get my hands dirty” with a variety of applications. In the course introduction I read that this course will allow us to play in a “Sandbox” of sorts and that pretty much sums up my feelings!
Goal #1: Define my skills in assessment and work through what that looks like in grade one when using digital resources.
Goal #2: Continue to implement the principles of UDL in my teaching and provide purposeful digital-age learning experiences to my students.
So far, looking at the course schedule, Digital Storytelling has caught my eye. I would also like to learn more about html and improve on my novice skills in that area.
Reference:
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers. Retrieved May 4, 2009 from: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm