The International Society for Technology in Education produced the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) 2008, which outlines five broad categories for “standards and performance indicators for teachers” (NET 2008). This aim of this self-reflection is to use the five broad categories as a basis for the assessment of my skills and confidence. As I am not a teacher by profession, this self-assessment will be focused on my role as educational and training advisor to the military chain of command.
Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
As a Training development officer, it is my job to encourage instructors to go beyond the lecture method, and use collaborative methods including peer-to-peer learning, experiential learning, as well as many others. As an advisor on training and education, it is imperative that I encourage CF instructors (who are tradespersons first!) to engage in activities that promote learning through authentic scenarios that are based on events that student my face upon graduation. The use of digital tools, emulators and simulators provides the realism to training while keeping the student safe during the training event, and allows the student to explore without worry of injury or costly errors.
Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Formative and summative assessments are tools used to ensure that the content delivered was retained by the students. Assessments at the formative level can be developed and designed in a digital format, but all summative assessments must be completed in a practical application.
Personalize learning activities are also limited in the military training system. Individuals are expected to perform in training in a manner that would be acceptable to the performance expected on the first day of the job. Thus all training is standardized to ensure that each graduate has a baseline set of skills.
This category would be my weakest area due to the emphasis on performance oriented systems approach to training used in the military.
Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
As a student in the MET program and a professional that engages in continuous learning, the modeling of current technologies and informing co-workers of relevant information related to information and educational technology is paramount. While I believe my knowledge in this area is limited, I attempt to discuss and use technology so that I can speak to employability, easy of use and relevance to military training and Intranet limitations.
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
This category probably is the most relevant and important to the CF. Copyright infringement is a serious incident and can be one of the hardest topics to education individuals upon. In my role, it is my responsibility to ensure that knowledge regarding appropriate use of materials is disseminated to all staff in my school. It is also important to ensure that when training is developed in a digital format, that the training is applicable to the needs of many learners by use of a wide variety of instructional strategies.
Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Engaging in professional growth is a skill that I hope to have mastered in my academic and professional career. Learning, both formally and informally, in the area of educational technology has been my focus for the last four years. Participating in training conferences and conventions, engaging in professional Communities of Practice to further my knowledge within the military community and creating dialogs with other have allowed my knowledge to grow. This is an area that I can say with confidence that I have achieved all points within the category.
Reference:
ITSE. (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. Retrieved 6 Jan 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf