Standard 3:
Model Digital Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.
a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student
success and innovation
c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media
and formats
d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information
resources to support research and learning
My Personal Definition of the Standard:
This standard demonstrates the need for teachers to use their technological knowledge in new and different ways to teach, collaborate, and communicate with others. Through this masters program, I have learned about many different technology tools, but it is important to use these tools to enhance the lesson and not to center the lesson around the tool. Technology is ever-changing, but having knowledge of certain tools will make it easier to evaluate and learn new ones when they come along. It is also important for teachers to learn from each other, which I have enjoyed doing through my Personal Learning Network (PLN) on Twitter and other apps. Communicating information effectively through technology can be challenging at times, but teachers need to be able to communicate with their peers, students, parents, and community through different digital media formats in an effective way. Several artifacts that I created for this cohort demonstrate how I communicate through digital tools, collaborate with others, and use my technological knowledge in new ways.
Artifacts that Align and How They Address the Criteria of the Standard:
Exploring Issues and Trends in Instructional Technology
There were two artifacts during this course. The first artifact was my argumentative paper on STEAM education. There was a remark in my paper that states that just bringing in technology doesn't necessarily mean that the lesson would be considered a STEM or STEAM lesson. It is how the technology is used to support the learning outcomes that is more important. The selection of the technology is based on what you want the students to know, so it is important to be able to select the most appropriate tool that will meet these needs. As technology evolves, some tools will become obsolete and new ones will need to be used, even though the goals are still the same. This may involve a new tool that is similar to the one previously used, or a tool for a completely different use that meets the goals in a more beneficial way.
The team project also created for this course demonstrates this standard by providing options and possibilities for using Twitter with students. I have participated in Tweet Chats before, but had never thought about using Tweet Chats (whether globally or just a classroom chat) with my students before researching the topic. The knowledge of how I use Tweet Chats can be transferred to the classroom to use Tweet Chats with my students in a similar way. Within the project, learners could receive the information about Twitter through reading the information we wrote ourselves on the site, watching videos, looking at pictures, or clicking the links to go to blogs or other websites to read more information. All of the different media posted on the site contained relevant information and had a purpose.
While looking for content to display for the group project, I had to carefully analyze and evaluate the information I found to determine the best ones to use. For example, the YouTube videos that I put on the "Using Twitter with Students" page took a while to locate, as many that I watched did not provide the information I was looking for to demonstrate effectively to others how to use Twitter in classroom. The same process happened when locating the links to blogs and other informative websites. I even took to Twitter itself to see what information I could get from there!
Planning and Producing Instructional Media
In the artifact for this course, video files and audio files were brought together that were either created by myself or found online in order to create this video in Movie Maker. Transitions and effects within Movie Maker were also used. Although a certain editing software was used, the process of putting a video together with video, audio, and effects would be the same in any software. This process can also be done with any type of content area.
This artifact also allows me to communicate information to my golf students through a video format. They are able to then watch the information at their own pace and refer back to it if needed. Parents are also able to view the video and can help their child make an effective golf swing.
Selecting and Integrating Instructional Technology
The unit in this artifact has collaboration with other students and community members built into it. Students will need to interview their parents or other community members to research the effects of major events on their families and communities. This can be done face-to-face or digitally. Students will then collaborate with each other in face-to-face and virtual environments to share what they learned and create presentations. They will have the freedom to choose tools and spaces.
Leading Change Through Instructional Technology
The plan for change described in the artifact for this course discussed how teachers would use technology to collaborate with each other about the co-teaching process. Parents and community members are also stakeholders in this process, so collaboration and communication with them about co-teaching is also discussed in our change plan.
Understanding Instructional Design
In the artifact for this course, The UbD process was used to create a unit of study. Once the learning goals are created in Stages 1 and 2 of the UbD process, the learning activities can be modified to include new technologies, but the essence of the unit remains. Technology is ever changing, so tools that I would have my students use now to meet the goals will be different in future years. The technology described for the unit as written includes sharing content information via YouTube videos, online activities, and online graphic organizers. These activities were carefully selected by the teacher instead of having the students search for the information on their own with the possibility of receiving incorrect information. Google Classroom will also be utilized for students to communicate with each other and with the teacher. This information can also be shared with their parents. For the performance assessment, students will also be recording themselves completing the authentic task. This recording will be shared online as well.
Using Digital and Social Media in Education
The artifact for this course demonstrates the use of a current digital tool in a way that is different from its usual use. Before creating this artifact, I had experience with Google Forms, but only to make surveys and quizzes. I was able to take the knowledge I had in being able to create a quiz using this platform and apply it to creating this Choose Your Adventure project. I did have to research a few things in order to do this, but the initial knowledge helped greatly. After creating the first activity, the second and third activities were a lot easier because I had worked out some of the challenges in the first one.
While going through the activities, students receive immediate feedback to determine if they are correct or incorrect. If they are incorrect, possible options for where they went wrong are provided. They can use this information to learn from their mistakes and study for the test. The use of this tool in this way helps students in their learning process to assess their own learning and study for an exam.
Developing and Designing Online Learning
In the artifact for this course, all online communication during the unit discussed will be through Google Classroom (the materials on the Google Site provided for the means of this project will also be posted on the Google Classroom site). Both students and parents will have 24-hour access to these materials and posts.