Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.

            a.  Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student

                  learning

            b.  Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and

                  community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

            c.  Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and

                 emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning

            d.  Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

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My Personal Definition of the Standard:

This standard emphasizes the need for teachers to be continuous learners and leaders in their schools, especially with technology integration. Being in this masters program has demonstrated that I am willing to continue my professional growth in this area and help others to do this as well. Using the research-based strategies that I've learned has improved my teaching practices, and my leadership skills as well. I am excited to share what I have learned with others, and I have a great platform to do this, as I am part of the TLC program at my school. Being a lifelong learner is important to me so that I can learn new strategies that improve student learning and provide the best education possible for my students. Several artifacts that I created for this cohort demonstrate this continuous lifelong learning and my passion to share what I've learned with my colleagues.

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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. In order to write this paper, much research needed to be conducted.  I had to evaluate which resources were appropriate to support and to present the opposing view of STEAM education, then reflect on what I believe in order to write the paper.  When implementing STEAM curricula, reflection is also very important in order to determine what is and is not working, then make adjustments to the curricula as needed.

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When creating the group project for this course, we had friends, family, and classmates review the project and provide feedback through a Google Form or on a Google Doc.  The comments were very helpful and allowed us to make adjustments so that we could share it proudly with other colleagues and even people all over the world.

 

I had also used Twitter before as a professional development tool, but after going through this project, I learned how to do this more effectively.  I learned how to use the tchat.io, Tweet Deck, and TweetChat tools in order to engage in professional Tweet Chats. These Tweet Chats allow me to learn and discuss with other educators on how to better myself as a teacher and use technology in an effective way in my classroom. I also researched the use of Twitter in the classroom and learned how to do this effectively.  I had never thought about using it with my students in the ways that were presented, and I would like to try some of these methods in my own classroom.

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After reviewing the research on STEAM education and creating our project on using Twitter as a personalized professional development tool, I would like to present these ideas to my administration and colleagues, as well as Tweet out our project so others around the world can view it and learn from it.  Introducing the arts with STEM curricula would provide a way for the arts teachers and content teachers to collaborate. Many times, these teachers feel they are left out, but incorporating the arts provides wonderful opportunities for cross-curricular units.  Using Twitter in a new way will also provide opportunities for revitalized enthusiasm.  Many times PD is thrown at us as a "one-size-fits-all" campaign, and showing teachers how to use Twitter to focus on what they want to learn about will encourage excitement and even new collaboration experiences and sharing of new ideas.

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Planning and Producing Instructional Media

The video that was created for this course was created for a non-classroom purpose, which shows that technology can be used in all areas. I am a Building Level Coordinator with our TLC program, so this artifact would provide a way for me to demonstrate how creating an instructional video would be beneficial for those who are sometimes reluctant to infuse technology into their classrooms because they don’t see it as relevant to their content area.

 

One researched-based practice is flipped-classroom teaching. Through the use of this instructional video, golf practices can be “flipped.” Students can watch it at their own pace, and they can refer back to it as many times as they want. They will learn the technique from me on the video, then time during practice can be spent evaluating their swing and putting their skills into practice.

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Selecting and Integrating Instructional Technology

The project in the artifact for this course involved using the grant that we would receive to update existing school environments in Iowa and Costa Rica, and also build an addition onto the Costa Rican school. With these updates and additions, new technologies would be brought in, and teachers would need to know how to use these tools effectively. Training and mentoring would be provided to the Costa Rican school teachers by Iowa Regents universities, and Iowa teachers would receive training through professional development as well. Because of the climate in Costa Rica, the outdoor space would also be available to community members wanting to use the Wi-fi outside of school hours. These changes were all able to be made because we had an unlimited amount of funds to use. Unfortunately, this would not normally be the case, so some of the ideas mentioned in the project would be difficult to incorporate into daily teaching. However, many ideas can be scaled down and used now. For example, having students work through the Common Sense Media lessons we provided in this artifact would be good to use when students are doing any sort of project where they will have to know about copyright issues. Also, learner differences and the UDL framework should be thought of when designing any lesson/unit. The components of this project can be used in daily lessons, and as a Building Level Coordinator with our TLC program, I can easily share ways to incorporate these ideas with other teachers.

 

This artifact also took into account many different professional practices. Based on our research and readings from class, we incorporated ideas such as natural lighting and community involvement for the learning spaces; student-centered instruction involving 21st Century skills; and multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression from the UDL framework. Existing technology tools were evaluated when deciding what to incorporate for technology in our unit, and new, more effective tools were found. These were then used for our project.

 

Leading Change Through Instructional Technology

The plan in the artifact for this course demonstrates how all stakeholders work together to implement change. The change that our group discussed doesn’t directly relate to technology, but there are components that involve technology and technology infusion. Within our plan, a group of teacher leaders would provide information to other teachers about co-teaching, then another group of teachers would be involved in a pilot team. This pilot team would provide updates throughout the year on their experience and inspire those who did not sign up for the pilot team to begin co-teaching. Through these updates, teachers are developing their leadership and technology skills, and helping others to do the same.

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Co-teaching is a current and relevant area of research and professional practice. My group chose to reflect on and evaluate this topic as it is being used in our current districts and we are/will be involved in the process. Although this topic doesn’t directly involve technology, technology tools were identified as being a crucial part of the implementation process within our plan.

Co-teaching has recently been implemented in my district, and this plan has helped me to be able to contribute ideas to implement it more effectively. Change is usually seen in a top-down approach, but this plan allowed me to look at it in more of a bottom-up perspective. With this in mind, I can use these ideas to implement change more effectively in my district so that all stakeholders are involved and feel heard.

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Understanding Instructional Design

Throughout the project for this course, we experienced peer review done through the Google Docs comment feature.  The comments facilitated new ideas that led to me editing the project in a way that would improve student learning.  These edits involved technology and non-technology ideas. One example that involved technology included the use of Google Classroom to add a class discussion into my unit.

 

Reflection is also important during the UbD process, especially during Stages 4-6. The designer needs to reflect on what went well and what did not go well during implementation and after the unit's completion.  During this time, it can be decided if the digital tools and resources selected accurately met the goals outlined from Stage 1. If not, new tools can be selected.  In future years, new technologies can be substituted in to meet those same goals.

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After going through the Understanding by Design process, I have led professional development meetings introducing people to this idea.  A social studies teacher who was trying to improve their units has collaborated with me to see if this process will help them revitalize their own enthusiasm and the content.

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Using Digital and Social Media in Education

For the artifact for this course, I needed to determine how to create a Choose Your Own Adventure project with technology. For help with this, I turned to colleagues in my Personal Learning Network on Facebook and Twitter for ideas and advice. Through these connections, I was able to get some ideas on how to get started and how to create one of these activities through Google Forms. After creating this artifact, I shared it with my colleagues in my district and demonstrated how Google Forms can be used in a different way. I was then able to help a colleague create her own Google Form using the same applications within the tool.

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Developing and Designing Online Learning

The artifact for this course was created using a blended learning environment, which has been shown through research to make a positive impact on students. The online components of the blended learning environment were created with best practices of online teaching in mind. For example, a syllabus, tentative calendar, explanations of each activity, and technology requirements/possible assistive technology help were all provided on the online platform the students would use to access their materials.