Competency Area 5

Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice. Teachers:

Sub-Competency A:

Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning

Evidence: Blog Site: Destination Learning
http://destinationeducation.blogspot.com/
This blog site was use for course reflections on what was learned throughout the duration of the ELMG 466: Computers in Education In a sense, in was a course reflection site.

Reflection:
As the Internet develops, so does the opportunities it offers for teachers and other educator's professional development. In recent years blog sites have become very popular. Blogs are an easy and efficient way for teachers to share their thoughts on a variety of subjects that pertain to education or that are of a concern to educators. Blogs provide educators all over the country to share their thoughts with each other. Files can be easily uploaded and transferred as well as pertinent journal text hyperlinked for others to view. Educators are free to share their thoughts and reflect on the comments of others. In a sense, blog sites like the one given above provide a forum for educators to learn from each other and share files or articles that could help them improve their instructional practice. Questions could also be asked on this site and feedback given. The goal is collaboration and learning.

Sub-Competency B:

Continually evaluate and reflect on professional practice to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of student learning.

Evidence: Essay on the following question: How do you make decisions regarding the use of technology for student learning and how you determine professional development activities to continually improve your knowledge and skills related to technology in teaching and learning?

    There are several ways that I make and will continue to make decisions regarding the use of technology for student learning and how I determine professional development activities that will continue to improve my knowledge and skills in the realm of technology where student learning and my teaching are concerned. The biggest thing that I can do and any teacher can do to make these decisions is to continually reflect and evaluate how they have used technology in their teaching and to support the learning of their students. Only then can they know where improvements need to be made.
     I look at certain areas of my technology use in my teaching and in student learning to determine whether its use was effective or not and to see where improvements need to be made. I look at the learning styles of my students. I ask myself if my use of technology supported or hindered each one of my students' unique learning styles. I know that I cannot address each learning style in every lesson, but through the use of technology I can capture as many learning styles as I can.   If my use of technology hindered the learning styles of my students I go back and see what other technologies are available that might be appropriate for what I am teaching that could possibly support them. This could be a new kind of software. I also see if the technology that I used supported and fit well with the objectives that I was trying to teach. Again, if it hindered my teaching of those objectives, I might see what other technologies or multimedia is available that might support those objectives better. Also, for those students in my classroom who might need assisstive technologies, I as a teacher will be continually assess their strengths and needs to determine what might work for them technology wise, but this means that I will need to work closely with the the technology coordinator, special educators, and parents if I am in a school where inclusion is the norm. This is something that I would welcome because it would keep me up-to-date on the assisstive technology available and keep me up-to-date on my skills as a teacher.
    I also make decisions regarding he use of technology for student learning and how I determine professional development activities that will continue to improve my knowledge and skills in the realm of technology where student learning and my teaching are concerned by reflecting on whether on not I was comfortable using a particular piece of technology in a lesson and how the incorporation of that piece of technology went. Did I have to stop and figure out how to do something in the middle of the lesson? Was there unexpected things happen with the technology during the lesson that should not have happened? These are the kinds of questions that I ask myself. I take the answers from these questions and ask what I could have done better and apply it to the next time I use the technology. I then know where my weaknesses in that particular technology are and can therefore turn them into strengths.

Reflection:
Continually reflecting upon and evaluating how we use technology to support student learning helps guide future decisions on how to incorporate technology into our professional practice. When we as teachers reflect we have to go beyond simply asking what went well and what did not. We have to take what did not go well and ask what can be done and then do something about it. Here is where we have a chance to improve. With technology there are so many options out there to support student learning. If one thing does not work, there are other things that might. Also, if we as teachers see that our skills are weak in an area of technology we need to see that and be willing to improve those skills for the sake of our students technological skills.

Sub-Competency C:

Apply technology to increase productivity

Evidence: Microsoft Access Student Information Spreadsheet that gives information on students' quarterly grades, bus number, address, telephone numbers, etc. and Microsoft Word Mail Merge Parents Letter that can notify many parents at one time with one letter using a database.

Reflection
By creating a spreadsheet that acts as a type of database with all our students' information contained in that one place, teachers can quickly access and find the needed information within a matter of minutes and report that information to the those who have requested it whether in the form of a print out for a given student or group of students. This is a big timeserver. In days gone by teachers would have had to looked through filing cabinets for the needed information and then have took more time to write that information down. This would have taken time away from the teachers responsibility of her students. Now all of this information is just a click and a print away. Teachers are also able to keep parents informed of their child's progress, as well as up-to-date records by using that database or spreadsheet to create mass mailings with each students information in separate letters. This allows parents to remain informed, as well as the teachers. Parents know what is going on with their child at school and teachers have more time to spend with each students because the can be less concerned about paperwork than in years past.

Evidence: Habitat Adventures Newsletter: let's parents know about upcoming events in the classroom community using technology to this in a quick and efficient way by using Microsoft Publisher. (Please Note: Must have Microsoft Publisher to view)

Reflection:
Newsletters inform parents and administrators about upcoming events in the classroom community. They can also provide a way for teachers to let parents know of any needs in the classroom before they arise. These needs can be materials for an upcoming unit or it can be a need for volunteers for an upcoming field trip, party, classroom helpers. This can save the teacher a lot of time and attention that could later be devoted and directed towards preparing materials and lessons for his or her students. Newsletters are easy to prepare using a Publisher program and they can be sent out biweekly or monthly. The point is that that by using simple technology the teacher can let parents and administrators know what is going on in a time efficient manner and in a way that time is not taken away from the instruction of the students or the preparation time of the teacher.

Sub-Competency D:

Use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning.

Evidence: Teacher Web site
                    paws.wcu.edu/kh24912
                    This web page can be made available to parents and to students.
                    Information can be added regularly to keep parents and students informed.

Reflection:
A classroom web page, I believe is a wonderful ideal for any classroom at any grade level. Peers, parents, students, etc. can jump online and view the web page and take a look at what is going on in a teachers classroom. This means that the web page needs to be attractive, easily navigable, and easily read and understood. It also means that the web page needs to be updated regularly to keep everyone informed with the latest information. If students are given the basics, they can very easily aid in the task of keeping this site up-to-date. This site offers or will offer places for students and the teacher to post class news, photos (with permission), homework, extra credit opportunities, and daily helpers. It also features a place where I would like parents and students to be able to to post questions and interesting facts. This would serve a communication and collaborative function. From this web site parents and students would also be able to email me if they had any questions. Web sites open many doors in the classroom not only for teachers and students, but parents also have an opportunity to feel like they are part of the classroom community through these web sites.

Evidence: Wonder Web
                    http://preation.com/cgi-bin/sup/sup-main.pl):
This is an example of collaborative writing web site. This was a SUP web site where we could post "Still Unresolved Problems" It was a place where students could post questions that they had and allow other student to hopefully post responses to their questions. Please note that this is not the actual database we used in class. This particular database was password protected, but the following is a sample of the same database.

Reflection:
The Wonder Web provides students, parents, teachers, etc. with the opportunity to pose questions that they have. These questions could be about things that the individual wonders about or is having a problem with. These questions could pertain to a unit of study that is being done in the classroom. During that unit students could research these questions and find the answers or help each other find the answers. If a student sees a question that he or she knows the answer to, that answer could be posed for all to see. It might be good for teachers and parents to hold off on answering questions, but pose guided questions when needed. Through a "Still Unresolved Problems" such as this students' learning is nurtured more by other students because their thinking is stimulated by the comments and ongoing questions of others. It is an ongoing cycle of give and take learning.

Page Author: Kelley Haney
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