On the website for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the National Education Standards for Teachers are listed and explained (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008). After reviewing these standards and indicators, I discovered that there are situations in which I feel comfortable with, and there are some in which I feel that I could become more proficient, thus increasing my ability to effectively use technology in the classroom.
The first standard listed reads, “Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity”, and the first indicator for this standard is to “promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness” (International Society fo Technology in Education, 2008). I am not very confident in my ability to meet this indicator because I do not feel that my use of technology in the classroom always leads students to be creative and innovative. As a Spanish teacher, so many times I am stuck in the mindset that my students need to learn certain vocabulary items and grammatical concepts, and I do not always leave them room to be creative and inventive in their learning. My goal is to find a way to let my students become more creative in their learning, and not just during cultural units, but during every unit. Specifically, I think that I could find room for creativity in vocabulary acquisition, not just in the way in which students retain the vocabulary, but also in what vocabulary they are actually learning. In order to achieve this goal, I think that I will need to reach out to other language teachers, and see how they are using technology in a creative way in their classrooms. I could look to my colleagues in my building for help, and also to my Walden University colleagues. Another way to reach this goal would be to do some research online, looking for different foreign language resources that I could have my students use in order to learn new vocabulary in a more creative manner. I will monitor my progress by looking at my lesson plans and seeing if the work that I have my students doing is creative. Also, I will look at how they are learning their vocabulary. If I am still handing out lists that need to be memorized, I will know that I am not on the right track, but if my students are finding vocabulary in another, more creative way, I will know that I am making some progress. I will evaluate myself by seeing that kind of vocabulary the students have learned at the end of the unit, maybe through a writing or a speaking assessment. At the end of each unit, if the students have learned other words pertaining to the topic that were not expressly given to them by me, I will know that they have found a way to learn vocabulary creatively through the technology that I have provided them.
The third standard listed reads, “Model Digital-Age Work and Learning”, and the third indicator for this standard is to “communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008). I am not very confident in my ability to meet this indicator because I do not use digital media to communicate with students, parents, only with peers. My goal is to use digital-age technology in order to communicate with my students and also with their parents. In order to achieve this goal, I will create my own personal website off of the website for my school. I would like to have a different page for each section that I teach. On this page, students and parents would be able to log-on and find the learning targets for the current unit, any homework assignments due, and any upcoming tests, quizzes, or assessments. Also, I would like for there to be a link to my email so that students or parents could ask clarifying questions at any time. I will monitor my progress by keeping up with my website and making sure that off the most relevant information is displayed. To evaluate this, I could take a survey of parents and students in the middle of the year and also at the end of the year when they come in for student-led conferences. This survey would let me know if parents and students are finding my website helpful, and would also let me know what other information they might like to see on there.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
