NETS-T
Standard 5 - Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
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. Teachers:
a. | participate in local and global learning communitites to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning |
- My Program of Study for my Ed.S. in Educational Technology is evidence of my participation in a global learning community to explore ways to integrate technology into my classroom. My eyes have been opened during my studies and participation in the discussion boards to many applications I want to implement (iAdventures, Google SketchUp, etc.). My participation in discussion forums with other professionals involved in implementing technology in their classrooms during my Ed.S. program of study has allowed me to learn from others' experiences. An example of beneficial information I learned from a discussion forum is Jing. Jing is a program that lets you select and capture screenshots. Jing is a wonderful tool for communicating and teaching. I have used Jing to capture screenshots to use as artifacts for this portfolio and to create materials for a workshop to demonstrate step-by-step processes.
- During my Learning with the Internet class, I had the privilege of participating in the 2008 K-12 Online Conference, “Amplifying Possibilities”. This online conference involves educators from around the world interested in technology integration to improve learning. One of the presentations introduced me to VoiceThread. In the presentation VoiceThread was used to make the curriculum accessible to special needs students. Our class had a discussion sharing our experiences and perceptions of the online conference format. I shared this review of a presentation entitled Changing Disabilities to Possibilities – Using the MacGyver Approach.
- Locally I participate in and take advantage of professional development workshops offered by our Regional Inservice Center. Last summer, I enjoyed learning about PowerPoint and Windows Movie Maker.
- The week of June 8-12, 2009, the Alabama Educational Technology Conference was held virtually for the first time. I was pleased to attend several sessions accessed through Moodle and conducted via Elluminate. I enjoyed a session offered by a Google Certified Teacher on Finding Not Searching. I learned many useful tips on how to effectively find what I'm searching for on the internet. I also attended several other sessions including one on the resources available in Thinkfinity, one on the resources available through ALEX, the Alabama Learning Exchange, and one on Web 2.0 tools.
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 |
- Sharing my technology skills with others is very satisfying. This year I was able to introduce my principal and several other teachers to Google Docs. We had a student that required a daily behavior journal be maintained. The regular teacher had the document on her computer but the principal, speech teacher, and I all had to contribute to it periodically. In order to make the process easy, I suggested Google Docs. I led them through the process of registering, uploading, sharing, etc. Thereafter, we were all able to access the most up-to-date version of the document and add to it. I was happy to be able to share my technology skills with colleagues to make our jobs easier.
- As a member of the technology committee at my school, I strive to demonstrate a vision of technology integration to my colleagues. In an effort to create positive change within my building, I have developed a personal vision statement based on my experiences, observations, and research.
- During the Instructional Systems Design Course, I developed a workshop to teach the faculty at my school how to set up, edit and use a wiki in their classroom. By volunteering to present this professional development workshop, I demonstrated my vision for technology infusion and desire to develop the technology skills of my peers.
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 |
- During my program of study for this Educational Specialist degree, I have demonstrated my ability to use technology as a tool for meaningful learning. My TILP and LWI projects both show evidence of the components of meaningful learning. I developed and designed my technology integrated lesson plan (TILP) using the ADDIE model. I developed a professional development workshop using the Instructional System Design (ISD) Model. For the TILP and LWI projects I evaluated their effectiveness based on criteria described in Meaningful Learning with Technology (Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R., Crismond D).
- As I have collaborated and learned from my peers in this program, I have been introduced to many materials and resources that I want to explore for my own personal growth. One of these is a book by Howard Pitler, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. I am currently reading this book and reflecting on the research given in an effort to improve my use of technology to increase student learning.
- I completed an Assessment of My Curriculum using the six areas from "The Higher Order Thinking and Problem-solving Checklist" to reflect on areas of strength and weakness. In addition I thought of ways to improve my curriculum and how I could use technology to promote and assess learning.
d. | contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community |
- I developed a workshop for teachers on Wiki use. My proposal for presenting this workshop is evidence of my willingness to contribute to the effectiveness and vitality of my school.
- I collaborated with peers to create a Wikispace to list and review online educational resources by subject area as a reference for other professionals to use.
- I created a website, Concept Mapping in the Elementary Classroom, for teachers at my school to use as a resource on concept mapping. I plan to use this website as a resource for a workshop introducing Inspiration and Kidspiration to teachers in my district.
- Serving as a member of the Technology Committee for my school is a contribution to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of my school.
Standards and Performance Indicators taken from ISTE
Standard 1 | Standard 2 | Standard 3 | Standard 4 | Standard 5 |