National Educational Technology Standards
NETS 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. Teachers:
a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
One area where I feel I've demonstrated fluency in technology is through my final project in 7370 Intermediate Web Development. I have taught basic HTML for years but because it was in an introductory digital media course, there wasn't time to move beyond the basics into more advanced concepts such as Dreamweaver, cascading style sheets (CSS), or JavaScript. For the final project I developed a website for Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), a student organization I sponsor at Hickman High School. Had I not had 7370 I could have put together a very basic, boring site but because I now have CSS and JavaScript knowledge, I was able to make a much more appealing, interactive site. My FBLA students have used this site and several members are now responsible for keeping it updated. Another area where I feel I have been able to easily and effectively transfer knowledge is through the use of the various learning management systems (LMS) I've used over the course of my career and throughout this program. Many years ago our school district purchased Blackboard and my program quickly began to use it for many activities. All of our written reviews and quizzes became online reviews and quizzes. We made use of the discussion board for many activities as well. After several years, the district replaced Blackboard with Angel. There was somewhat of a learning curve but for the most part my knowledge of Blackboard made learning Angel much easier. When I began this TIS program, I had no trouble using Blackboard again and, because most of my courses made use of a lot of Blackboard's tools, I learned many things I could take back to my classroom. I learned how to set up Angel for group work and for small group discussions and made use of the built-in wiki in Angel. My web development classes in this program used Sakai, and again, I had little trouble transferring my knowledge to quickly become accustomed to the nuances of this LMS (though I personally believe Blackboard and Angel are superior products).
b. collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
Open communication is an important component of a successful student/teacher relationship and ultimately a student's success in the classroom. I begin the school year by sending an email to the parents of all my students introducing them to me, the class, and the important information needed for their student's success. For those parents without email access, I provide a paper copy of the letter for students to take home and have parents sign off the receipt of that letter. I routinely communicate throughout the year with parents via email or telephone calls, especially for those students who may be struggling or need extra time outside of the class time. My digital media team meets regularly to discuss current assignments, projects and test analysis. The digital media program has an advisory committee made up mainly of professionals in the digital media industry, former students, and parents. This committee meets twice a year and minutes are recorded. The main focus of the committee is to gain advice about industry trends and to gain feedback on student projects in our courses. At the end of every year, students in our advanced classes can submit their best work for consideration at the Digital Media Awards (based loosely on the Mid-Missouri Advertising Federation's annual ADDY awards). Submissions come from our three advanced areas: page layout, digital video, and web design. Submissions are uploaded to the school server and a Google docs form with links to those submissions is shared with judges. Our advisory committee members from industry serve as judges. After results are in, a reception is held to honor award winners. Students, parents, judges, school administrators and digital media teachers are invited to attend the reception. Student submissions are on display during the reception, either in print or, in the case of video, on computers set up at the reception.
c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
I am fortunate to work in a school district that supports and promotes the use of technology for student and parent communication. I routinely use our email system to communicate with parents about their student. Many of my course documents and unit reviews are accessible through Angel, the school's chosen learning management system, which students have access to outside of the classroom and school. Student grades are available to students and parents via the Internet and Home Access. I make sure to keep my grades up-to-date so that students and parents have an accurate accounting of their status in the class. The school's website points parents and students to all these resources: email, Home Access, and Angel.
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.
In both my digital media and graphic design classes searching the internet is a regular necessity; from finding appropriate stock media to use for assignments to research about a topic to "how to" in the various software programs that are taught. At the beginning of each course, we spend time learning effective searching techniques which focus on how to effectively use search engines and the Help menus that come with the software. This is important, especially in the advanced courses where students are encouraged to do independent learning or have an idea for a design concept but aren't exactly sure how to create that concept in the given software. This independent learning prepares students for real world design and, ultimately, helps them with research in all their courses. To help improve my teaching and my curriculum, students are given the opportunity to evaluate each unit of instruction in the form of unit reflections (completed as a survey in Angel LMS) and at the end of every year to complete a web-based (Google Docs survey) course evaluation which includes questions about the course content and my instruction. I use the feedback gained from student comments to drive changes in curriculum and the subsequent assignments.