Electronic Portfolio of Krissy Venosdale


Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues
Teachers understand the social,ethical,legal,and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools and apply those principles in practice.
	A. Teachers model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use.
	In today's world, it is easy for students to copy and paste text, insert photos and graphics from various websites, or utilize materials that someone has worked hard to create. In my fourth grade classroom it is important to teach students that credit needs to be given when credit is due. Discussing topics like plagiarism and source-citing become an important part of technology use. In my own website, I create my graphics rather than using backgrounds and clip-art that other's have created. If I do use other's work, I am quick to provide a source and link to the original page.
	B. Teachers apply technology resources to enable and empower learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities.
	Technology can be used to allow the gifted student to reach a higher level, the student with a learning disability to achieve success, and the ESL student to develop a better understanding of a new language. In a lesson on strange animals, students created PowerPoint slideshows to present to the class. Higher Level students took the project a step further by creating a quiz at the end of their show. This allowed them to interact with the material in a far more indepth manner than simply writing a report. Through the use of tools, such as Inspiration's voice tool, students can listen to their text. Free programs like audacity can provide students with a means to record their voice before writing. Technology bridges the gap for all students and creates an environment where success can be met by every student. In an "I Spy" Geometry scavenger hunt, visual learners looked for photographs, kinesthetic learners took photographs of objects in the room, and auditory learners prepared music for the presentation, and all learning styles were reached.
	C.Teachers identify and use technology resources that affirm diversity
	Technology can be used to allow students to explore the world. Through e-pals.com my students are able to make contact with diverse cultures. While studying the Iditarod, my class and I emailed several schools in Alaska and now have penpals to communicate with in Anchorage, Alaska. When studying the rainforest, we were able to view the story of Romel, who lives in the rainforest. It helped students to see that children, their age, are living in this beautiful environment while we are here in Missouri learning about it. This provided a springboard for questions about what life is like for children there, how it compares to ours, and inspired students to a new way of thinking about diversity in the world. My students also participated in a project that I created called "Flat Fredbird."Through email, digital photos, message boards, and our class website, my students were able to reach out to others around Missouri and appreciate our differences.
	D. Teachers promote safe and healthy use of technology resources.
	Technology needs to be respected in the classroom and students need to understand the limits and guidelines for its proper use. By creating a Classroom Use Policy and distributing a District Acceptable Use Policy, students understand these guidelines from the first day of class. Teaching students to use search engines and to understand what a good source is are important as well.
	E.Teachers facilitate equitable access to technology resources for all students.
	In one classroom, students will have various needs when it comes to their learning and their abilities to access the technology. If a student is visually impaired, adjust the internet options and text size will assist them. Talking typer is a program that can assist and one that I have found useful in my own classroom. If a student is hearing impaired, providing headphones will assist them in blocking out background classroom noise. Programs on the internet like Text-to-speech can provide students with extra assistance. By linking every assignment on my website, students can access work from the special education resource room, the gifted and talented education class, or even their home.