Week One - Blog Established

• What did you learn this week that you will use immediately in your classroom?

Although I do not yet have a classroom, once I do I will immediately begin implementing the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS *T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers established by the International Society for Technology in Education.

There are five standards; (1) Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity, (2) Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments, (3) Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, (4) Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility and (5) Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. Each of these standards has 4 sub-items listed, A-D that describes each standard more thoroughly.

• What steps will you take to implement this in your classroom?

In order to implement each standard in my classroom I will simply start at number one and go down through each standard and sub-item listed. For standard (1) Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity, sub-item (B) engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources, I will give students a real-world situation/problem and ask them to come up with a solution using digital tools and resources. For example, I may ask students to plan a trip using information found online. Each student will be given a different destination and he/she will be required to find directions, hotels to stop at along the way, at least one entertainment venue (e.g. an amusement park), to calculate approximate cost of fuel and meals for the trip, etc. Students will be given a budget and timeline that they will be required to follow.

For standard (3) Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, sub-item (B) collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation, I will establish a website. This website will consist of a blog which I will update periodically with important classroom information, listings for volunteer opportunities at school or in the classroom, information regarding upcoming activities or field trips, a listing of all test dates and due dates for major assignments, a school calendar, updates for school closings and/or delays and a place where parents/guardians can access their child’s grade book using a unique code and/or password.

• What challenge(s) will you face when using this in your classroom?

I will face challenges in implementing some of the standards that I am less familiar with. I believe that I encounter problems with standard (3) Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, sub-item (A) demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations, because I am not entirely up-to-date on new technologies and situations. I will have to make a concentrated effort to stay on top of current and new technologies.

• What will you do to overcome the challenge(s)?

To overcome challenges that I may find along the way I will utilize the online tutorials, peers, magazine subscriptions and books. I expect that utilizing technology in my classroom will be something that I will have constantly update and revisit.