NETS-T 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats (NETS-T)
Finding Resources: It has been a pleasure beginning to find the resources that I need to work on this goal. I have used SmartBoard resources available online to find, download and adapt for my own use. Additionally, I have found a multitude of games and multimedia resources to supplement my lessons and blog. I need to continue to explore and begin to look towards the technologies with which I am not as comfortable such as wikis and podcasts.
Modifications Needed: I need to ensure that I do not bite off more than I can chew in this arena. There are so many resources available, that it can become overwhelming. I am going to modify my goal to include quotas per unit of study so that I do not burn out and I do not overwhelm myself. Too many times I have begun looking for one element to add to a lesson or a blog post and I end up finding more resources than I can handle, often for topics other than the one I was researching. If I make it my goal to plan a great dynamic lesson for one or two topics and a truly engaging blog post for another one or two topics per unit, I will begin to build a library of quality technology rich lessons/posts that will serve me well for years to come but will not be overwhelming.
Learning: The school provided website, FinalSite, and Google’s Blogger have been wonderful repositories for my work and have allowed me to be creative in what I put online. I am in the process of learning how these two separate programs can work together, e.g. linking a document from my FinalSite page to my blog. I have also learned that I need to be an active proponent of using the page in order to encourage my students to use the technology at home. The more I provide, both informational and enjoyable, the more my students utilize the page and the more they get from the resources offered.
New Questions: The major question that I feel I am struggling with is “are these resources being used?” This primarily falls to the blog elements. As I stated earlier, the posts are a large investment of time and energy and I often worry that they are not being taken advantage of. Though my students continue to report that they are visiting the site, I need to find ways to encourage them to participate and get involved in the resources that I have made available. I question how I can incorporate blog elements into homework without penalizing students that do not have access to internet at home. It can be difficult to get computer time during class, so I am unable to provide class time to complete the assignments.
NETS-T 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources (NETS-T)
Finding Resources: I have been able to find resources on this topic quite readily. If anything, I may have found too many. Various means of documenting resources exist and I have not found one that I prefer or a way to modify existing plans for my sixth grade students. I really do welcome any assistance that anyone can provide on this front.
Modifications Needed: I need to modify my expectations and realize that this process will likely take some time. Students (and teachers) can be resistant to the extra work associated with documenting resources and unless I find an easily implemented means of documenting, I fear that documentation will not take place or that avoidance will occur. Just yesterday, I was about to place a picture on my blog, but realized that I could not determine the actual creator of the image and therefore elected to omit the visual from my post rather than risk citing the wrong source. I need to find image libraries that are searchable and trustworthy so that I can know how I should be citing my images. I also want to explore the possibility of incorporating more of my own images (photography) on my page so as to ensure that I have the right to use the image. This development ushers in the new concern of protecting my own, and eventually my students’, intellectual property.
Learning: Thus far I have learned that I still have some philosophical issues to iron out before I can really move forward. Once I find a type of documentation that I feel comfortable with and can implement without too much burden, I believe that this process will be much easier. I have also come to realize that virtually everything online seems to be stolen from somewhere else. This realization was not necessarily unexpected, but it complicates my goal. Aside from documenting images, I have learned that documentation has not been too difficult. As I believe that I will not ultimately use full APA or MLA documentation, it has been easy to simply cite the source of games, links or information with a brief note or parenthetical comments.
New Questions: I have come to realize that I need to define my philosophy and my expectations for students and myself regarding documenting sources. Additionally, I have begun to question if using images from the internet can be justified when it is nearly impossible to determine original sources.
References:
National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
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