New Tech Standards & Requirements

Not only can technology be fun tool for learning in the classroom, but it is also required through the Oregon Educational Technology Standards. The three standards that I can especially relate to as an educator are:

-Communication and collaboration. I want to integrate this standard by helping students to create a podcast or video to synthesize their learning and share it with others. In my work sample, I'm hoping to have my students "publish" their scientific findings through a podcast. At the end, we will all collaborate with each other by sharing our podcasts over popcorn. I also want to establish a "sister classroom" from another country or culture, using technology (skype, email, video sharing) to connect with people who my students would maybe never talk to without technology.

-Research and information fluency. Our students should have a tool belt full of places to find legitimate and interesting information to apply within math, science, literacy, or nearly any subject. Technology, especially the internet, can be one of the best tools for research. However, since the internet has some of the best, but also some of the worst, research available, students will have to learn to analyze and think critically about their sources. The skill of critically sorting information is a strategy that will prove important in many other areas of learning as well.

-Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. To me, this standard incorporates all of the others. Critical thinking is the result of thoughtful teaching of the first two standards. Using technology as a tool to push student thinking to the top of Bloom's Taxonomy is the most important manner in which we can use technology in the classroom.

There are restraints to these standards, and the access to technology is vastly different from district to district and school to school. Although there are grants, some classes are less likely to have technology readily available. Moreover, some students don't have access to technology at home, which can create a disparity in ability to use technology for long-term projects and homework. However, all students deserve teachers who are willing to creatively use the technology available to them. There are plenty of things that a teacher can do with a single computer, like create a podcast, let group leaders research for their peers, and publish writing. The opportunities may be greater with more technology, but we should all be willing to use what we have so our students aren't left behind in this digital era.