Sunday, February 20, 2011

HRACS Here We Come!

I will be conducting my first Professional Development outside of our school this week and I am just a little nervous. We were able to practice in front of our colleagues last week and one of the suggestions they added was they wanted specific ways that each technology could be used in THEIR classroom. I am guessing that is what the teachers this week will also want to know; therefore, we will have to make sure we share how we are using the different software such as Voki, Edu.Glogster, Quizlet, Blogs, Museum Box etc. in our classrooms. For instant, Voki is simply fun for students to play around with. One student last week had his Voki singing a  Christian rap song, while one of our English teachers is using Voki to connect student learning from the previous day to what the student will be learning today. Instead of her repeating herself for each class and possibly leaving off an important fact, her Voki catches the student's attention and engages them in learning. Next we will go over Edu.Glogster. Edu.Glogster, is a creative way to capture the students attention and gives them a way to display their work in a new way. Both Edu.Glogster and Museum Box allow students to learn new information and share it with their peers and teacher in a unique and creative way. Sri Kusumawati Md Daud, Fauzan Mustaffa, Hanafizan Hussain and Md Najib Osman in their article, Creative Technology as Open Ended Learning Tool: A Case Study of Design School in Malaysia, concluded that students need a wide variety of technology training and open ended assessments to allow students to think on their own and determine the best way to display their findings. Employers need students who can figure out the problem and solve it. In addition, Quizlet has increased several students quiz scores after using the software to study for their quizzes. It is an easy program that teachers are picking up on very quickly. Finally, Blogs are being used in Bible classes, English classes, history classes, and technology classes to collaborate student learning. A list of six technology standards which students should know nationally by eighth grade to enhance employable skills and raise Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy in the United States are listed below (Kay and Honey, 2005):

  • Communicate Effectively: Students must have a range of skills to express themselves not only through paper and pencil, but also audio, video, animation, design software as well as a host of new environments (e-mail, Web sites, message boards, blogs, streaming media, etc.).
  • Analyze and Interpret Data: Students must have the ability to crunch, compare, and choose among the glut of data now available Web-based and other electronic formats.
  • Understand Computational Modeling: Students must posses an understanding of the power, limitations, and underlying assumptions of various data representation systems, such as computational models and simulations, which are increasingly driving a wide-range of disciplines.
  • Manage and Prioritize Tasks: Students must be able to mange the multi-tasking, selection, and prioritizing across technology applications that allow them to move fluidly among teams, assignments and communities of practice.
  • Engage in Problem Solving: Students must have an understanding of how to apply what they know and can do to new situations.
  • Ensure Security and Safety: Students must know and use strategies to acknowledge, identify, and negotiate 21st century risks.
How are you measuring up in your classroom with the above mentioned standards?

Work Cited

"Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement." Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm>.


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