Casey Betcher--2nd Grade at Findley

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

3. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

4. Model Digital Age Work and Learning

5. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

6. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

7. Final Reflection

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As part of Pacific University Master’s in Education program, I developed a technology portfolio that includes web quest, podcasts, videos, and critical analysis of websites, apps, and the use of technology in classrooms.  Through this process, I sought to better understand and meet the expectations of ISTE Standards for Teachers. 

 

Technology has become an integral part of society.  With an industry that is constantly changing and advancing do to technological gains, students need to have a strong foundational understanding of how to utilize technology, adapt skills, and to be technologically literate in order to be prepared for the professional opportunities in the future.  Therefore, teachers must be technologically literate too and integrating technology into the daily classroom life in relevant ways.     Through the creation of the portfolio and as a pre-service teacher, I learned and will continue to: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity; Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessment; Model Digital Age Work and Learning; Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility; Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. 

 

 

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.  Teachers:

 

     a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.

     b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

     c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking,

         planning, and creative processes.

     d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and

          virtual environments

 

My Narrative:

Through my creation of both a podcast and a web quest, I developed technological tools that can be utilized in the classroom.  It was through my hands on exploration with movie makers, audacity, researching via the internet archives and creative commons that I came to better understand the tools students can utilize in the classroom.  Through my research, I discovered so many resources on the web and strategies that could be implemented into different units of study for students.  I became an expert (at least at the elementary school level) at editing sound in audacity when I incorporated narration, music, and other interviews into the project.  I could easily see how students could practice this skill too as a means of sharing their own research in innovative ways.  I am now able to facilitate that process with students—helping to make their creative projects come to live via technology.

 

Via the web quest, where students explore primary sources from the Edward S. Curtis Collection from the Library of Congress on Northwest Native American tribes, students can use real research skills to delve into significantly relevant information that could only be available to them online.  The Using Primary Sources to Think About Historical Perspectives Web Quest, created a hands on way for students to engage in primary sources and put on the hat of what real historians and researchers do.  Through my research to build that project, I found numerous other resources that could be incorporated into future social studies lessons.  There was so much on the Library of Congress page; Fascinating things like interviews and music from the time of slavery, these resources many not be in the web quest itself but they are strategies I know how to utilize online resources for future lessons or web quests.

I constructed knowledge about technology through these experiences while having fun with the many creative possibilities in these projects.  I learned better how to facilitate the use of technology with students in the classroom.   

 

Exhibit 1:  Web Quest

Exhibit 2:  Podcast

 

Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS·S.  Teachers: 

 

     a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and

         creativity.

     b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and

          become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own

          progress.

      c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities

          using digital tools and resources.

      d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology

           standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

 

My Narrative:

After attending the OTEN conference at Pacific University, I could really envision how teachers could incorporate both video and podcast into literacy, math, or writing units.  This conference discussed how to incorporate technology into the classroom and innovative ways it was already being used.  Michelle Childers, a Second grade teacher in Forest Grove, shared an impressive presentation on podcasting with students.  Highlight how students used it to share their research on animals one year, and shapes another, this presentation really showed how diversely you can integrate tech. 

 

The creation my own podcast and videos in my technology portfolio made my knowledge of how to uses these programs much more comprehensive.  These technology tools create hands on ways for students to engage at their individual levels of understanding on several different learning experiences.  With my web quest, students use hands on research skills to explore primary source images of Native Americans from the Pacific Northwest.  Although designed for fourth grade students in Oregon, this unit could easily be adapted in for students of all ages.  This is an engaging way for students to access information, draw historically relevant conclusions, and think about different perspectives across history, and use technology as a way to advance their understanding.   

 

Exhibit 1:  OTEN CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE

Exhibit 2:  Podcast

Exhibit 3:  Web Quest

 

Model Digital Age Work and Learning

Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.  Teacher: 

 

      a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.

      b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student       

          success and innovation.

      c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media

          and formats.

      d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information

          resources to support research and learning.

 

My Narrative:

As part of my Project TEAM experience, I created a comprehensive power point slide show on Native American Design and Pottery:  Elements of Line.  Through the utilization of this slide show, I modeled to student an effective strategy using technology as a means of sharing information.  It was an organized, visual way of sharing research on both historically relevant pottery as well as the continued cultural relevance by modern Native American artists. 

At my collaborative teaching placement, we regularly incorporate the use of Smartboard technology.  I conducted a math lesson where students were able to roll a dice digitally and grab pennies to match the number of objects to the number shown on the dice.  This creates an opportunity for whole group activity where all students can see the dice easily.  They can also count out the pennies together.  The pennies are set to “infinite repeat.”  By incorporating technology into the daily experiences of students, I am modeling both fluency as well as effective use of technology as a means of sharing information. 

 

Exhibit 1:  Project TEAM

Exhibit 2:  Placement   

 

Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.

 

       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.

       b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital

          tools and resources

      c. Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information

      d. Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures

           using digital age communication and collaboration tools

 

My Narrative:

With the so many new developments in technology, we constantly have to reevaluate how we model digital citizenship.  With the rights to access so much information through the web, we have the responsibility to use it ethically.  Through the creation of my Podcast on Pete Seeger, I had the opportunity to explore the expansiveness of the resources on the web.  I sought to find materials that were licensed under Creative Commons.  Using the Internet Archives, Wikimedia Commons, and even Flikr Commons, I found interviews and images that were licensed as works that could be built upon for creative use with attribution.  I created records of the resources I found so I could properly cite them both during and at the end of the production. 

 

Every lesson I created, I aimed to meet the Universal Design for Learning (UDL).  All students have the right to access information and participate fully—and teachers need to be considerate that they are creating inclusive digital experiences.  Differentiated learning is a vital part of how you approach teaching, in order to meet the diverse needs of all learners.  For example, the Web Quest utilized iPads because that was the technological material available in my fourth grade placement.  It could easily be completed on a computer with a mouse.  It was also designed as a team project, with heterogeneous groups that allow for peer support and leadership.  I would never expect students to complete this assignment at home due to inequity of access to digital resources.  The assignment could easily be adjusted to differentiate learning opportunities.  This also provided a citation of resources used and links for students to access for further inquiry. 

 

Exhibit 1:  Podcast

Exhibit 2:  Web Quest

 

Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.  Teachers:

 

      a. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student

          learning

      b. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and

           community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

      c. Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and

          emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning

      d. Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

 

My Narrative:

Professionalism begins with how you present yourself.  For me, the hardest thing to complete was the professional presentation of myself via the website.  I think I don’t think I need to be perfect, like I never make a mistake, but I want this public representation of myself to have a professional appearance without typos, with clean and aesthetic lines, with easy accessibility and simplicity to use.  This was a challenging new creative endeavor that pained me.  I certainly modeled lifelong learning as I delved into every tool cabinet in the “website” creation tool box to discover how best to organize and design each webpage within the website.  Although the tools are similar to Microsoft word, it felt as though I learned a new language as I translated my skills to website design. 

 

Attending the OTEN Conference this fall, I really saw the broader community relationships with technology in education.  Universities from around the area came together to advocate for innovative ways to utilize technological resources in the classroom.  I attended the session on “Interactive White Boards in the Elementary Classroom,” by Serena Chidester Fryer from Forest Grove School District.  This session really demonstrated the emerging digital tools available to teachers via Smartboard Technology.  I am really looking forward to incorporating many of the things I learned at this session into my work sample and utilizing Smartboards technology as a valuable way to create hands on opportunities to explore both content and tech. 

 

Exhibit 1:  Website

Exhibit 2:   OTEN Conference

 

Final Reflection

It is hard and takes time to develop technological literacy and fluency in the resources that are continually changing and advancing.  I am grateful for the course—Educational Technology - Education 537—and the new found knowledge I have acquired as a result.  I now know the multitude of technological resources that are available to classroom teachers. 

In the past, I have wanted to create and edit videos but I never knew where to start.  Not only did I learn how to use both iMovie and Microsoft Movie Maker, I know how to research technology programs.  I figure out how to use a diverse range of programs without someone instructing me.  This means, I learned strategies for learning to use technology that will last me a lifetime.  For example, using training videos on You Tube and then toying around, I figured out how to create a multidimensional audio clip using Audacity.  I can evaluate websites and apps for effective use and appropriate content.

 

I am proud of how much I figured out on my own by jumping through the rabbit hole and exploring possibilities.  The creativity, imagination, and innovation that can be utilized in presenting with technology was inspiring as a learner.  I have no doubt that these tools could inspire my students as well.  It was a deep and complex rabbit hole, but I found ways of making the technological resources work for me.  Although challenging at times, I came out the other side of each project with a sense of accomplishment and pride.  I can easily transfer this new found knowledge into the classroom providing hands on opportunities for students to have similar learning experiences that support and promote content, but also technological literacy while inspiring love learning.