1. 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.
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
Evidence 1: EDpuzzle
I used EDpuzzle to add interactive questions and comments to an instructional video I had made. This tool would allow me to formatively assess how well my students are understanding the material we are learning- in this case, solutions and their properties. EDpuzzle engages the students because they are responsible for answering the questions as the video plays, which encourages them to really pay attention to the content so they can answer the questions correctly. The questions in the video motivate students to think at a higher level, rather than just repeating information straight from the video.
Evidence 2: Problem-Based Learning
Problem-based learning is an excellent method for allowing students to take charge of learning on their own. They are given a problem that has multiple solutions, or a question that has multiple answers, then they are asked to research the solution or answer and complete a culminating project that presents what they have learned. I created this particular problem-based learning activity for a chemistry class. It asks students if hydrogen-powered cars are the future of transportation. They are then split into groups and given the stance of an interest groups, such as an environmentalist, a consumer, or an economist. As a group, they must research their group's point of view and present their findings to the rest of the class with a PowerPoint presentation. PBL is a great for students who excel with self-guided learning. It is also helpful for teaching students to work with a group and for helping them learn how to build and defend their point of view on an issue.
Evidence 3: Nearpod
Nearpod is a website for creating interactive slideshow presentations. You can draft slides on the website, or import from PowerPoint or Google Slides. Within the presentation, you can add interactive questions, polls, drawing activities, or external websites. This particular Nearpod was created as part of a Service Learning Project that I did in collaboration with another teacher. It covers limiting reactant stoichiometry and includes numerous practice problems so that students are able to practice the material as they are learning it. The teacher can then see the results from each question so they know which students are understanding the material and which students may need more help.
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the Standards.
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
Evidence 1: Educreations
Educreations is a virtual whiteboard app that allows the user to draw, either on a blank screen or a photo, and record their drawings with voiceovers. This tool is great for e-learning. I woul be able to record myself working out chemistry problems, then the students would be able to see my thought process and listen to me coach them through it. Educreations is also great for formative assessments. This particular example is one I made as a student example of a formative assessment. I recorded myself reviewing the law of conservation of mass and how to balance chemical equations and then practicing balancing a few equations. In my future classroom, I can use this type of activity to gauge student understanding of a topic by asking them to create a recording demonstrating a practice problem or explaining something in their own words.
Evidence 2: Data Collection and Analysis
In chemistry, students will use many data collection tools in the lab. This activity was done to model how to use a pH meter to test the pH of a variety of common beverages and how that relates to the pH of your stomach. I was given a real-life scenario in which my friend had an upset stomach and I needed to pick the best drink to give her to calm her stomach. I used the pH meter to test the pH of drinks like Coke, milk, tea, and juice. I had to analyze that data in order to make an informed decision about how to help my friend. Activities like this are done frequently in a chemistry class. They are a great way for students to get hands-on experience with unique digital tools that enhance their learning.
Evidence 3: Inspiration Concept Map
This concept map was made using Inspiration software. Inspiration is easy to use and includes a large database of images and shapes for every type of concept map. Concept maps are a great tool to appeal to visual learners because they present information in a free-flowing way that represents how components of the material relate to each other. This particular concept maps details the states of matter. It branches into the three different states, showing examples of each and how to transform between the different states. Concept maps are also beneficial for formative assessments because if students are able to provide a detailed concept map about something, they probably have a firm grasp on that material.
3. Model digital age work and learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.
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
Evidence 1: Google Calendar
This Google Calendar was created for my teacher website as a way to keep students and parents updated on the happenings of our classroom. I included events for class such as quizzes, tests, and lab days as well as extracurricular events such as basketball games or test review sessions. Google Calendar is a great way for me to communicate with my students and parents instantly. I can post events on my Google Calendar, which is embedded in my class website so students and parents can immediately view it instead of having to wait for an email or newsletter update.
Evidence 2: Open House S'more
This is a newsletter I made using S'more. It's an invitation to my school's open house that I could send out to parents and students. It contains all the necessary information including the date, time, location, and a description of the event. S'more can also be used for weekly or monthly newsletters that keep parents updated on the happenings of my class. Since everything is digital, there's no chance of a paper getting lost in the student's backpack, and it helps the Earth by eliminating the use of paper that will probably eventually get thrown away.
Evidence 3: Screencast of a Digital Resource
This screencast was made using QuickTime on my Macbook. QuickTime allows me to record my computer screen and my voice at the same time. This is an effective way for me to show students how to locate a website or use a particular resource. Screencasts are also a useful way for sharing information with other teachers. In this screencast, I walk through how to use a website that contains an interactive electron configuration activity. This could be used by my students or by another teacher who wants to learn how to do the activity.
4. 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
Evidence 1: Creative Commons License
I have equipped both this website and my teacher website with a Creative Commons license in order to advocate for fair use of digital information. Under my chosen license, viewers are able to reproduce and modify my content only if it's for noncommercial use. That way, other teachers are able to use my resources in their classroom, but no one can sell them for profit.
Evidence 2: Classroom Rules for Technology Use
This poster was made with Piktochart and it states the rules I want to set for technology use in my future classroom. We had iPads when I was in high school, but I found that many teachers were lax in their disciplinary policies for misusing technology, if they even had any in place. In my future classroom, I want to lay the rules down right away and follow through with discipline. Technology is a great addition to the classroom, but it can only be truly beneficial when it is used for good. With this poster, I call on my students to be respectful and responsible digital students.
Evidence 3: Digital Footprint and Reputation Infographic
This infographic was also made with Piktochart. It includes information about digital footprint and reputation, including how your digital footprint can effect employment and how you can clean up your digital footprint. I think it's very important to talk about this particular digital issue with high school students because they are at a point where the Internet is a prominent part of their everyday lives. Most, if not all, high school students are social media users. Teenagers often don't realize just how much what they put online can effect their future. I want to make sure my students are empowered to present themselves in a positive way online that will help them be successful with college admission and employment.
5. 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.
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
Evidence 1: Personal Learning Network
My personal learning network is maintained through Twitter, where I can engage in discussion with other teachers from around the world. Through Twitter, we can share resources that apply to our subject, tips for how to teach a particular lesson, or information on classroom management and design in general. It is my hope that by the time I begin teaching, I will have grown my personal learning network so that it is a vital part of my teaching career. I want to be able to connect with other educators who can help me make the transition into the teaching world and become an expert at using technology in the classroom.
Evidence 2: Service Learning Project
This project was completed as part of my W200 course at IU. I collaborated with my former high school chemistry teacher in creating a lesson plan full of digital resources. The project was my first real-life experience with integrating technology into the classroom. I outline instructional tasks for the lesson, then located numerous technology tools for each task. I chose the best tool for each task and then created some artifacts to support the lesson. It was a positive learning experience that offered a glimpse into what it will be like when I am a teacher.
Evidence 3: Symbaloo
My Symbaloo page contains a variety of websites for my own personal use and for the use of my future students. I can easily share the page with my students, parents, and other teachers. It is efficient to keep all necessary websites in one convenient place instead of having to comb through the Internet every time I want to use a website.
Evidence 4: ePortfolio
This whole website is a model of my professional growth as a pre-service teacher. After just one course about using technology in education, my skills expanded tremendously. I went from thinking technology wasn't relevant to a chemistry classroom, to being excited to have a classroom of my own where I can use so many digital tools for learning. This website is a way for me to periodically reflect on my own growth as a digital teacher and to show leadership in incorporating technology into the classroom.