Response to NETS-T Standards

The fifth National Educational Technology Standard for Teachers (NETS•T) states that teachers need to engage in professional growth and leadership and teachers should improve their professional practice as well as model lifelong learning. I find this is true because I want to desperately infuse more technology into my classroom, but I lack some necessary skills in order to feel confident with certain pieces of technology. Because of this, I have chosen to commit myself to learning one new form of technology during each school quarter. I chose this time frame because I feel it is a realistic amount of time to become fully engaged with a new piece of software. My originally plan was one new piece of technology a month, but with the constraints of work, school, and family, I decided to change the timeframe to once a quarter so I do not become overwhelmed with the technology and decide to quit. When I learn these various pieces of technology, it allows me an opportunity to meet NETS•T standard number three. This standard states that teachers should be able to model and demonstrate fluency in technology systems (ISTE, 2008), and I understand how powerful modeling can be when trying to teach students new or difficult information.

As a sub-goal, I have decided to choose the first piece of technology I want to master. At this current time, I have chosen developing a web-page as my first conquest. I feel this could be an extremely valuable tool for my students because, as an English teacher, my students will be able to create websites based on books or characters. A wide variety of writing styles can exist within the website as well as evidence for a large variety of literary terms. It is important for me to gain confidence in using this technology because I have a hard time allowing my students to try this instructional piece of technology before I master it myself (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009.) I understand that some of my students probably know more about making web pages than I do and may in fact be able to teach me; however, I have a hard time letting the students obtain that type of control. I do not mind if students want to teach me more advanced tricks regarding web sites, but I, at the very least, want to have down the foundation and raw ability to create web pages before diving into a lesson.

There are a few actions that need to take place on my part in order to achieve my goal of learning webpage design. First, I need to incorporate a schedule. I juggle many different hats and have an insane schedule, so spare time is something that does not come easily, and when it finally does seem to arise, I am exhausted from my daily schedule and routine. Therefore, I want to have a set schedule on when I will work on creating a web site. Some work can be completed during my school hours. I can find some time during the work week to dedicate towards this project, and I can also incorporate the help of our school’s technology advisor and other teachers familiar with building web sites. During the course of the work week, I can probably find one or two hours to dedicate towards this cause. I can also dedicate time outside of school. I am going to block off time on Monday nights and Saturday mornings to teach myself at home. However, I will need to overcome a software obstacle. My school uses Apple software, such as iweb, to build websites, but my home computer and laptop is a PC. Since my colleagues at school know how to use the iweb format, I need to find a similar program for my laptop. This way, whether I practice at work or home, I will always have the same program, and I am assuming someone who is fluent in iweb should be able to transfer their skills to a PC program. Does anyone know about any good web design programs similar to iweb but made for a PC? If so, please let me know. I would high appreciate it. Finally, I need to find tools and resources in order to teach myself and learn more about website design software. I can search for online tutorials and information that will help me learn the required information in the shortest amount of time. Books could also be a good source of information, and I am sure there are plenty of self-help books inside the computer section of my local bookstore that would be able to accommodate this request.

Once I begin to learn the software, I will have to monitor my progress. The best way I can think to accomplish this task is by actually completing an assignment requiring this type of software. Before I start planning my own lessons around this technology, I will find an already established lesson on the Internet or from a fellow teacher at school and complete it myself. I will try to finish the assignment as if I am a student and take notes on what obstacles I faced because some of my students will probably face the same dilemmas. Each week, I will see how much I have achieved on the project to see my progression with using the new technology. This project can not only be used to check my progress, but I can also evaluate what I did and see if it worked. If during my evaluation, I notice that I am still having problems with the software, I will need to rethink my self-directed learning techniques. At that point, it may be time to try and find a class that will teach me the required skills I teach, but I have tried this in the past and either the classes are non-existent , or if I do happen to find what I was looking for, the cost can be a little too expensive for my budget.

Overall, I am excited about the idea of learning this new technology. I am hoping my learning experience goes smoothly and if it does I will continue on with my next technological conquest during the following quarter.

Resources:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

ISTE.nets. (2008). The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS•T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx.