V. Productivity and Professional Practices.
Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice.Teachers:
- Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.
- Continually evaluate and reflect on professional practice to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of student learning.
- Apply technology to increase productivity.
- Use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning.
Standard V:
Technology is a very unique concept to learn and teach. It is unique in the respect that it is always changing. How can a person ever truly say that they have mastered technology and they have no more to learn? The answer to that question of course is that a person could never make that statement as it is impossible for a person to master technology because it is everchanging. Therefore, a person that is involved in technology must be ready to make a lifelong commitment to learning technology and constantly be looking for professional development opportunities to further technological skills. Of course, there are many opportunities available for people to educate themselves and I have been taking advantage of a few of these opportunities throughout my teaching career.
Methods that I have used to further educate myself include:
- MACUL Member and Presenter
- Participating in ATA Training Level I and II
- Master's Degree in Educational Technology through Western Michigan University
- Adjunct Professor - Western Michigan University; EDT 3470: Technology for Elementary Teachers, The course designation is to help ensure that students meet or exceed the National Educational Standards for Teachers (NETS) for integrating technology into the classroom.
- Technology Integration Consultant for Plainwell Community Schools (developed the technology Staff Development activities for the District in the 2002-2003 school year)
- Member of Plainwell Community Schools Technology Committee
- Member of Steering Committee for the Elementary Computer Lab that our district received through Bond money in the year 2005.
- Intel Teach to the Future Educator
- Teaching other teachers in the district through classes and providing trouble shooting assistance
- I also serve voluntarily as a the Building Technology Assistant answering and troubleshooting problems that my teaching colleagues have as they strive to seamslessly integrate technology into their classroom
Another manner in which I use technology is to assist in communication with parents of students. Technology assists with communicating with parents of the students in my classroom in many ways:
- I use graphs made in Excel to show parents, during parent/teacher conferences, where their child's performance stands in relation to the rest of the students in the class
- During conferences I have a PowerPoint Interactive Yearbook Presentation running in kiosk mode on a wireless laptop out in the hallway. This allows parents to see pictures of all of the different activities that we do in our class while they are waiting to speak with me about their child.
- My Classroom Homepage provides weekly homework and special dates to watch out for, as well as, helpful links to webpages that will assist their student with mastering beginning reading skills
- Email allows quick and efficient communication to parents it also limits the famous student saying, "I lost the note for my parents." When emailed losing that note is no longer an option.
- I send home a weekly newsletter and monthly calendars with important classroom information and activities listed for parents to see and plan with.
It is very important to at least attempt to stay "in the now" with technology even though it is very hard to do this. Even the list of methods that I have used and currently is not exhaustive. There are many resources and ideas out there that are available and waiting to be found. I intend to continue to utilize resources that I already have found, as well as, look for new and different technological information.
Exhibits: