I found both the
International Society for Technology in Education and the Essential Conditions
for Leveraging Technology for Learning both very important documents. I read
over both of them a couple times, noticing that I read through them very
quickly. I slowed down, reading them again, and noticed that it is so easy to
skim over documents like these because we tend to see them a lot. My thoughts
when I first opened the documents were not very positive. I re-evaluated my
thoughts, and began to dig deeper into these documents. The simple statements
that I read over are seemingly very intriguing. I read over them again. All of
the points seemed very important to me and I tried to sort through the ones
that are most meaningful to me. I narrowed it down significantly.
I’ll start with the
International Society for Technology in Education. I think it is so important
for teachers to be given standards to abide by, but I also think it is
important for teachers to bring in their own standards that they have acquired
for themselves. The first standard that caught my attention was to “Model
Digital Age Work and Learning”. This standard discusses to demonstrate fluency
in technology systems. This caught me off guard. I do not feel equipped with
skills in demonstrating fluency in technology. But, I do think it is extremely
important. Does this just take time? Will it get easier? It also discussed collaboration
with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and
resources to support student’s success and innovation. I’ve seen this in my
placements, where teachers, on a daily basis are communicating with parents via
e-mail, or even directly during a lesson through different programs on the
iPad. This was extremely new for me, and it took some time to get use to, but I
really see the benefit in doing this. It helps parents, students, and the
community stay connected. The second standard that caught my attention was to “Promote
and model digital citizenship and responsibility”. I think all of us could talk
about this point for a while, and I think we all understand how crucial it is
to advocate, model and teach safe, legal and ethical use of digital information
and technology, as well as promoting and modelling digital etiquette and responsible
social interactions related to the use of technology and information. Right
away, I thought of cyber bullying. This issue is so relevant in school classrooms
today. As teachers we need to recognize that this issue will only get worse if
the students, teachers and community members are not being educated on these
concerns.
When reading the
conditions for leveraging technology in learning, there were four in particular
that caught my attention. The first being ‘shared vision’ which includes
proactive leadership in developing a shared vision for educational technology
among all education skateholders. I think it is so important for teachers to be
able to share their resources with one another. It’s all about learning, and
continuing to learn through others as well. The second being ‘equitable access’,
which includes the robust and reliable access to current and emerging
technology and digital resources with connectivity for all students, teachers,
staff and school leaders. I particularly like how it discussed connectivity in
this condition. A school is one big body, therefore, connectivity is crucial.
The third being ‘ongoing profession learning’. I was thankful when I read this
condition because as technologies are always changing and evolving, it is
important to have technology-related professional learning plans and
opportunities with dedicated time to practice and share ideas. And lastly, ‘student-centered
learning’, which includes planning, teaching and assessment centered around the
needs and abilities of students. I think it is vital for teachers to take into
account the different needs of each student, and make sure the method of
learning, whether technology is involved or not, is in fact, meeting the needs
of the student.
As much as I appreciate
the standards and conditions that were presented to us in these documents, I
think it is also very important for teachers to bring their own standards and
conditions into their own classroom. Every classroom, every teacher, every
student is different, therefore, it is important to figure out a unique and
engaging way to incorporate technology into the classroom learning environment
in a safe, positive, and cooperative manner.
I
thought about how a lot of students are reading books on tablets instead of
actually reading the book hard copy. Isn’t there something so special about
physically holding and flipping the pages while reading the book? I think so. Some of my fondest memories
of elementary school were having my teachers read books to the class. I can’t
even imagine teachers reading books in front of the class from a tablet.
However, I do think that most teachers today still use many books in their
classroom, which gives me a little bit of ease. I wonder if sooner than later,
all of the books that we use in our classrooms will be in electronic copies,
and students will not know any different than to read a book from a
technological device. This thought is a bit scary for me. I hope we as teachers
can live on a little bit of legacy with reading hard copy books in school to our
students. It’s special for us as teachers and for students. 