Monday, December 14, 2009
The Big Picture: Oregon Technology Standards
How would you explain the big picture of what these standards are trying to accomplish?
These standards are attempting to prepare students for the future. Technology has virtually changed the face of the planet. Communicating and collaborating with many people over great distances is possible now in ways that it never has been before. With the rise of technology comes the responsibility of digital citizenship. Empowering students with technology is a start, but teaching them how to be responsible and act in ethical ways in what is now a somewhat un-policed world, is a necessity. These standards are attempting to create students who are; well versed in technology, can access and utilize programs that will aid them in their education and lives, and act legally and ethically in an online world.
Describe some strategies you could implement at your grade level(s) in order to accomplish this huge task. Please relate your strategies/activities to some specific Standards.
One way I would help to meet these standards in my classes would be by using google docs for homework/assignments. Google docs allows for large amounts of collaboration and communication between students and their teachers. This could be a very user friendly way to provide feedback on math assignments, give clues for problems that students might not fully understand, and it’s fast and easy to use. I could also see myself using google docs for grade sheets or other student info. This would help me meet Standard 2 regarding “Communication and Collaboration” Before implementing any of this technology into my classroom I would set forth expectations for online behavior which would also help me to teach “Digital Citizenship”, meeting another of the standards.
What are some challenges?
Introducing technology into my classroom will have some challenges. To begin with, while technology is becoming more and more prevalent in our society, the fact of the matter is that there really is not a level playing field when it comes to access. Some students will have an advantage over others simply because they have more resources at home. While this is a potential challenge, it is not one that should exclude technology from our lessons.
Another potential challenge that I can see is simply in the teaching of digital citizenship. The internet has a lot of gray areas right now and students can have instant access to a variety of information that they should not be accessing. I am in full support of having digital citizenship as one of the standards, but I can see this being a constant struggle to implement. This just goes to show the importance of such a standard though.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)