NETS

=**National Educational Technology Standards**=

Although I feel I came into the class with a good base of information regarding technology systems, the assignments really called for in depth proficiency in programs like Word and Excel. Other programs, like Audacity and Movie Maker, that I always thought were too involved to utilize in the classroom, I now feel completely comfortable not only using but teaching students to use.
 * 1. Demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.**

This class really stressed the use of different kinds of input and output devices. The podcast and digital video projects, in particular, utilized sound input that I had not previously used. Although there was not a particular lesson that involved routine problems, I feel that the hands-on approach to the class and the professor's availability for questions allowed the students to work through many routine problems. Every time we were introduced to a product or service, the professor showed us other options that provided similar options so that we could experiment and decide on our own which products and services work best for us and our purposes.
 * 2. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of common input and output devices; solve routine hardware and software problems; and make informed choices about technology systems, resources, and services.**

The Excel and the website assignments both stressed technology as an increase in productivity. The use of Excel spreadsheets organizes data and does calculations that would otherwise have to be done by hand, and the utilization of a website makes the passing of information about your class to both students and parents much more efficient than other methods. Technology as a way to promote creativity was also very evident in the Concept Map, Webquest, Podcast, and Digital Video assignments as each one called on the students to add in their own twists and personalities. Every assignment seemed to have a real-world and purposeful classroom application and could easily be adapted into the year's lesson plans.
 * 3. Use technology tools and information resources to increase productivity, promote creativity, and facilitate academic learning.**

The concept map and the webquest assignments both called for students to research a specific topic and to communicate and display their findings using technology. The concept map introduces students to Inspiration, while the webquest allows students to explore internet research in a highly-guided fashion. We were also asked to evaluate a virtual tour, which introduced me to the use of simulations as a learning tool.
 * 4. Use content-specific tools (e.g., software, simulation, environmental probes, graphing calculators, exploratory environments, Web tools) to support learning and research.**

The webquest and concept mapping assignments as well as the discussion of MUVEs applied most in this area. The webquest and concept maps both called for critical analysis on the part of the student. I also think that some MUVEs can act as simulations that promote higher level and real-world thinking. The introduction of MUVEs also causes a student to think about informed decision making in terms responsible internet use and reliability of information on the web.
 * 5. Use technology resources to facilitate higher order and complex thinking skills, including problem solving, critical thinking, informed decision making, knowledge construction, and creativity.**

The use of the wikispaces emphasized collaboration and ways that technology can make collaboration across the country and the world easier. The podcast, Word, webquest, website, and digital video also stressed the preparation of publications to be seen by students, peers, parents, and potentially anyone who wants to seek out the information. It was stressed that anything to be made available on the web should portray you as the person you would like the public to see.
 * 6. Collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, preparing publications, and producing other creative works using productivity tools.**

The evaluation assignment called for us to use the internet to both research and evaluate different educational software and sites available for use in the classroom. This assignment made us prioritize and think about what is important in terms of technology's uses within the classroom. The webquest also forced us to research the web and collect and organize information for students' future use.
 * 7. use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.**

The Excel assignment forced us to analyze numerical data and report in the form of tables and charts, while the concept map forced us to use some creativity and think about organization of a concept in a visual way.
 * 8. Use technology tools to process data and report results.**

We were encouraged to make every assingment applicable to our field of study both to create a bank of technology-based lessons to work from and to make the applications of technology more real to us as teachers. Although we were shown some real-world applications in terms of science and collaboration with wikis, I don't think we focused much on technology as a means of solving other problems in the world.
 * 9. Use technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world. observe and experience the use of technology in their major field of study.**

We utilized the different aspects of Excel to communicate numerical information, but we also had to add common communication devices like a calendar and e-mail links to our websites. The creation of the rubric in the concept map also forced us to think about communication of expectations to our students.
 * 10. Use technology tools and resources for managing and communicating information (e.g., finances, schedules, addresses, purchases, correspondence).**

We formally evaluated educational software, a virtual tour, and an educational website for one assignment. In addition to this, there were many classroom discussion about the evaluation and classroom applictations of other innovations from multimedia software to MUVEs and blogging.
 * 11. Evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on their appropriateness to specific tasks.**

This class was particularly useful in that it forced me to learn to use technology formats like webpages, wikis, and audio-visual technology as a means of interacting. I was quite comfortable with traditional technology methods such as email and word processing, but I always thought that making a video was beyond my scope of knowledge. We were also introduced to Inspiration as another means of communicating information.
 * 12. Use a variety of media and formats, including telecommunications, to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.**

While creating our digital videos and podcasts, we were made aware and forced to strictly adhere to copyright laws regarding the use of audio and visual resources. Classroom discussions also involved legal issues with publishing student images and work without parental permission.
 * 13. Demonstrate an understanding of the legal, ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology.**

The hands-on format of the class allowed even those who may have been skeptical about the positive uses of technology to leave the class thinking that technology is a useful and good thing to introduce to students. I was also excited to learn about programs and sites that I could use on a daily basis like pageflakes and Google notebook to increase productivity in a number of ways.
 * 14. Exhibit positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.**

The class discussed advantages in using things like virtual tours, MUVEs, and webquests as opposed to doing the "real thing" in a school that may not have the resources to carry out the real experience. We also, however, discussed the feasibility of relying too much on technology in a school in a lower socio-economic area that may only have one lab or a small number of computers available to its students.
 * 15. Discuss diversity issues related to electronic media.**

Classroom discussions dealth with the safety issues at hand whenever you ask a student to sign up for something or to log on to a program in which outside communication is possible. Any such communication should be monitored if possible. This is also an important point to consider when evaluating online resources for use by your students.
 * 16. Discuss the health and safety issues related to technology use.**