Oregon Technology Standards and Requirements

1. How would you explain the big picture of what these standards are trying to accomplish?
2. 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.
3. What are some challenges?

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.

The whole point of teaching is to “inspire student learning and creativity,” as the standard asserts. Using technology is a way to help inspire the students. Many students are familiar with and enjoy using a computer and are very proficient and creative in using them. Why can’t we utilize some of the features of various forms of technology to help inspire the students, especially the ones who struggle with traditional forms of learning? An example of this would be using the paint program on an IPod touch for drawing to help inspire creativity with a student. A challenge is that it takes some thinking to make the use of the technology about learning and not just about having fun. Also, some school’s rules and policies may be in contention with the use of certain technology.

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:
a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

This standard is referring to helping students to have authentic experiences through the use of technology that once again help inspire learning. The use of the technology also helps meet different learning styles. I think the use of the technology itself is catering to diverse learning preferences as most students are familiar with and enjoy using computers and other forms of technology. One way to use technology for these purposes is to facilitate a video conference between two different classrooms in a different country so students can learn about another culture. A challenge to this would be finding a class that is willing to participate in such an activity.

3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:
a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
b. collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

I believe this standard is saying that teachers need to be familiar with the particular program, application or hardware they are teaching their students about. In some ways this can be related to having content knowledge. If the teacher is going to teach, he or she should know about what it is the topic is on. In the same way, teachers should know how to use the technology they are dealing with. One example of this might be using Google Documents to keep a running journal blog the students make that they, their peers, their families and others can follow and comment on. One challenge to this would be if families don’t have internet access in their homes.

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:
a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.
b. address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
c. promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.
d. develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.

This standard refers to the proper and safe use of technology. Basically, there are emerging and developing laws about internet usage and students need to be informed about them. Piracy, copyright infringement and plagiarism can be big problems with internet use. I might teach students about the price differences between countries for CDs and DVDs, why that is and if they think it is fair. We could then have a debate about it. I think helping the students to understand things like plagiarism is a difficult task because it’s so easy to do now with the copy and paste feature and the internet.

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:
a. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
b. exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others.
c. evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.
d. contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching

profession and of their school and community.
This standard is saying that teachers to familiarize themselves with the use of technology and its ongoing development. They also need to serve as leaders in the community and participate in local and global learning communities that explore the use of technology use in the classroom. I think this is a great idea in that teachers ought to be continuously learning about new applications of technology and how it can benefit the students. Technology use in the classroom is inevitable in this age and we should be utilizing it rather than fighting against it. One way to use this standard is to participate in a forum about “technology use in the classroom” with other teachers from around the world and in the community. A challenge to this would be not only finding such a forum but also the language barrier between certain countries and cultures.