2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessmentsEducators should be able to incorporate digital tools and resources into any curriculum. Utilizing current education tech tools, teachers can develop, share, and evaluate lesson plans, assessment strategies, and relevant data. Providing tech and digital alternatives to students will increase individual learning and personalize their experience. The content may become student-driven while an educator operates as an assistant in the organizing, development, and reflection of individual learning outcomes.
How I Meet Standard No. 2In a world where students have more access to technology than ever, educators must be life long learners in their pursuit of captivating, student-driven methods for employing technology and digital resources in the classroom. What once could pass on paper can now breathe new life in a digital platform that allows for participation, collaboration, and reflection (and also, it's healthy for the environment). Educators have so many options when it comes to using technology, I have only touched the surface. One oldie but a goodie is the website, QuestGarden. Online for over a decade now, this site operates as a digital library of teacher created lesson plans that cover a spectrum of subjects and content. Each lesson plan is referred to as a "WebQuest" because of the project-based nature of much of the curriculum. Students become the role of scientist, historian, or even mathematician as they follow the teacher's instructions and activity guide. I contributed to QuestGarden with my own 5th grade history unit on the American Revolution which can be found below.
Another digital age learning experience I have created is the instructional video on Ratios - a 6th grade math standard. By creating an authentic narrative to tell the "story" of ratios, I hope to relate the often stale material with a memorable and understandable approach. It is entirely up to the educator on how they would like to incorporate such videos. Perhaps for catch up material for students who miss class? A way of keeping up with content while the substitute is in and you are out? A lecture to be viewed at home before an application activity in class? The opportunities are nearly endless! As mentioned when discussing other ISTE standards, assessment is one of the top areas technology can really help. I provide samples of a few of these resources on my "Tech Tools" page. In creating a presentation recently, I researched the numerous avenues for utilizing Google Earth in the classroom. To me, this is an invaluable app that can bring your material back into the real world. A few of those activities can be discovered by clicking the link below. I don't believe I will truly ever be done striving for this ISTE Standard. As innovation continues to breed new hardware, programs, and apps for eduction, I will continue to hone in on the ones that bring my curriculum to life and best fit my individual classroom. |
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Standard No. 2 in Action
I developed a multi-step, digital lesson plan on the American Revolution using QuestGarden - a web index of teacher created resources. Check out my WebQuest built to engage a 5th grade audience!
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More and more, teachers are creating their own instructional videos to engage students with humor, narrative, and authentic visual examples. Here, my peers and I developed an instructional video about ratios.
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Colleagues and I recently created a presentation on Tech Tools. I researched the many subjects and activities that can be brought to the classroom using Google Earth. A link below shares some of those activities I discussed.
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