Standard 3: Digital Learning Environments
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to create, support, and manage effective digital learning environments.
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to create, support, and manage effective digital learning environments.
- Element 3.1 Classroom Management & Collaborative Learning - Candidates model and facilitate effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources.
- Element 3.2 Managing Digital Tools and Resources - Candidates effectively manage digital tools and resources within the context of student learning experiences.
- Element 3.3 Online & Blended Learning - Candidates develop, model, and facilitate the use of online and blended learning, digital content, and learning networks to support and extend student learning and expand opportunities and choices for professional learning for teachers and administrators.
- Element 3.4 Adaptive and Assistive Technology - Candidates facilitate the use of adaptive and assistive technologies to support individual student learning needs.
- Element 3.5 Basic Troubleshooting - Candidates troubleshoot basic software and hardware problems common in digital learning environments.
- Element 3.6 Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools & Resources - Candidates collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and resources for accuracy, suitability, and compatibility with the school technology infrastructure.
- Element 3.7 Communication & Collaboration - Candidates utilize digital communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally with students, parents, peers, and the larger community.
A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a collection of resources in a variety of formats. A PLN is individualized because each person saves resources that he or she views as important. I have built my PLN throughout my professional career and my school career. The resources I chose are multi-media resources on a variety of topics. I have collected resources that assist both teachers and students. I have collected videos, websites, and journals. My PLN represents Element 3.2 because I collected and managed a group of resources in order to support the classroom and educate students and staff on learning in the 21st Century. One of my main goals for my PLN was collecting resources I can share with teachers to integrate technology into the classroom. I collected ideas for integrating the IPad into the classroom and creating interactive e-books (for free). When I taught my professional development plan I included my PLN as an example. The teachers asked if they could use resources form my PLN. I was happy because I did collect resources the teachers found useful. The teachers asked me to share my PLN with them.
I created an interactive flyer in smore.com to use in my collaboration assignment. The Digital Citizenship Resources curation was given to the teacher to use as a reference for her upcoming research projects. I wanted to create a collection of digital resources that model digital citizenship and digital literacy. All of the resources I chose can be accessed by sharing the smore flyer. The videos are visual representations of the skills to connect with the students. All of the resources were chosen because of the collaboration lesson for the fifth grade classroom. The Digital Citizenship Resources represent Element 3.1 because they are a collection of digital resources the teachers and students can use for a variety of projects. This lesson helped me feel like an Instructional Technology Specialist because I was supporting technology in multiple classrooms. I also shared this information with the Creek View Media Specialist and she was interested in the resources.
I created a Media Center Activities Report for my Media Center practicum. The activities report was meant to be fun and promote the library. This was my first time using PowToon and I wanted to experiment with a new tool to increase my knowledge on technology. I wanted to find a new presentation tool to add to my instructional technology "toolkit." The activities report represents Element 3.6 because I selected and evaluated a digital tool that may or may not support the teachers. PowToon created a fun presentation and I would recommend it. I wanted the presentation to highlight the main points to increase knowledge of the library. Many parents and staff members are not aware of the library resources and on-line access. The activities report allowed me to promote the library resources to increase traffic on-line and in the library. Parents are allowed to use our resources as well and I highlighted the check-out policy for parents. The activities report supports Element 3.7 because I utilized a digital tool to communicate with the staff, students, and the parents. I think the parents are an important component to increasing reading in students. I wanted the activities report to interest the parents as well. The library has the ability to be a resource center for the community and the Media Specialist is responsible for connecting to the community. I was determined to use PowToon to create the report because the presentations are fun. They are visually appealing and they catch the audiences attention. An important part of my role as an Instructional Technology Specialist is to educate the teachers. I struggled with Pow Toon though. The presentation took twice as long and I struggled with the transitions, layouts, and add on graphics. At the end of the project I was happy. The presentation turned out great. An Instructional Technology Specialist must experiment with new technology on a regular basis.
The on-line module covers the same topics as my professional development lesson, but the on-line module is created to be a distance training class for any educator. The on-line module includes classroom lessons, assessments, activities, video, and screencasts. My goal for creating my on-line module was educating other education professionals. I wanted the information to be beneficial and easy to follow. I created the module for any educator in any school with a desire to learn about technology tools. When I created the on-line module I thought like an educator and a student. I organized the unit like an educator. I wanted the introduction to relate to the students and increase interest in the upcoming information. I also thought of myself as a student of the lesson. How would the information appeal to me and how could I relay the information without confusion? I decided to create a screencast for each technology tool. I wanted the technology tools to be viewed as useful and not confusing. I asked a group of 2nd grade teachers to participate in the on-line module. The module consisted of a pre-assessment and a post assessment. Each teacher
sent me an email with their responses.
The pre-assessment was sent to the eight teachers who participated:
None of the teachers have experience with Pearltrees.
Two of the teachers have experience with Smore.com
None of the teachers have used RSS feeds.
All of the teachers use collaboration to plan lessons and units.
Email is the only technology tool used to collaborate.
2 teachers have their own websites for students and parents. All teachers use email.
All the teachers are interested in using technology to collaborate as long as the technology is not complicated. 4 teachers specifically stated they did not have time to try to learn complicated tools.
I tailored my online unit using the pre-assessment results. I wanted the unit to be easy and beneficial.
The post assessment results:
All of the teachers were interested in Pearltrees and Smore.com. They liked the curation and the collaboration. Half of the teachers would like to see these tools used regularly as a unit. The other half would use them individually. I received positive feedback on the organization and information in my unit. 6 out of 8 said they spent most of their time on the videos and screencasts. Then they tried the tools themselves.
The online module represents Element 3.3 because I developed, modeled, and facilitated a complete online module for professional development. This assignment was intimidating. As a teacher, I am comfortable creating lessons and teaching children. I was very nervous about creating engaging lessons for fellow teachers. This assignment placed me in an exact situation I would be in as an Instructional Technology Specialist. I creating a teaching unit for colleagues to benefit an entire grade level.
I created an interactive flyer in smore.com to use in my collaboration assignment. The Digital Citizenship Resources curation was given to the teacher to use as a reference for her upcoming research projects. I wanted to create a collection of digital resources that model digital citizenship and digital literacy. All of the resources I chose can be accessed by sharing the smore flyer. The videos are visual representations of the skills to connect with the students. All of the resources were chosen because of the collaboration lesson for the fifth grade classroom. The Digital Citizenship Resources represent Element 3.1 because they are a collection of digital resources the teachers and students can use for a variety of projects. This lesson helped me feel like an Instructional Technology Specialist because I was supporting technology in multiple classrooms. I also shared this information with the Creek View Media Specialist and she was interested in the resources.
I created a Media Center Activities Report for my Media Center practicum. The activities report was meant to be fun and promote the library. This was my first time using PowToon and I wanted to experiment with a new tool to increase my knowledge on technology. I wanted to find a new presentation tool to add to my instructional technology "toolkit." The activities report represents Element 3.6 because I selected and evaluated a digital tool that may or may not support the teachers. PowToon created a fun presentation and I would recommend it. I wanted the presentation to highlight the main points to increase knowledge of the library. Many parents and staff members are not aware of the library resources and on-line access. The activities report allowed me to promote the library resources to increase traffic on-line and in the library. Parents are allowed to use our resources as well and I highlighted the check-out policy for parents. The activities report supports Element 3.7 because I utilized a digital tool to communicate with the staff, students, and the parents. I think the parents are an important component to increasing reading in students. I wanted the activities report to interest the parents as well. The library has the ability to be a resource center for the community and the Media Specialist is responsible for connecting to the community. I was determined to use PowToon to create the report because the presentations are fun. They are visually appealing and they catch the audiences attention. An important part of my role as an Instructional Technology Specialist is to educate the teachers. I struggled with Pow Toon though. The presentation took twice as long and I struggled with the transitions, layouts, and add on graphics. At the end of the project I was happy. The presentation turned out great. An Instructional Technology Specialist must experiment with new technology on a regular basis.
The on-line module covers the same topics as my professional development lesson, but the on-line module is created to be a distance training class for any educator. The on-line module includes classroom lessons, assessments, activities, video, and screencasts. My goal for creating my on-line module was educating other education professionals. I wanted the information to be beneficial and easy to follow. I created the module for any educator in any school with a desire to learn about technology tools. When I created the on-line module I thought like an educator and a student. I organized the unit like an educator. I wanted the introduction to relate to the students and increase interest in the upcoming information. I also thought of myself as a student of the lesson. How would the information appeal to me and how could I relay the information without confusion? I decided to create a screencast for each technology tool. I wanted the technology tools to be viewed as useful and not confusing. I asked a group of 2nd grade teachers to participate in the on-line module. The module consisted of a pre-assessment and a post assessment. Each teacher
sent me an email with their responses.
The pre-assessment was sent to the eight teachers who participated:
None of the teachers have experience with Pearltrees.
Two of the teachers have experience with Smore.com
None of the teachers have used RSS feeds.
All of the teachers use collaboration to plan lessons and units.
Email is the only technology tool used to collaborate.
2 teachers have their own websites for students and parents. All teachers use email.
All the teachers are interested in using technology to collaborate as long as the technology is not complicated. 4 teachers specifically stated they did not have time to try to learn complicated tools.
I tailored my online unit using the pre-assessment results. I wanted the unit to be easy and beneficial.
The post assessment results:
All of the teachers were interested in Pearltrees and Smore.com. They liked the curation and the collaboration. Half of the teachers would like to see these tools used regularly as a unit. The other half would use them individually. I received positive feedback on the organization and information in my unit. 6 out of 8 said they spent most of their time on the videos and screencasts. Then they tried the tools themselves.
The online module represents Element 3.3 because I developed, modeled, and facilitated a complete online module for professional development. This assignment was intimidating. As a teacher, I am comfortable creating lessons and teaching children. I was very nervous about creating engaging lessons for fellow teachers. This assignment placed me in an exact situation I would be in as an Instructional Technology Specialist. I creating a teaching unit for colleagues to benefit an entire grade level.
Personal Learning Network (PLN)
Digital Citizenship Resources
Media Center Activity Report
Online Professional development module
Online Workshop by melisaeichele on Scribd
On-line website
The entire on-line module with all of the videos can be viewed here