Maryland Teacher Technology Standards

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has released a list of seven standards and outcomes for the Maryland Teacher Technology Standards.  Below, I have listed ways of how I plan to address these standards in my classroom.

I.                    Information Access, Evaluation, Processing and Application: Access, evaluate, process and apply information efficiently and effectively.

Organization, categorization, and storing information can be difficult in a classroom.  I think that I would have multiple ways to store all my information, data, and work for the class.  I would have a hard copy of the paperwork, an electronic copy stored on my computer and a flashdrive/external hard drive, and an online version, like a dropbox.  Each class would have a separate section, and that would have different folders for each unit.  There would also be a separate section for resources used for GT students, ELL students, etc.

II.                  Communication:

a.       Use technology effectively and appropriately to interact electronically.

To collaborate with peers, parents, administrators, and experts, I would use multiple forms of communication.  I would have a blog to share information with colleagues, as well as use sites such as twitter and pinterest to share articles, posts, etc.  I would have a class website to share information about the class with my students and parents.  There are also programs that are created to “text” parents and students information and homework assignments without sharing the teacher’s phone number.  I would also use Google Docs and surveymonkey to collaborate and share information, have sign ups for field trips, etc.

b.      Use technology to communicate information in a variety of formats.

I would use sites like YouTube to share videos for a flipped classroom approach.  I also would use sites such as Blackboard or Moodle, if they were supported by my school.

III.                Legal, Social, and Ethical Issues: Demonstrate an understanding of the legal, social, and ethical issues related to technology use.

It is important that with the use of technology in the classroom, students understand the legal and ethical issues.  Before introducing technology in my classroom, we would have a lesson on the negative outcomes of using technology, as well as discussing the importance of citing all work.  There would also be a section of this in syllabus, talking about the class rules of using the Internet (don’t share personal information, don’t post anything that is inappropriate, etc.).  It is also important to have consequences for the students if they break this rule, as well as to enforce these consequences.

IV.                Assessment for Administration and Instruction: Use technology to analyze problems and develop data-driven solutions for instructional and school improvement.

I would use online programs, as well as programs like Excel to track student’s progress throughout the year.  I think that it is important to have an understanding of both an individual’s progress, as well as the progress of the class as a whole.  I would look at the averages for assessments and break down the scores by question.  There are online tools such as Socrative.com that allow teachers to create a quiz.  They can watch in real time as students take the quiz, as well as the percentage of questions that the student got right, and the percentage of the class that got each individual question right.  This information can be applied to the modification of the lesson plans, both for that year and in the future.

V.                  Integrating Technology into the Curriculum and Instruction: Design, implement, and assess learning experiences that incorporate use of technology in a curriculum-related instructional activity to support understanding, inquiry, problem solving, communication, and/or collaboration.

Using technology such as Chromebooks, iPads, etc. students will be able to take a variety of assessments to allow teachers to understand the progress of students.  It is important for teachers to try out this technology before introducing students to it.  There’s nothing worse than having students go to a website to complete an assignment, only to find out that the website is no longer there or has been modified drastically.  Using WebQuests, students will be able to work with each other and be in charge of their own learning.  An interest survey could be given at the beginning of the year to obtain information on the preferred methods of media and technology for the class.

VI.                Assistive Technology: Understand human equity and developmental issues surrounding the use of assistive technology to enhance student learning performance and apply that understanding to practice.

Work with professionals in the school to determine resources for students that need assistance.  Allow students that need it to use online resources that help them with their individual learning needs.  Find out the most efficient resources, as well as monitor the students and their progress- help out as needed.

VII.              Professional Growth: Develop professional practices that support continual learning and professional growth in technology.

Explore professional organizations such as the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE), research any new technology that seems relevant to the class.  Attend conferences and training opportunities in the summer, collaborate with teachers in my own department, as well as other STEM departments.

I believe that classrooms should have technology integrated into the lesson, but not solely use technology.  I think that there is a balance between using no technology and using too much technology and as STEM teachers, we have to find that balance.  Technology can be used a tool to promote literacy.  Through the use of WebQuests, online articles, and online books, students can work on their literacy together in a positive setting.  However, if the students are not technologically literate, it can be difficult to successfully complete these tasks.  Instructions are a huge part of literacy and it can be difficult to write a set of directions if students are not literate in technology terms.