Okay, I have recently been writing about the need for our students to meet the technology standards for the NCLB requirements, but did you know that there are also a set of standards for teachers? Yep, there are. We are supposed to be able to meet certain standards in order to ensure that students can meet theirs.
In future blogs I will be going over some of these and we will also be discussing these during Professional Learning Community meetings and Professional Development. I know, I know - one more thing to worry about. But really, its not that difficult. If I can do it - an ancient dinosaur - anyone can. Plus, we have so many young faculty members now who are perhaps very technologically savy but just haven't had the chance or the inspiration of how to use this knowledge to benefit their students in the classroom. Plus they can offer their experience to help many of us more mature faculty members.
We have come so far with available technology. I remember when the faculty at JWJ complained because they did not even have one computer in the classroom. Now some of you want more than the three that you have or get frustrated because they don't work right, the printer doesn't work, etc. It is part of my vision to include general trouble shooting (which many of you already do, but don't have the rights to finish) and to see about extending the teacher rights to include more responsibility in this area (let you do more things on the computer with your login rights). I get just as frustrated as you do, because many of the things I used to be able to do, I can no longer do, because of restrictions of the network. Also, since I am only one person and I teach a full load of classes this year, it is hard to get to each of you when needed. But we will work together to figure things out. Don't give up.
Also, don't be afraid to ask your students for help. They are a great resource. Next year, if things work out, I hope to develop a Student Technology Cadre (STC) that will be trained to offer assistance. I am also trying to figure out a way to have the computer lab available for student use after school at least once or twice a week for research and special work - NOT TO PLAY COMPUTER GAMES.
As a faculty, student body, parent group, staff, and administrative team we need to embrace all areas of technology and use them for our own benefit as well as for improving educational opportunities in the classroom. We need to capitalize on the things that the students are already using and show them how it can be used in other useful ways. This, is all part of relating our instruction to the real world, isn't it?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Love your blog and your focus in providing professional development for your teachers. We are about to actualize some STC training for students at one of our high schools. If you are interested, we will share what we have done to date. We, too, agree that students are very capable of supporting our technology needs and will in fact take better care of the hardware if they feel like they own it. Keep up the good work.
Terri Stahlman, CTO
Thank you for your kind words. I would appreciate any suggestions and help you might send my way regarding STCs or anything else.
Post a Comment