Review of the 2009 Michigan Educational Technolgy Standards for Students

While reviewing the Michigan Technology Standards for Students, I was thinking, I wish teachers were held accountable for these standards as much as they are held accountable for reading, writing and mathematics.  It amazes me to think that the majority of jobs my 4th grade students will have, will end up dealing with technology in some shape or form.  I am NOT doing my duty as an educator to prepare them for their life after school.

Technology in our school consists of Smart boards in three classrooms out of 18 total, a computer lab with 13 computers, and one computer in each classroom (95% of the time used by the teacher).  If we are preparing our students for the future my school district needs to provide us with better means to do this.  Although we are trying our best to teach our students for the future, we need to be provided with the materials. 
When reviewing the MI Technology Standards, I focused on the grades 3-5 standards because I am a fourth grade student.  As of right now, the only standard that we are hitting on a regular basis and I feel comfortable to say that we are fluent in this standard is 3-5.RI. Research and Information Fluency.  Our fourth grade students have research homework to complete each week that deals with the social studies units we are teaching.  During this time we teach the different ways to gather and locate information.  We also discuss the importance of gathering information from websites that are credible and ways to cite their sources. 
To be honest, I didn’t even know that there were technology standards for students.  I am glad that I was given the opportunity to read these and become aware of the standards.  I am going to take action and hold myself accountable to these standards.  I will also share them with my principal and fellow teachers. 
The Michigan’s 2009 Educational Technology Standards for Students has in it specific, easy to understand indicators in all grades K-12.  These standards paints a clear picture as to what technology skills students are to be learning and what technology lessons teachers ought to be teaching.  What I found intriguing about the Michigan’s 2009 Educational Technology Standards for Students was the way the standards are articulated.  Take the following Pre-Kindergarten Communication and Collaboration Standard for instance: 
By the end of Grade 2 each student will work together when using digital tools (e.g., word processor, drawing, presentation software) to convey ideas or illustrate simple concepts relating to a specified project

This standard is easy to understand and it gives the student as well as parents an overall idea as to how and why technology will be used to show what is being taught in the classroom. 
As a parent of a 3rd grader myself I am fascinated by the type of homework assignments my daughter has that require the use of the computer.   She uses the internet to research endangered species in her science project assignments.  She uses desktop publishing software to create a brochure about Georgia history in her social studies homework.   She is also capable of using the computer calculator to check to see whether or not she answered the mathematics problems correctly.   I feel as though quality technology standards are giving our children the tools to succeed in this ever changing world today. 

Reference

Michigan State Board of Education. (2009). Michigan Education Technology Standards. Retrieved from http://techplan.edzone.net/METS/

Comparison of the 7th Standard of the Professional Standards for Michigan Teachers and the objectives of this course

When you look over the Professional Standards for Michigan Teachers in the area of technology and compare them with the objectives of the EDU 590Technology in Education online graduate course offered at Central Michigan University, you’ll find that they are both consistent in the approach to teaching technology in the classroom.  There were many objectives in the EDU Technology in Education course that I found covered Michigan Department of Education Technology Standards.  The one objective I found to be the similar was the following objective:

The student researcher will be expected to reflect on his or her knowledge related to the following objectives by creating web-based “blog” entries and, if necessary, completing self-paced online tutorials.

What’s unique about the aforementioned objective is that it can be used to cover many of the elements of the State’s Technology Standards.   Here are a few of the standards that are covered in that one objective:
a.  Understand the equity, ethical, legal, social, physical, and psychological issues surrounding the use of technology in K-12 schools and apply those principles in practice;  
b.  Successfully complete and reflect upon collaborative online learning experiences;
c.  Demonstrate an understanding of and the ability to create an online learning experience, and demonstrate continued growth in knowledge of technology operations, resource evaluation for quality, objectivity, and reliability and concepts including strategies for teaching and learning in an online environment;
g.  Use technology to engage in ongoing professional development, practice, productivity, communication, and life-long learning.

As an educator that creates 21st Century Learning Environments, it is vital to engage students in relevant and meaningful learning environment.  When the students can articulate the standard when given an assignment it not only shows clarity to the assignments between teacher and students and it provides credible evidence that student has grasp the overall concepts of the lesson.

Reference

Michigan State Board of Education. (2008). Professional Standards for Michigan Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/SBE_approved_PSMT_May_13_2008+coverpg_258601_7.doc.

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Cyber Bullying, Sexting and Other Recent School Internet Filtering Policies

The Internet can be a wonderful place full of information, entertainment and communication. But it can also be an extremely dangerous place to be if you do not know how to protect yourself.Consider these statistics: 1 in 5 children are sexually solicited or approached over the Internet in a one-year period of time. Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation's Youth;  The "ideal victim" is between 11 & 14 years old and has exclusive use of a computer in a private area.

Almost every school system in America now have an Internet security system that blocks certain websites like myspace, facebook and other social networking sites that many middle and high school students use.  Most school systems also now have policies against the use of cell phones in while in school.  For example in the Clayton County School District in Jonesboro Georgia where I teach may be permanently confiscated and provided to law enforcement if a student is found using it during school hours.
As educators and parents, we understand the need of cell phones for our adolescents and teens, but we also see the results and dramatic risks of inappropriate usage. Only through educating our children/students about the risks of cyberbullying, 'sexting', and academic cheating can we help them make informed decisions about responsible cell phone and internet behavior and keep them safe.

Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between mobile phones.  Cyberbullying "involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others.
There are a number of internet interactive games that invites students, to play out difficult situations through online games before they live them out in real life. Targeted to young adolescents and teens, these games offer guidance about responsible behavior and teach them how to use technology to enhance their personal safety. Here are few websites of those interactive games that help with internet safety
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/games/cybersense_nonsense/index.cfm
http://www.nsteens.org/videos/gaming/
http://www.onguardonline.gov/default.aspx#

In addition to helping schools teach students about internet safety and the consequences of bad choices, parents should also play some of these internet/cell phone safety games with their kids and talk to their children about making the right decisions and being responsible while either on the internet or using the cell phone.

References:

Teen Internet Safety Study, (2006), National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Retrieved from http://www.netsmartz.org/safety/statistics.htm

Cyberbullying Prevention & Response Kit, (2010), Web Wise Kids, Retrieved from http://www.webwisekids.org/PDF/Cyberbullying-Prevention-and-Response-Kit.pdf

Review of Chapter 1: An intro to Action Research

"Why try to re-invent the wheel", is what first came to my mind after reading chapter one of the book An Introduction to Action Research by author Jeffrey Glanz.  As defined by the book, research can be thought of as some sort of investigation to discover or establish facts. The author, Glanz mentions how professional educators must have some prior knowledge of research in order to effectively evaluate their students.  Without prior knowledge about certain situations related to teaching, an educator may not be able to effectively reach all of his/her students.  Effective teaching practices should and must be shared through professional learning workshops by the education profession in order to better find out what practices work best in certain situations.  I am in agreement with the notion that the more collaborative efforts made by one's profession to make the product better the better the product will be. 

In the county where I teach, it's mandatory that teachers meet once a month with other teachers from different schools that teach in the same field.  This is called In-Service meetings and they are designed to for the purpose of helping to make teachers better through the practices and experiences of their peers.  I enjoy taking part of the In-service sessions because it allows us to bounce ideas off one another in order to help each other become better teachers.   I really enjoy the fact that we are all allowed to take part in the textbook/software adoption program.  During this time we invite the publishing companies to come out and give their pitch to us about why we should adopt their product.  It's because of our experienced research that we always seem to find the best product that works best for our students. 

Reference

Glanz, Jeffrey. (2003). Action Research: An Educational Leader's Guide to School Improvement. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.