Standards, standards everywhere...

Technology in the classroom: riding the wave or drowning?
So far this semester, we’ve started to talk about the learners of today, and how they (you) like to learn. But how does that translate into the classroom? Will you, as a teacher, be able to meet the needs of learners like you?  Take a look at this brief snippet of a Frontline special. As you’re watching, think to yourself:

• Which teacher do you agree with? Why?
• What kind of teacher will you be? Why?

Standards to live up to
As teachers, you can decide how you’ll teach your learners, but you don’t have much say in what you’ll teach. Especially if you teach in public schools, you’ll have to abide by the state mandated curriculum.
In the state of Georgia, curriculum standards are called “Georgia Performance Standards” and they are written for every grade level K-12 and most subject areas. You can view the Georgia Performance Standards, or GPS, by clicking here. Select your subject and grade level. If you don’t see your subject area listed (subjects such as health, family and consumer science, character education, and a few others) you can click to view the QCC standards – the predecessor to the GPS (not all subjects have made the conversion yet). Consider these standards if you are interested in special education or speech therapy.
In groups, discuss and prepare to share your thoughts about the following:

• What are some topics that surprised you? What topic is missing that you thought would be taught?
• How will digital natives fare in this subject area? What particular topics will interest them?

More Standards

It’s not just content standards that need to be addressed while teaching. There are national educational technology standards (NETS) for K-12. In my opinion, these standards focus on good teaching and learning – not simply on technology use. Your text is based on these national standards and contains a chapter that addresses the first four standards (we’ll talk about 5 and 6 all semester):

1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Homework
It’s time to decide your focus for the rest of the semester. What grade/subject do you want to teach? View the GPS (or QCC) for that grade and subject. Send me an email if you’re having trouble choosing something or can’t find what you are looking for.

After selecting your grade/subject, return to the Digital Generation Reflection Google Doc you created last week and respond to the following questions:
4. What grade level/subject area did you choose? Why did you select it?
5. What are the main topics taught in this grade/subject?
6. What are some topics that surprised you? What topic is missing that you thought would be taught?
7. How will digital natives fare in this subject area? What particular topics will interest them?

This should automatically update on your webpage.