Standard 6.2

LiveBinder

PowToon







6.2 Candidates select and use grade-level and content-specific technology resources, including assistive technology, to increase student participation in the total curriculum.

1. This particular standard, to me, means that I need to be aware of the level that different technologies are meant to work with. Just because a technology is developed for high school level doesn't mean that it is appropriate for a history class, or for an inclusion classroom. Likewise if something is developed specifically for history or for inclusion. I need to know what technologies are aiming to accomplish and find out how I can tailor that to fit into my classroom and what I'm trying to accomplish with my students. I need to be able to find enough different technologies to include every student in the class, but not so many that we can't keep track or get bogged down by dealing with all the minutiae of the technologies.

2. I enjoyed creating the LiveBinders. I found I liked being able to set up tabs and subtabs. It meant I was better able to keep track of the different things I was looking at and trying to understand. I feel that all the different technologies that we have looked at would be beneficial at all levels of education, as long as they are employed properly. I might actually use the PowToon I created for this class in an actual classroom one day. The PowToon is great for imparting snippets of information and trying to get the students heads into the mindset for what you want to achieve. Something quick and flashy to grab their attention and get their brains going. I feel that it is an excellent tool, especially since I know that sometimes students are not overly keen on history class and will enter the room without engaging their brains. I'm not entirely certain how I might utilize LiveBinders other than it would useful for keeping track of websites with information for certain interests. If I was trying to plan an extended field trip to visit Revolutionary War historical sites, for instance, I could set up a binder to keep track of various sites by state as well as possible accommodations for the class and other things for the trip.

3 My biggest concern is how will I know when something better comes along to, say replace PowToon or something? I'm hoping that there will be teachers I know who like to keep up with that. I'm guessing there would be someone or several someones in the school system who are responsible for trying out new technologies and passing that information on to the teachers, but how will I know if there is something out there that is better?

4. I know there are several educational technology blogs, and there is Twitter, as long as I'm following someone who is in the know. I'm hoping that I'll be able to stay on top of the new items that come my way so that my classroom always stays fresh and up to date as much as possible. I think what I will have to do is set aside some time each week, say an hour or two, to explore new technologies. They may not be brand new to the world, but if it's something I'm not yet familiar with, then it will be brand new to me. To that end, I will need to keep a running tab of some of the items mentioned in the bloggers and Twitter feeds I'm following so that I know what I want to explore each week. So let's say 15-30 minutes each day of reviewing Twitter feeds and/or blog posts and then 1-2 hours at the end of the week to look into what they've mentioned that I don't yet know about or am not familiar with.