Ch 12

1. What is educational technology literacy?
Educational technology literacy is an essential skill that must be acquired and kept up to date. It is more than just being technology literate it is also knowing how to apply technology to education and teaching.
2. What umpact does NCLB have on educational technology standards?
NCLB requires that when students reach eighth grade they will technology literate. This has required a series and actions to be put into place to evaluate the use of technology within schools and to improve the success of students. Forty eight states have developed technology standards for students. States have also developed technology standards for teachers associated with technology and have included them both directly and indirectly, within their certification requirements.

3. What is certification? What role does technology literacy play in certification and licensure?
Certification is requirements set up by the state's Department of Education. Teachers must fufill certain basic requirements in order to be certified and able to teach. Technology standards must be met in order for a teacher to become certified and retain their state teaching certification.

4. What is the difference between state and national certification? How is technology literacy incorporated in each?
State certification allows educators to be certified in one particular state. National certification is a certification set up to encourage teachers to be certified nationally having the opportunity to teach anywhere in the United States. Many school districts and states use the NETS-T standards to ensure teachers are proficient in all areas of technology. These are used both statewide and nationally.

5. How and for what purpose did ISTE establish NETS? What standards are currently in place?
ISTE established NETS through their poject called Technology Foundation Standards for students. The project began to create a series of national standards that would guide the use of educational technology by students, teachers, and other staff members. They are used to help benchmark student achievement in technological areas that are considered to be critical for both societial and industrial success and also to measure how prepared technologically teachers are. The NETS-T standards are Technology operations and concepts, planning and designing effective learning environments supported by technology, teaching, learning, and the curriculum, assessment and evaluation, productivity and professional practice, and social, ethical, legal and human issues.
6. How have states used NETS for furthering the advancement of educational technology?
States have used NETS to help set benchmarks and decide how to implement those goals and skills into the curriculum.
7.What is NCATE? How have NETS standards changed college programs through NCATE adoption? NCATE is the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education which is the official body for accrediting teacher preperation programs. NCATE adopted the NETS standards which now requires teacher education programs to implement technology classes into their requirements. This is needed to help develop understanding of the use of technology for subjects students taking the program plan to teach, the impact of the changes in technology on schools, and the use of computer and other technologies for the use in instruction, professional development and assessment.
8. What options do preservice teachers have to achieve technology standards? How do they differ from options offered to inservice teachers?
Preservice teachers are able to achieve the technology standards through their classes and other professional development offered to them through the schooling they are taking. Inservice teachers don't have those same opportunities and must find other ways to keep up to date such as conferences, technology classes or they can return to college or a university and recieve college credit in order to keep their technology status up to date.
9. How do corporations provide training resources for teachers?
Corporations provide online training opportinities for teachers to get professional workshops and distance education. Apple offers professional development at www.apple.com/education/apd.
10.What unique technology training is required for noninstructional educators? Why are they different? Along with many adminstrative tasks specialists are required to make the most of online resources to benefit students. They must all acquire their own technology competencies. Media specialists or librarians must be able to assist students beyond the books. Adminstrators be able to use technology to make effective, educated decisions along with being able to collaborate with other adminstrators and teachers.

What do you think? State Standards

Do you think the implementation of teaching standards has accomplished the goals?
I think that the standards have improved the quality of teaching and has given guidelines to what students should know but I think it has also made people think they have to teach in a certain way with one type of approach and I disagree with that. I think that the standards can be fufilled and demonstrated through many different types of teaching strategies and approaches. I have mixed feelings about teaching standards. I think the intent behind them is good, however there are improvements to be made.

Enabling Dreams

From watching the video I found I was partly right. Assistive Technology helps people with disablities to doing things in a quicker, more efficient way. People who are not able to walk have motorized wheelchairs. Students who cannot talk have computers that will talk for them. I thought it was really neat that each computer/talking board is personalized for each child. I think they made a good point about starting with the assistive technology when the children are younger so they are able to become familiar with it before college. The girl at the beginning of the video is a prime example. She uses a computer for everything. She has a program that she speaks into to type her papers, a motorized wheel chairs and her cell phone to call for help. Assistive technology is important to make students with disabilities more independent.

What I know about Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology is used to help people with disabilities to be able to function like everyone else. For example the child I am working with has an audio system which helps her hear what the teacher is saying better and more clearly. Another example would be the child my mom works with. He is visually impaired and uses a computer to do most of his work. His computer has special software which speaks to him. He also has a brailler and a few other devices to assist him.

Blogs in my Future Classroom

Blogs can be such an effective tool for students and teachers alike. Students can recieve specific feedback from their teachers or other peers to help increase and better their writing abilities. This works for high school, middle school and even upper elementary students. However, I plan on teaching early elementary students. While some of these students might find blogs useful, most probably wouldn't use one because they are just learning to read and write. I think in my case a blog would be useful for communication with parents and other teachers. I would be able to post upcoming events and field trips, and post classroom news about what we are currently learning. This would be helpful because parents would really be able to understand what is going on in the classroom and be able to be more a part of their child's education. Parents would also be able to give feedback to me and could take what we are learning at school and reinforce it at home. Working in a classroom now, I see how difficult it is to get the students to get all of their papers about upcoming events, homework assignments, and other things home with them. This would be a great way for students to work with their parents to get their homework assignments and announcements from school so everybody knows what is going on. This would also cut down paper waste. Having a blog and such a young age would be beneficial to them when they get older because they would be accustomed to using it and eventually would become very proficient with their blog and would no longer require their parents to help them. When they get old enough the students will be able to communicate with classmates and teachers about assignments and not only learn from their teachers in the classroom but also gain many perspectives on the subject matter being taught. I think this would have been a great way to learn when I was in middle school and high school especially. It would add a whole other dynamic to learning.