OETS Post

The big picture of the Oregon Education Technology Standards (OETS) is for students to come out of their K-12 education prepared for our technologically advanced society. I believe the standards aim to accomplish knowledgeable citizens whom are capable of problem solving with the use of technology. Today's worker needs to be aware of and educated in technology in order to produce work in the most effective and efficient manner. The following are the six standards of OETS:
1. Creativity & Innovation
2. Communication & Collaboration
3. Research & Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

One strategy I would use in my elementary classroom related to "Digital Citizenship" is to educate my students about what is appropriate use of digital technology and how to protect themselves. One of the workshops I attended at the OTEN conference had to do with teaching children how to be responsible digital citizens while participating in social networking sites. They called it the Forest Grove Grid Project. I would probably use something similar for teaching my students how to use the internet responsibly. I would also like to use such tools as tokbox and skype for "Communication and Collaboration." I would like to buddy with another classroom and learn from them and vice versa. We could even do it internationally to learn about other cultures.

In terms of challenges, well...there are several. I always go back to the privacy issue. Parents and schools may be hesitant to use online tools due to concerns with privacy. Cost can be an issue for many schools and low income families who may not have computers or internet access. Understanding how to use the technology can be time consuming and overwhelming. Also, the learning curve could be a challenge for students and the teacher, especially when there are time constraints and limited resources.

Overall it is good to have standards in place for consistency and a bit of structure for teachers to follow. For some of us, learning technology does not come easy. There are probably many students who know more about technology than most of their teachers, which means we as teachers need to get on the ball with learning this stuff and begin teaching it at a young age to prepare students for the world we live in.

Analyzing Student Data in Google Sheets

I had a hard time with both google spreadsheets and excel, but that was to be expected. I feel I still need to learn more about it before I am able to confidently use it in my classroom. I do see the benefit when assessing students progress. Also I can see if there are dips as a class where more instruction may be needed. I can use the data to pair students up as well. In my chart I can see the students that are progressing at a steady pace and those that are more sporadic.

Multimedia Project-Windows Movie Maker

Check out my mini tutorial.

Record your screencast online

Movie Maker in the Classroom

For my multimedia project I chose to learn about windows movie maker. This tool can have many uses in the classroom. Students can dress up and role play to make a lesson more fun. It can be captured in video so that it can be paused and played back at the teacher's convenience to emphasize certain points. The video can also be shared with absent students and other classrooms or groups of students to collaborate. I decided I might want to use it with my kindergarten class on a nature walk. I would have the students or myself record interesting things we saw during our walk. Afterwords, back in the classroom, we would have a discussion about the things we saw. For example, in my video, there are clips of animals. This could be a good intro to learning about squirrels or ducks and seasons, etc. Take a look...

Skype Experience

I have never used skype before, and had it not been for this class, I probably would never use it. It sounds pretty cool, and I was suprised to find a couple of friends and relatives. I look forward to skyping with them in the future, but for now I didn't get the opportunity to skype with them. I have at least made the first step in creating an account and understand its purpose. This would be a useful tool to use with parents who may be homebound, however, they would need to have internet access. In the classroom it would be useful to collaborate with other classes and learn what other kids are doing around the world.

Web 2.0 Presentation-Dropbox

My Favorite Web2.0 Tools

Web 2.0 is a web based storage area for applications and services. These applications and services live in the floating world of the web. One cool thing is they are not computer specific; they can be accessed from wherever and whenever! The storage tools are a great resource for educators, because they gives us a convenient place to store files without worrying about having our computer or flash drive all the time. I can see using this tool when working outside the home. For example, if I'm out of town but still need to work on documents, I can log into my web2.o tool of choice and get my work done.

One of the specific tools I explored is Scribblar.com. Scribblar is an interactive real-time multi user white board which can be used for training, tutoring, and brainstorming. Scribblar allows you to text chat and upload and share images. It also has live audio and tons of tools such as pencil drawing and highlighting. This would be a good tool to use with students who need to be absent from class for an extended period of time. If a student was out sick for a week with H1N1 and was having trouble understanding assignments, you could go to Scribblar and help the student work through the assignment. The student would be able to point out the areas they are struggling with. Parents could observe and continue to help the student at home.

I looked over a few other tools and some, I have to be honest, will need more exploring for me to better understand them. Skype seems to be pretty cool. Skype allows you to communicate with anyone in the world by allowing you to make free video calls. I can see using this tool during a unit that has to do with learning about other cultures or countries. We can connect with family members of students in class and learn about them on a more personal level.

Yodio - OTEN

About Me

I have lived in Oregon for about 16 years. I moved here from California with my mother and three siblings. I currently live in Salem but have lived in Woodburn, Wilsonville, and Keizer. My mother and siblings now live in Washington.

I have an 18 month old daughter, who is the love of my life! Life with a toddler is crazy, but very rewarding! I guess this is good preparation for a teaching career! I work full time at Chemeketa Community College and don't have much time for a social life. Life is pretty crazy, but after hearing other people in class, I realize I am not alone. Many others have pretty crazy lives too!

I am a bit nervous about the technology class, since I am not tech savy at all. I am easily overwhlemed when it comes to learning new technology. After our first ed tech class meeting and especially after atending the OTEN conference, I understand the importance of using technology in the classroom. I will make an effort to learn and use technology that will be beneficial to my students. I am both excited and nervous about what's to come, but I look forward to learning all I can about becoming a great grade school teacher!