NETS+for+Teachers

Taking EDM-300 has helped me meet the following National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers: **1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity**

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
 * a. || promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness. ||
 * b. || engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. ||
 * d. || model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments. ||
 * d. || model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments. ||


 * 2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments**

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:
 * a. || design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. ||
 * c. || customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. ||
 * c. || customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. ||


 * 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning**

Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:
 * a. || demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. ||
 * b. || collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation. ||
 * c. || communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats. ||
 * d. || model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. ||


 * 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility**

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:
 * a. || advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources. ||
 * b. || address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources. ||
 * c. || promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information. ||
 * d. || develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools. ||


 * 5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership**

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:
 * c. || evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning. ||
 * d. || contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community. ||
 * c. || evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning. ||
 * d. || contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community. ||

The following are examples of activities I designed for my different groups at Media-Providence Friends School.

The seventh graders studied the unit Food and Health. One of the activities they did at the computer lab was to visit the website (in Spanish) of Subway Restaurants in Central and South America. They were free to look at any Subway in the fifteen Spanish speaking countries. They looked at the menus and discovered the different names that Subway sandwiches have over there. They looked at all the ingredients in every sandwich, reinforcing what they had learned in class. They saw large pictures of each of the sanwiches, and were able to see all of the ingredients mentioned. They also looked at their ads, paying particular attention to the slogans on every poster. They also looked at the menu of the Mexican restaurant "100% Natural" which describes itself as a healthy choice among restaurants. Again, large colorful pictures were ideal for their assimilating of the language. As a culminating activity for that Unit Lesson Plan, I asked them to create a restaurant ad for TV. They were to write the dialogues, create a jingle, and act it out. I taped their performances using a digital camera. Using Movie Maker I edited the movie, added transitions and subtitles in English for their parents and the rest of the school to be able to understand what is going on in their movie, My intention is to have this movie uploaded on to the school website.
 * __7th grade Restaurant ads__**

Eighth graders were "assigned" $100 dollars to spend on two online stores. One was a store that sells handcrafts from El Salvador. [|www.latienda.com.sv]. The other was [|www.liverpool.com.mx] which is a department store in Mexico. They had to use an online currency converter [] to know the currencies of each of those countries and their currency rate compared to the American dollar. They were free to browse through both sites and to "buy" anything they wanted. They had to record their expenses and compare how much they could buy on each site. They discovered that it is cheaper to buy handcrafts than regular items at a department store. They also compared those prices to the American stores'. They discovered that some items, like electronics, are very expensive outside of the United States.
 * __8th grade virtual shopping__**

I created a Webquest for the eighth graders to help them realize that if they were alone in a Spanish speaking country, they would be able to communicate with the locals and solve several problems. **
 * __8th grade Webquest Perdidos en el Sur (Lost in the South)__

The sixth graders have been studying adjectives and the verb to be in the present tense. They have been describing their classmates orally as well as in writing. I thought about starting a Blog where my students could post their writings as part of the Spanish curriculum, and I did. I started Teacher Angeles' Classroom Blog. I used a whole class for a lesson on what is a blog and how to post their comments. I modeled writing a riddle and at the end I asked "Who is it?" (Quien es?). I explained to them that it was going to be a private blog, making sure they understood that no one else could post unless I invited them. I also talked about what they can and can not do. I posted all the instructions on the school website. After a few problems here and there, we got the blog running. They started posting their riddles and guessing their friends'. Now, they ask me if they can post their homework on the blog instead of doing their homework on their notebook. **
 * __6th grade Blog__

This was such an experience and the best thing is that we will continue doing this throughout the school year. I contacted a bilingual school in Pachuca, Hidalgo. This is a Pre-K to 6th grade school in Mexico. I asked them if they would be interested in having our groups talking to each other, introducing themselves in a bilingual fashion, asking questions and basically getting to know each other. They liked the idea and I helped them with the process of installing and running Skype at their school. It took us a long time because at times the connection would fail, but after a few tries, we were up and running! First, the English Coordinator and I had a practice session. The following week we started with the groups.The kids were nervous at the beginning. They had practiced introducing themselves, saying their names, their likes and dislikes. My students started in Spanish and their students in English. Then we switched languages and continued switching languages like this. At the end there were open questions. It was fun to see the interactions. One of their students asked if a particular kid had been to DisneyWorld. They also asked each other about their favorite videogames, music groups, and food. There were cheers when they discovered they liked the same things. Overall it was a great experience and we are going to take it to the next level. I am planning to have one of their Spanish teachers teach a mini-lesson for my students. I am going to invite one of my colleagues to teach a mini-lesson in English to the Mexican students.
 * __4th and 5th grade Skype Video Conference with a Mexican bilingual school__**

I used Glogster to create an Autumn themed poster for my 3rd graders. They enjoyed clicking on the play buttons and listening to the description of the scenes. This was a refreshing way to practice their vocabulary: leaves, wind, red, orange, sizes, and more. They liked reading the sentences that described the pictures. What they liked the most was discovering themselves in the pictures. The sentences and oral descriptions were even more relevant for them.
 * __3rd grade Glogster__**

One NETS Teacher Standard that I have not met is standard # 5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning. What I can proactively do beyond this course is to look for local learning communities that have to do with technology and join them. Read articles on journals about Technology. Continue taking technology courses that will help me master some of the tools I already use like the SMART Board. Continue being a member of the Technology Committe at my school and try to get more of my colleages interested in learning about the latest technological tools.