Interactivity 5 was my first encounter with the NET Standards. I was intrigued to find such standards for technology exist, and that teachers are encouraged to incorporate these items into lessons and lesson planning. After taking several hours to examine the standards, and what was required of teachers in my grade level and content area, I than went back to the spread sheet I created for Interactivity 4 and observed what NET Standards I inadvertently used when creating my “Abrupt Climate Change” lesson plan. I pleasantly found that I covered three of the ten NET Standards for my content area and grade level. Another element of Interactivity 5 is to contact a teacher, working in my field. to see how they feel about NET Standards, and whether or not the teacher practices them within their personal classroom setting. I decided to contact my high school environmental science teacher who taught me at Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta, NJ when I was a senior. Since my graduation from high school, the teacher transferred to a new school and grade level; the teacher is now teaching 6, 7, and, 8 grade students at Lafayette Township School in Lafayette, NJ. Although the teacher has switch schools and grade levels, I still thought was interesting to pick their brain on the topic at hand.
When I asked my old professor about the NETS Standards, and what they knew about it, they responded that they didn’t know much. The teacher had heard about them through the grape vine but they have never been implemented in the district or in the classroom. After providing the teacher with the NETS link, they reviewed them, and had the same initial reaction I had – that there were interesting and that the teacher didn’t know such technology standards were in place. We spoke at length about how these standards offer excellent guidelines and ideas for integrating technology into the classroom.
According to the professor, the school and the district has not begun to implement NETS-S or NETS-T into its curriculum, at least not officially. The Lafayette school district believes technology based education is very important this day and age, and this emphasis on technology can be seen throughout the school. The school is equip with several smart boards, overhead projectors, as well as lap tops for the students, and a computer lab. Teachers are highly encouraged to use PowerPoint to aid in their lessons, integrate media clips such as videos and photos, and assign research projects as a form of assessment. By familiarizing students the uses of technology, teachers are also preparing them for real world scenarios they will encounter in higher education and in the work force.
I feel that the push for technology in the classroom is an important one, and that these standards will enhance students overall learning experience. I’m excited to see how the classroom environment changes when the NETS Standards are officially implemented in 2014.
Kaitlin, I myself was also surprised to see that there were specific standards for technology use in the classroom. After studying each standard in depth, I realized that they are great tools in order to get yourself, as a teacher, to incorporate such technology in the lesson. Also, I think that there is more to using technology in the classrooms than having Smartboards around the building, it really takes full integration through social networks, blogs, wikis, etc... If a teacher uses these standards before creating the lesson, there is a bigger chance of better and more useful technological devices being used, together with a more profound understanding of the material by the students.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think by incorporating technology into you lesson plans you not only deepen the your students understanding of the topic, but you also make the lesson more meaningful. We live in the technology age and students no longer respond solely to pen, paper, and blackboard the way we did when we were students. It Is so important to stay current with technology to keep our students interested and excited about learning. I'm happy to find that there are standards for technology, these guidelines will ensure that technology is incorporated in class every day.
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