Technology Self-Assessment: School 2.0

ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS-T): 5 C & D I completed a survey on the School 2.0 site that assessed my integration of technology in the classroom. For the modules that I did not perform too well, I followed the links to gain more insight on the subject.

      Of the five NETS-T modules, the results of my technology self-assessment on the second module( Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments) was not surprising because of my overall lack of current technology knowledge and skills. I want to better myself in this aspect. I researched the resource on the following topic : " I design and customize technology-enriched learning experiences that enable students to demonstrate mastery of specific content and/or technology standards as well as engage students in developing research questions about real-world issues or problems, proposing and evaluating multiple creative solutions, and presenting a report to an audience, either face-to-face or virtually, for feedback."   As a future teacher, I am aware that it is important to integrate and customize technology for the classroom in order to enrich the learning experience of my students. I read the article "Too Cool for School? No Way!" by Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler in which they discuss how teachers can repurpose technology gadgets (Facebook, iPhone, Flickr, blogs, cloud computing, Smart Boards, YouTube, Google Earth, Twitter, etc) as powerful teaching tools.  These gadgets were not designed for educational purposes, but educators can repurpose them and integrate them with pedagogical and content knowledge. In order to do so, teachers must possess a special kind of knowledge that Mishra and Matthew call  technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), an update on Lee Shulman's pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in which he suggested that teachers have a specialized knowledge that sets them apart from other professions. This special kind of knowledge "lies at the intersection of content and pedagogy—at the intersection of what we teach and how we teach it." That is, quality teaching goes beyond knowing the content and having some instructional techniques, it's a discipline that seeks to transform the material in ways that makes learning accessible to students. Within the TPACK framework, specialized knowledge lies at the intersection of technology, content, and pedagogical practices that permits the repurposing of traditional approaches. In order to do so, teachers must train and practice. They provide three examples of technology that can be repurposed: microblogging, visual search engines, and music DJ software. As we have seen in this class, Twitter, an example of microblogging, can be a great tool for teaching in that relevant information can be exchanged within a virtual space. Teachers and and students can engage in discussions that would greatly enhance learning. Visual search engines like Viewzi, Cuil, and Clusty, students are able to understand the intertextuality of texts, visually, and how these create webs of meaning. Music Dj software such as TrakAxPC use music samples in order to teach ratios, fractions, and percentages. Students are able to play with samples, cut them into smaller units and manipulate them in order to get a better understanding how fractions, percentages, and ratios work by relating them to tempo, rhythm, and music. The article offers links to these technology gadgets.