Establishing a GAME Plan for NETS-T

Ensuring that teachers are confident in the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) has never been more important. We will do our students a disservice by not become proficient ourselves in 21-Century technology skills, and infusing them seamlessly into our lessons. In order to continue doing this, I have identified two NETS-T indicators in which I feel I need more work in order to become more confident and proficient to support my students.

The first indicator is 2b: “Teachers develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.” The action I will take in order to achieve this goal includes understanding my students’ diverse learning styles, providing opportunities for students to learn a variety of technology tools and skills, find the ones that they feel confident in using, and encouraging them to try new ones with which they are not familiar. I also need to prepare myself for the reality that I probably do not have all of the answers, so my students may be the experts in using technology that is introduced to my classroom, and that is okay! I plan to monitor my progress through student observations and reflections throughout the learning process, assessment of student projects and assignments, as well as formative and summative assessment data. In order to evaluate and extend my learning I will use assessment data to drive my instruction, as well as to drive my choice of technology tools. I will also self-reflect on how my teaching has adapted to fit the needs of my students and on what I have learned in the process.

The second indicator is 4a: “Teachers 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.” The action I will take to achieve this goal is to develop and implement an introductory lesson on The Web: What it is, how to use it, and how to be smart about it. The lesson will include computer basics, Internet basics, how to search the Web, and how to use information found on the Web. Students must also be aware of the legal issues of the Web and how to be safe about using and posting on the Web. This is something that must be done before I can launch any inquiry-based unit, for my own peace of mind! In order to monitor my progress, I will observe student use of the computer and Internet, and use formative and summative assessment data to drive my instruction and to help me determine when students are ready to move to the next level, or into an inquiry-based unit. Evaluating and extending my learning will be a continuous process with this indicator. As my students and I move through this lesson and put into practice what has been learned, there will be issues and new lessons that will crop up and cause me to pause or take a step back. I am anxious to self-reflect and evaluate my own learning and progress in this area, as it is new territory for me! I have always assumed that my students are learning about this indicator from someone else, but I can no longer assume that, but must assume responsibility for my own students’ learning of technology, even if I teach science.