3.6 Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools & Resources
Candidates collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and resources for accuracy, suitability, and compatibility with the school technology infrastructure. (PSC 3.6/ISTE 3f)
Artifact: Emerging Technologies Project
Reflection:
The evaluating emerging technologies project was created to research an emerging technology and determine how this technology could best benefit teachers and administrators at the school. In completing this technology project, I had to first research different emerging technologies and determine which one would be most applicable to my particular school environment. I had heard about Schoology at a teacher workshop and was curious to try it out in my classroom. As a result, I decided to further research the benefits of this technology to all teachers in the school by focusing on Schoology for the evaluating emerging technologies project. This project is a thorough presentation on Schoology and how it not only benefits teachers in the classroom, but how the program aligns with the school vision, the target population of students, and the promotion of learning goals and student technology standards. I created this project independently with some consultation with the principal and media specialists while gathering information.
Standard 3.6 sets the foundation for the candidate to collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate a digital tool. This artifact demonstrates my ability to research and develop a foundational plan for potential implementation. To create this project I had to collaborate with the principal regarding the school’s vision and how this technology could support this vision. Additional collaboration was also needed with the media specialists and technology specialist to ensure that the Schoology program would be supported by the school wireless network. Teacher collaboration was also an important component to the creation of this artifact as I collaborated with several teachers regarding functions they like in a classroom website and functions they do not like to then determine the strengths and weaknesses of Schoology.
After collaborating with administrators, teachers, and media specialists, we decided to select Schoology as a great emerging technology that could benefit students and teacher websites. I had to further evaluate the website to determine limitations of the program and options for technical support. Additional evaluation of the website in the creation of this artifact required me to determine all the possible ways teachers can use Schoology as well as ways to incorporate differentiation, communication, and collaboration within the program.
Completing the evaluating emerging technologies project was a very beneficial process for me. I thoroughly enjoyed researching all the various emerging technologies and the discussions with my colleagues that resulted from this research were also enlightening. From the evaluation of Schoology once we decided on this particular technology, I also learned how to analyze a technology for all the different components that apply to its use in a school setting. When deciding to implement technology in the past, I did not take into account methods of differentiation, how the school vision is supported, and how the school learning goals are supported. This experience allowed me to look at all facets of implementing a new technology. In doing this experience again, I would like to collaborate even more with teachers as I examine and evaluate the technology. I had a lot of input from administration and media specialists, but I think the evaluation of the emerging technology would have been even further enhanced with more teacher collaboration, specifically with teachers of other departments.
The evaluation of emerging technology project was beneficial to faculty development and student learning. The faculty that collaborated during the evaluation of Schoology as a website were also exposed to this learning platform and were able to use it in their classrooms as well. These faculty members have since continued implementation and have also told some of their peers who have also begun using this platform in their classes. The impact of faculty development can be assessed by how many faculty are now consistently using this emerging technology in their classrooms and also reporting student success. Additionally, student learning was also greatly impacted by this emerging technology project. Students in my classroom were able to try out this all-encompassing website and reap the benefits of being able to participate in a truly blended classroom environment. These students were able to communicate and collaborate with each other through the website and engage in deeper, more meaningful conversation about classroom topics as a result. The impact on student learning can be assessed by looking at overall performance of students in the course based on their engagement level with the Schoology website. Students that regularly check for updates and interact with peers in an educational manner on the website should also demonstrate better content understanding and ultimately mastery.
The evaluating emerging technologies project was created to research an emerging technology and determine how this technology could best benefit teachers and administrators at the school. In completing this technology project, I had to first research different emerging technologies and determine which one would be most applicable to my particular school environment. I had heard about Schoology at a teacher workshop and was curious to try it out in my classroom. As a result, I decided to further research the benefits of this technology to all teachers in the school by focusing on Schoology for the evaluating emerging technologies project. This project is a thorough presentation on Schoology and how it not only benefits teachers in the classroom, but how the program aligns with the school vision, the target population of students, and the promotion of learning goals and student technology standards. I created this project independently with some consultation with the principal and media specialists while gathering information.
Standard 3.6 sets the foundation for the candidate to collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate a digital tool. This artifact demonstrates my ability to research and develop a foundational plan for potential implementation. To create this project I had to collaborate with the principal regarding the school’s vision and how this technology could support this vision. Additional collaboration was also needed with the media specialists and technology specialist to ensure that the Schoology program would be supported by the school wireless network. Teacher collaboration was also an important component to the creation of this artifact as I collaborated with several teachers regarding functions they like in a classroom website and functions they do not like to then determine the strengths and weaknesses of Schoology.
After collaborating with administrators, teachers, and media specialists, we decided to select Schoology as a great emerging technology that could benefit students and teacher websites. I had to further evaluate the website to determine limitations of the program and options for technical support. Additional evaluation of the website in the creation of this artifact required me to determine all the possible ways teachers can use Schoology as well as ways to incorporate differentiation, communication, and collaboration within the program.
Completing the evaluating emerging technologies project was a very beneficial process for me. I thoroughly enjoyed researching all the various emerging technologies and the discussions with my colleagues that resulted from this research were also enlightening. From the evaluation of Schoology once we decided on this particular technology, I also learned how to analyze a technology for all the different components that apply to its use in a school setting. When deciding to implement technology in the past, I did not take into account methods of differentiation, how the school vision is supported, and how the school learning goals are supported. This experience allowed me to look at all facets of implementing a new technology. In doing this experience again, I would like to collaborate even more with teachers as I examine and evaluate the technology. I had a lot of input from administration and media specialists, but I think the evaluation of the emerging technology would have been even further enhanced with more teacher collaboration, specifically with teachers of other departments.
The evaluation of emerging technology project was beneficial to faculty development and student learning. The faculty that collaborated during the evaluation of Schoology as a website were also exposed to this learning platform and were able to use it in their classrooms as well. These faculty members have since continued implementation and have also told some of their peers who have also begun using this platform in their classes. The impact of faculty development can be assessed by how many faculty are now consistently using this emerging technology in their classrooms and also reporting student success. Additionally, student learning was also greatly impacted by this emerging technology project. Students in my classroom were able to try out this all-encompassing website and reap the benefits of being able to participate in a truly blended classroom environment. These students were able to communicate and collaborate with each other through the website and engage in deeper, more meaningful conversation about classroom topics as a result. The impact on student learning can be assessed by looking at overall performance of students in the course based on their engagement level with the Schoology website. Students that regularly check for updates and interact with peers in an educational manner on the website should also demonstrate better content understanding and ultimately mastery.