blog : May 2013
What do the Common Core State Standards Say About Educational Technology?
05/02/2013
I am a member of the last generation of college student who actually pounded out
papers on an electric typewriter. When a entered the teaching profession over
twenty years ago, the web wasn’t an instant resource and I taught students about
note cards and bibliography cards when they researched topics. Those days are
long gone (and I am thrilled). Today, our students gather and digest information
via the Internet at amazing speed. I often say that they ways in which we read text,
write text, use text and how text affects us has completely changed because we are
in the Technology/Information Age.
In response to this reality the authors of the Common Core State Standards clearly
articulate the importance of technology in the standards. Although specific
strategies for the integration of technology in curriculum and instruction are not
stated, the Standards do articulate skills recognize the reality of the Digital Age. In
the introduction for the Common Core State Standards, the authors outline what
college and career readiness in reading, writing, speaking , listening, and language
looks like by the time students graduate high school.
Specifically the Standards indicate the specific expectations between technology and
career and college readiness:
They use technology and digital media strategically and capably.
Students employ technology thoughtfully to enhance their reading,
writing, speaking, listening, and language use. They tailor their
searches online to acquire useful information efficiently, and they
integrate what they learn using technology with what they learn
offline. They are familiar with the strengths and limitations of various
technological tools and mediums.
It is clear that the technology tools (that are literally at our fingertips) must be
integrated into our curriculum and instruction in all grades and content areas.
As we embark on this transition between the previous generation of standards to the Common Core State Standards, we need to consider how to use all of the technology tools that are available to us. Fully integrating technology into curriculum and instruction requires careful planning to ensure that it is not an enhancement for teaching and learning, rather than a distraction. There are many resources that can support your planning for integration of technology into your classes. Here are some basic and essential tools for instruction that I usually share when teachers are ready to integrate technology into teaching and learning:
Blogs
Known in shorthand as blogs, weblogs are web sites that can be easily updated
and highly interactive. Since the sites are highly interactive, students are able to
send their ideas and work to an audience that goes beyond the classroom. Since
students are encouraged to represent what they know and understand in the CCCSS
framework, blogs are a vehicle to meet those expectations.
Wikis
From the Hawaiian word, wiki-wiki, which means “quick” in Hawaiian, this web
based tool makes it easy for people to work together online to publish and author
ideas and information. The most famous example is Wikipedia.
Podcasts
There are three kinds of podcasts: audio, visual and video. Audio are similar to
radio broadcasts, visual include graphics and images, and video are sometimes
called vodcasts or v-casts. These are valuable technology tools in meeting the CCSS
because they offer structures to represent what students know and understand
through various digital genres.
We are in a new age and I am by no means a “technology geek”. Instead, I learn how
to use technology to be an even stronger and more effective literacy teacher. As we
transition to CCSS and the role of technology becomes more fully integrated into
teaching and learning, I want to remind my fellow educators that it takes time to
make this change. Keep building your knowledge about all of the amazing tools that
are available to us in “chunks”. I learn a few tools each month and consider how I
can use them for effective teaching and learning activities. In a short time, I know
that you will become “wiki-wiki” in connecting technology effectively into your
curriculum and instruction and further prepare our students for careers and college
in the 21st century.
April 2015 : 2 posts
March 2015 : 0 posts
February 2015 : 0 posts
January 2015 : 0 posts
December 2014 : 1 post
November 2014 : 4 posts
October 2014 : 5 posts
April 2015 : 2 posts
March 2015 : 0 posts
February 2015 : 0 posts
January 2015 : 0 posts
December 2014 : 1 post
November 2014 : 4 posts
April 2015 : 2 posts
March 2015 : 0 posts
February 2015 : 0 posts
January 2015 : 0 posts
December 2014 : 1 post
November 2014 : 4 posts
October 2014 : 5 posts
September 2014 : 7 posts
August 2014 : 3 posts
July 2014 : 0 posts
June 2014 : 2 posts
May 2014 : 0 posts
April 2014 : 1 post
March 2014 : 1 post
February 2014 : 0 posts
January 2014 : 2 posts
December 2013 : 0 posts
November 2013 : 6 posts
October 2013 : 0 posts
September 2013 : 1 post
August 2013 : 0 posts
July 2013 : 5 posts
June 2013 : 5 posts
May 2013 : 6 posts
April 2013 : 2 posts
March 2013 : 9 posts
February 2013 : 4 posts
January 2013 : 8 posts
December 2012 : 2 posts
November 2012 : 12 posts
October 2012 : 6 posts
September 2012 : 3 posts
August 2012 : 0 posts
July 2012 : 4 posts
June 2012 : 3 posts
May 2012 : 3 posts
April 2012 : 8 posts
March 2012 : 4 posts
February 2012 : 3 posts
January 2012 : 8 posts
December 2011 : 0 posts
November 2011 : 7 posts
October 2011 : 5 posts
September 2011 : 2 posts
August 2011 : 1 posts
July 2011 : 15 posts
June 2011 : 16 posts
May 2011 : 0 posts
April 2011 : 2 posts
March 2011 : 8 posts
February 2011 : 3 posts
January 2011 : 7 posts
December 2010 : 3 posts
November 2010 : 12 posts
October 2010 : 10 posts
September 2010 : 10 posts
August 2010 : 0 posts