Description of Artifact
The first artifact I chose to demonstrate my understanding of Standard #11 “Technology Standards for Teachers” is the technology mini-lesson that I along with two other classmates created and implemented within a third grade classroom. This mini-lesson was designed to teach students about the characteristics of a haiku and then have students interact with technology to help them in writing their own haikus. This artifact includes the different components of our groups’ lesson plan including example haikus, necessary materials, plan for integration of technology, gradual release of responsibility, and assessment.
Connection to Standard #11
I chose to include my groups’ Technology Mini -Lesson as one of my artifacts because the lesson directly connects to The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) teacher standards which, in turn, directly supports Standard #11 “Technology Standards for Teachers”. The first ISTE standard states that if a lesson plan includes technology then the technology incorporated should, “Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity”. Our Technology Mini -Lesson on haikus meets this first ISTE standard as the technology tools we chose to integrate into the lesson were used collaboratively among our students to engage them in planning a creative process. More specifically, students worked together in pairs using iPads to create their own haiku poetry. By having students co-engage with technology to inspire creativity, our group created a lesson that both engaged students and enhanced their learning of the material which demonstrates my/our understanding of Standard #11. The second ISTE standard that also directly supports Standard #11 states that when educators decide to incorporate technology into the classroom, they must, “Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments”. Our Technology Mini -Lesson on haikus meets this second ISTE standard and therefore Standard 11 as well because although all students had to create a haiku for the summative assessment, the variation that technology allowed for was that each student had the opportunity to create their haiku on whatever topic they preferred. In addition, the app we used provided syllable counting software and a brain mapping page where students could plan out their poetry before creating their final product. Choosing to incorporate this app helped to scaffold student understanding of the content and improve their learning which again demonstrates my/our learning of Standard #11.
