Learner- As an educator I am meeting this standard because I always try to think of ways to use technology in my classroom. I have a smartboard that I use and constantly try to think of ways I can use it to its potential so I can help my students. I also use iPads in my classroom and right now I am trying to find a reading app my students can use. I think where I can develop is collaborating with co-workers and other people more often. I don’t really seek out help from my peers, I just Google something for the smartboard. I would love to use technology in my classroom more because I know it can really help students and they can do a lot more with technology. I also think it will help them and their skills if we use technology more. I would like to spend more time finding resources and ways to use our technology as a staff because I believe there is a lot of good stuff there.

Leader- In my class of 24 ⅚ graders I have some that really struggle with reading and so I have talked with my principal about ways we can help them with the use of iPads. There are a few apps that will read text to them while they also highlight and follow along. By using these apps my students will be able to read the novel the class is reading more successfully but they won’t just be listening, they can follow along. The other day my staff had a staff meeting and our reading curriculum came up and through the curriculum we have an online piece for students but it does not really benefit them or do them much good and so a few of us were trying to convince our principal of other online sources. I think one way I can help student empowerment even more this year is teaching them how to use a computer and also how to type. Those are two very specific goals that get pushed to the side when it comes to instruction time.

Citizen- I think this standard is where I fall short. I feel like in my classroom I may do the opposite. When I read this standard it makes me think about how to make them respectful members of the cell phone world and online websites like Facebook or YouTube. When my students are on technology it is usually because I want them to do the app we use for math or to use the reading app. I don’t really have them using websites where they may share a thought or read other people's ideas. I think I can improve in this area by finding ways for them to do that. I also need to provide opportunities for them to go online and do research and help them to weed out what is helpful and what is bad information. By providing them help and support hopefully I can encourage them to participate in the digital world. I have no doubt my students know how to do all of that, they just didn’t learn it from me.

Collaborator- In my school we do a great job collaborating! But it isn’t always on technology. I know that I have helped the teacher across the hall on some simple technical issues in understanding the computer and what not but we don’t get together and share all these great resources we have found. I know one thing we all want to learn more about is how to use our smartboard better but we haven't had trainings on it. I think that would be one way we could collaborate together because we all want to know how to use the smartboard. I overheard my students the other day saying they have YouTube channels or they go on YouTube to learn new things and watch these videos. I would be interested in working with them to see what they know and what sources they use.

Designer- The idea behind this standard is that teachers are designing learning activities for students to use technology and online resources independently. While I have not been able to meet or even try to meet this standard yet this year, due to technology upgrades and a school remodel, I hope to do this. Last school year I had students do one or two research activities online and they really struggled. They had a hard time finding information and then knowing what to do with it. I am hoping this year I can create learning activities for them to learn this skill and to use it. Another way I want to meet this standard is by using our iPads as recording devices. I have one student who really doesn’t know how to write and I hope to use iPads as a way for her to write responses because she can record herself saying the answer or something. We use an app called DreamBox in math and this allows us to differentiate for students and it is all self managing and a really great tool.

Facilitator- This year our school district plans to become a Google district and so one way I see myself meeting this standard is Google Classroom. I have used Google Classroom to assign a project where students worked independently on creating a poetry anthology. They were able to take a template I already made and edit it to fit their project. I really liked using that because it was all online and I didn’t have to carry a ton of papers back and forth to be graded. Another way I plan to meet this standard this year is through a research project on endangered species. I hope to use technology a lot in this project because students will do research, they can take pictures, they can record themselves speaking and they could also create slideshows or even Prezi presentations. There are a lot of good ways to use technology and I want to help my students get there.

Analyst- This is probably the one standard where I can say, yes I am meeting. Up until this school year my school was a priority school. Which means we were constantly relying on and looking at data. We had to look at tests and benchmarks to see where our students were at and where we were succeeding or failing them. However, we did not provide ways for them to be assessed on technology or ways to reflect upon it like the standards say. Ways to improve in terms of this standard would be to create assessments online and have them take them or maybe incorporate a survey Monkey. I know there are a few apps that you can use on your phone and smart boards that students can submit answer anonymously and that would be one way to use technology for summative assessment. When they are able to do assessments with technology there are ways to get things graded pretty quickly and students can see how they are doing faster than waiting for me to grade a test. I would really like to explore this area more.