NETS STANDARDS ALIGNMENT Summer 2010 (from http://nets-implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/ )
GRADE LEVEL OR SUBJECT: TEACHER:
1.
Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students: a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression. c.. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues. d. identify trends and forecast possibilities
How are you helping to facilitate in your students creative thinking, constructing knowledge, and innovative products and processes using technology?
Provide examples of models and simulations that are being used in your classroom to explore complex systems and issues.
How do other standards interact or apply to your lessons that focus around creativity and innovation? (AASL, P21, ITLS, Core)
How is this assessed?
2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students: a.interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. c.develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. d.contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
How do you implement collaboration within your learning environment?
Is there another standard that complements Communication and Collaboration? (AASL, P21,
ITLS, Core)
What ideas have worked in your classroom in regards to engaging with learners of other cultures?
What role does Web 2.0 play in the role of communication and collaboration?
What tools do you recommend to other educators?

How is this assessed?
3. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students: a. plan strategies to guide inquiry. b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media. c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks. d. process data and report results.
What strategies are you using in the classroom to guide student inquiry and facilitate the use of information?
As students are using digital tools?
What other standards are reflected in student work? (AASL, P21, ITLS, Core)
How is this assessed?
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students: a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation. b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project. c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions. d. use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
How do you facilitate a learning environment where students can address and investigate authentic problems?
What other standards are addressed in this work? (AASL, P21, ITLS, Core)
How is this assessed?
5. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students: a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology. b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity. c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning. d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship
.
As an educator, how do you teach/promote digital citizenship?

What specific activities do you use that could help other educators?
What other standards are addressed in this work? (AASL, P21, ITLS, Core)
How is this assessed?
6. Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students: a. understand and use technology systems b. select and use applications effectively and productively. c. troubleshoot systems and applications. d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies
How do you teach your students to have a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations?
What does this look like at your grade level?
What other standards are addressed in this work? (AASL, P21, ITLS, Core)
How is the understanding assessed?
The OCCDSB runs a robotics program geared towards junior students across the board. The program is run out of two schools in Ottawa in a classroom called RoboDome. This is a unique, fun-filled classroom that immerses students in a hands-on learning environment where they design, build and program robots. This environment promotes learning, curiosity, excitement and growth by integrating cross-curricular skills from many subjects. They also have access to updated classroom technologies such as laptops and L.C.D projectors.
Students work with the latest in Lego technology, including the new Lego NXT platform with updated hardware and software. They build a robot using pulleys, gears and sensors including, touch, light, ultra-sonic, and sound. They are then introduced to the basic concepts of computer programming language using 'Lego NXT Robotics Platform’. They work together in small groups; communicating their thoughts, answering divergent questions, problem solving and estimating through brainstorming and teamwork. Students are asked to test the robot’s behavior and modify programs to complete various challenges. They are encouraged to discuss the implications of miscalculations or flaws in the design and think critically about the future of Robotics. On completion of the program students will have gained a greater understanding of the new technology that is available and the importance that robots play in society. They realize that technology can be both fun and exciting. We believe their experience at RoboDome helps to prepare them for the technological advances that they will face in

their future work environments. Please refer to our website www.appraisal4growth.ca/robodome
I have my 6th grade students work on an Entrepreneur Project for almost the entire year. It has stages including, the basic idea (creativity), Space (problem solving - how to get everything into the floor plan created in Paint) Business Plan (use of excel for budgeting and to show expenditures) and the culmination of the project which is Advertising. They have to conceive, script, "star in", produce, film and edit a one minute commercial. The students do this completely on their own (with my direction). The excitement and creativity they bring to this project is amazing. This year is the first that we will be able to actually edit with computers as we have software and computers that are capable of doing the work AND making a DVD of their commercials for viewing by the entire 6th grade as well as their parents as the students will be able to take home their efforts. My students are learning life skills and using technology to their advantage. The best of both worlds.
This is a 3rd grade Interdisciplinary lesson focusing on literacy, technology, music, and art. Part of the 3rd grade curriculum is the study of the continents. We have taken a West African Folk Tale that they have read in the classroom and have turned it into a claymation project. Students were assigned characters in the stroy and they had to make them out of modeling clay. Students have also been assigned parts to read to narrate the story. In music class students are learning African drum beats to be later imported into the movie. iStopMotion is the software being used to create the claymation.
Students will be assigned to small groups to work together to create each scene. (One or two students to move the figures and one to take the photos right on the macbook.) Once the claymation is complete it is then imported into imovie where the drum beats and voices are imported in from garageband and itoons.
In the past when we have read the Alice Walker novel, The Color Purple, our focus would have been getting through the strange structure that Walker chose to tell her story, and perhaps talk a bit about the horrors through which the characters went. By integrating the novel with an iMovie, with a promise to podcast the really good ones, the class was able to focus on an essential question and theme that brought our discussions to a deep level of critical thinking. Students started with the following essential question: How does our environment impact us, and how do we impact our environment? The iMovies/podcasts tried to answer that question from a perspective of the student.
Each student created a movie that showed his/her environment and included an original poem, original photography and original music created in Garage Band. This gave students a deep understanding of their own environments. We could then discuss the characters in The Color Purple from the perspective of environment. Other questions that came up during our discussion included the following: Why do people stay in abusive relationships (Celie)? Why do people abuse other people (Albert)? Why do people change (Albert)? Who was the most independent of the characters by the end of the novel (Celie or Nettie)? During these discussions, students were able to relate their own experiences to those in the novel, something that would be—I hope anyway—impossible without the iMovie because the literal events are so far removed from our own lives.
Scenario A: Submitted by Bradford Davey
The students were engaged in a documentary film project about sustainability. While they were working on the project, two other schools started sustainability projects of their own. Although digital videography is a great technology skill, it is not the focus of this story. One of the schools we were

working with was in Vanuatu in the South Pacific. The students were able to communicate back and forth by way of a chat room we created. On the last day of the project, we had a live videoconference with them. No small feet as they were working with a satellite link and getting their electricity from a portable generator. Just goes to show you that where there is a will there is technology happening. Their critical thinking skills came from problem solving for the other school involved in the project, working to solve the logistics of time zones, and thinking differently about their ability to communicate to a much larger global community. The project truly changed their perspective.
Scenario B: Submitted by Silvia Tolisano
San Jose Episcopal Day School is a small school with big plans to implement a global curriculum. It is our goal to broaden our students’ horizon and educate globally aware citizens. The school was able to send two faculty members to travel abroad. All of our students were taken “along” through technology. Under the motto “Blog your way to China through Time and Space”, we created three age appropriate programs that allowed students to actively participate in a virtual field trip. Pre-
Kindergarten - 2nd grade followed “Jose”, a stuffed animal, along on his journey. 3rd - 4th grade took part as China Trekkers. 5th and 6th graders participated in a game, modeled after the popular
U.S. Reality Show “The Amazing Race”. Each of their teams had to complete different challenges that coincided with the actual travel itinerary. Through posts on the China blog, the travelers communicated daily with the students and answered their questions through the comments. Movies, photos and podcasts were used to make the virtual experience even more authentic. Classroom teachers, with the blog as an aid, guided the students to explore cultural universals, such as transportation, food, clothing, education, economy and compared and contrasted them to our own lives in the United States. Although the time difference between USA and China made “real” time communication difficult, we were able to video conference through Skype. The entire blog
( http://www.sjeds.com/blog/china ) is available for other teachers and students to use and learn from, following into our steps –virtually.
I really thought that scenario B was very interesting! It combines all the aspects of the communication and collaboration standard well. It sounds like it is a very good interactive way to involve students in working with technology while keeping them interested in the subject as well. This is something that I would love to try in my classroom one day! ...
Angela M., Austin Peay State University
Scenario C: Submitted by Diana Laufenberg
My students are becoming digital storytellers by using video editing software to tell powerful stories in the voice of a middle school student. This year we had an opportunity to meet Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager from Hotel Rwanda. After learning about the impact of that one man, each student chose a person that has used his/her life to positively impact others and relayed the story through images, music and spoken word. Parents, soldiers, humanitarians, musicians and actors were chosen as the focus of the movies.
When I started the project I knew that there was serious interest, but I could not even hope for what
I actually witnessed. The level of engagement and interest in the project was electric. Students were making movies at home and publishing to the web on their own. Students were begging to stay late, work at lunch and emailing questions over the weekend. One student that normally checks out during instruction was one of the students wanting to re-record his audio because it wasn’t perfect. His project wasn’t good enough, not because I said so, but because he wanted more from himself. It was a project that transcended the classroom and became about the greater audience. I have known for a long time that the classroom and the students in it were changing. The project allowed the students to delve with more passion into learning and life. For the month of January, the transformation was palpable in my classroom. It was inspiring.

Scenario C’s digital storytellers is an awesome way to represent the Communication and
Collaboration standard. This example not only brings with it a feeling of excitement, but it also brings a feeling of wanting to make a difference in our world. Everyone wants to be an inspiration to someone else. Projects like this one allow for extensive interaction and collaboration among peers and adults. Students can communicate at great distances using discussion boards, blogs, email, and etc. via the internet. It also provides a great means of developing skills in publishing a wide of variety of digital media. Through a project such as this, students create a great sense of cultural awareness and understanding. Team work is fostered and encouraged as well. Digital storytelling is an excellent idea that I hope to utilize in my classroom to help implement the National Educational Technology
Standards for Students…. Lisa B., Austin Peay State University
Scenario D: Submitted by Tamera Terndrup
My Spanish I students have been using the foreign language tools built within Microsoft Word and a blogging/audioblogging to develop their communication skills in Spanish this year. They have been learning to type in Spanish by changing the keyboard on their computer to a Spanish keyboard which also enables them to us the Spanish spelling and grammar check. After they save their writing samples, they request publishing to the classroom blog through a free site called Blogmeister, which is password protected and monitored by the teacher. If their document needs further editing, it goes back to them with comments within their blog account. Nothing gets published until the teacher approves it for publishing to the web. In addition to writing samples, students are developing their speaking proficiency in the target language by responding to questions in Spanish. All they have to do is make a phone call through a free service called Gabcast to record their voice. It turns their recording into an html code which can be pasted into their blog. The writing and speaking assessments and portfolios of their work have changed teaching and learning to a more differentiated, asynchronous approach which engages the students and motivates them to put forth their best effort.
Scenario E: Submitted by Julie Lindsay
The Flat Classroom Project is a global collaboration using Web 2.0 tools. It stresses responsible, independent learning using online collaboration and communication. The project was an authentic assessment for two classrooms (Dhaka, Bangladesh and Georgia, USA) to creatively explain the innovative concepts presented in The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. This project used a wikicentric environment for publication and interaction and software programs as chosen by the students. Students were partnered across the world and given the task of exploring one of the world information technology trends as outlined in Friedman's book. Not only did students discuss and interact around their given topic, they were charged with solving the problem of how to create factbased content and include a perspective that is unique to their side of the world. Multimedia development including individual video production with sections of their video outsourced to the other student. Students used information literacy skills, ethical decision making, and critical thinking skills and displayed effective digital citizenship as they cooperated with students from a different culture.
As part of the project students and teachers from opposite sides of the world used current technology to solve the problem of how to communicate between cultures and time zones by using
VOIP/Skype, IM chat, wiki discussion forum, blog postings, audio and video files. Not only did this project encourage best practice and creative use of Web 2.0 technology it promoted cultural interaction and awareness of differences and similarities.
Project co-founders: Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis
For more details see: http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com
Scenario F: Submitted by Jamie Pate
The mountain culture in Western North Carolina takes pride in family and the traditions that make the family unique. Students in the second grade wanted learn more about what it was like for grandparents at Christmas when they were in the second grade. Students interviewed grandparents

then returned to school to use KidPix to illustrate the story. Once the illustrations were completed, students then imported the drawings into MovieMaker to put together a movie. Students chose effects and transitions and finally added their personal retelling of the story. This project allowed students to get a clear understanding of the past from a primary source. It also required students to think about how to effectively convey to the audience the emotions that went along with being a child at Christmas.
Research and Information Literacy
Scenario A: Submitted by Kendra Grant
In this lesson students learned about the characteristics of animals. We used Kidspiration software to complete all activities. I modeled all activities for the students including collecting information in simple webs (jot notes), exploring the structure and text features of non-fiction books, creating simple sentences with a main idea and detail and creating a non-fiction page of information about an animal complete with a labeled diagram. First the students located information about their animals using books, videos and the internet. For some students we provided the information and they used
Kidspiration's "Listen" feature to gather information. We gave other students a completed web and they added symbols/pictures to make meaning. The remaining students recorded their information in the web independently. Students then went to the written outline and completed their sentences.
Some students recorded their ideas using Kidspiration’s Record feature. Some students finished sentences typed into the outline by the teacher. The remaining students completed the sentences independently. Next, students created a "page" for a non-fiction animal book using the features of text as a guide. This included creating a labeled diagram of their animal, saving it as a symbol in
Kidspiration and pasting it into the page. The student's work was printed and a class book was created. Please email me for the actual templates included in the lesson – it adds a great deal to the description. Thank you for considering this lesson.
Scenario A: Submitted by Mike King
When it comes to implementing new technology, Mike King, director of technology for the Enid
Public School District, in Enid, OK, believes in covering all the bases. Last year, in anticipation of the district-wide imple-mentation of interactive whiteboards, King went beyond offering classes to his media specialists and nearly 500 teachers on how to integrate technology in the classroom and design interactive lessons. He also called on at-risk students, enrolled in the district’s alternative high school, to help teachers make the most of their new whiteboards, especially by incorporating various forms of digital media when using them. King knew teachers would be more eager to use Discovery Education United Streaming —which the district had already been using —if they had ready-to-use, interactive lessons they could easily plug into their curriculum. Guided by King and Melissa Dennis, Enid’s Alternative Academy director, 30 juniors and seniors began the 200506 school year developing “media kits.” Each media kit is built around an objective and features an activity and a wrap-up assessment. Because the kits use PowerPoint to deliver information, teachers can easily tailor each lesson to meet their students’ individual needs. King stored the kits on CDs and distributed 30 of them to teachers at the start of the 2006-07 school year. He plans to make the kits available on individual media servers located at each school. “This was our first experience working with united streaming this extensively, so it really gave us a sense of the depth of knowledge and materials the technology could provide,” King says. In addition, he says, teachers in the district loved the ease of use of the media kits. Working on the media kits also was a great benefit for the students. Not only did they feel good about being able to contribute to the district’s educational program in a meaningful way, they also learned about the teaching profession and mastered a new set of technological skills that may help them secure better careers. “This is a group of students that

isn’t normally excited about education,” says King. “By the time the class was over, they became so engaged by the technology they wanted to learn more.” —Denise Willi Educator featured in this article Mike King Director of Technology Enid Public Schools, Enid, OK www.enidpublicschools.org mdking@enidk12.org, I think this is the best way to get teachers that are intimidated by technology to start using it in their classrooms.Teachers need"media kits" based on curriculum standards. Teachers in this school district are fortunate to have this technology instruction to help them use computers and interactive whiteboards effectively.
Scenario B: Submitted by Debbie Kritikos
My Algebra students do a car sales flyer project. They use the Internet to find invoice price and
MSRP on a vehicle of their choice (must be a new vehicle). Students applied a discount to the invoice price as well as tax and special financing (an auto calculator was used from the
Internet). Then they applied the current finance rate to the MSRP and add tax. They used percent of change to calculate the savings between the two prices. Finally, they created an auto sales flyer using a Word Template. The students were very motivated completing the project since they were able to "pick out a vehicle that interests them." My Geometry students (who did this project last year) was thrilled to see the projects displayed and wanted to do the project again. Anytime they are doing percent problems, I remind them about the car sales flyer project, and that seems to make it "click" in their mind on what to do. Some of the comments the students made that made me laugh was things like: "I didn't know you had to pay to borrow money!" and "I'm going to need a good job to be able to afford those monthly payments!"
When a teacher takes a lesson and use a scenario where students are able to identify with a real life situation; the students are able to learn more from the lesson. School districts across
America are turning to incorporating critical thinking and problem solving as part of their daily routines. Many districts have implemented math assessments as early as third grade to allow students to become identified with the correct steps in thinking through problems.
I think when a teachers creates a math lesson with the knowledge all students will be using higher order of thinking through the use of computers it spells not only success for the teacher but success for the students. This lesson incorporates not only classroom technology but each level of Blooms higher order of thinking skills to make students to think outside of the box. This lesson allowed the students to learn a lesson they will not forget and remember when it comes time for them to buy a car.
The scenario presented by Debbie Kritikos allows the students to:

Identify and define authentic problem with significant question for investigation. The students were allow to find a car of their choice and develop and sales flyer to lure customers to buy the car.
 Plan/manage activities to develop a solution/ complete a project. The students were to find ways once potential buyers became available ways they could finance the customer where they could afford the cars through discounts from invoices, tax brakes and special financing.
 Collect and analyze data to identify solutions to make informed decisions. The students calculated between invoice/tax with special financing to regular finance rate, MSRP with tax added to see what would be the best rate. This would allow students to decide which way would benefit the possible customer best.
I would add “use multiple process and diverse perspectives too explore alternative solutions” by adding the price of insurance to the sale of the car. Insurance many times can be the final breaking in deciding to decline or accept when buying certain types of cars. This would allow students to see financing does not allows decide if someone wants a car, insurance plays as a key part too. Submitted by: Thomas D. Wright (APSU)

The car sales flier is an excellent way to utilize technology that is interesting to the students.
My fifth graders did something kind of like that this year. The Special Education teacher and
I were designing a lesson on reducing fractions to use during math inclusion. We took trail mix recipes that we found on-line and modified that amounts of ingredients so that the students would have to reduce the fractional amount. The students were in groups by mixed abilities and actually had to work together to make the trail mix. If I try that lesson again, I'm going to let the students work in smaller groups, maybe pairs and find their own recipes online (on web sites that I choose). I am going to let the pairs figure out how much they would need if the amount of guests was increased. I will have them type the ingredients and directions and take a picture of their completed dish and themselves to put in a classroom cookbook. The car sales flier triggered the fact that technology could be added to this assignment. Thanks Ms. Kritikos!
Scenario C: Submitted by Ben Smith
We are trying to create a digital classroom where students receive and transmit information electronically. Our goal is for students to be able to use technology as a tool for problem solving, selecting and implementing the appropriate tool. Below is an example of a project accomplishing this. Students participate in a web video project. During the project, students use a camcorder to record some type of motion (shooting a basketball, driving a car, a cat jumping onto the refrigerator), analyze the motion and present their results via a webpage.
During the taping of the motion, students use a still digital camera to take background photos for later use in the website. Students create a short video for analyzing and a longer video of their motion using iMovie. After exporting the video, it is analyzed using software called VideoPoint. This software allows students to create graphs describing the. Next, students use Inspiration to create a concept map explaining what they did and what they found. The Inspiration file creates a website of their ideas. Students edit the individual files using Word. They are able to insert graphics from the camera and VideoPoint to supplement their video. At this point students are done and upload the files to the internet to share.
Students then critique and comment on each other’s work in a discussion board. The technology facilitates students in working through a complex multi-step problem while interacting with their peers.
Scenario D: Meg Griffin
I use technology as a gateway tool to science inquiry learning. Our energy unit shows an example of the meaningful blend of science skills and content with technology. Students use electronic temperature sensors as they explore and make meaning about heat energy.
Using the temperature sensor students begin their exploration as they collect data on the temperatures of their hands. The students discuss ways they could increase the temperatures of their hands. Students rub their hands together (friction), breathe on them, and put their hands in pockets and then collect temperatures. They use the results to explain how temperature moves. From hand temperatures we move to water temperature.
Students use the probes to collect temperature data from jars of water ranging from cold to hot. Students begin to categorize temperatures along the gradient. This activity allows students to construct concrete temperature knowledge from an abstract concept. Students work collaboratively to develop an investigation to explore the effects of insulation on temperature change. The students use the probe to collect data, which is displayed in realtime on the computer monitor. Then they chart, graph, and compare the data. The results are analyzed and students judge the effects of insulation on temperature change. Students are then presented with a real-world problem of keeping a hot beverage hot. In teams students design and create a heat saver. After collecting each team’s data, the students

calculate heat lost versus heat saved. Together they excitedly evaluate which design was most effective in stopping heat loss.
I think Scenario D is an excellent example of critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. The students are able to go beyond given facts and are able to test those facts along with their own assumptions through the use of technology (the temperature sensors).
They are then able to apply their findings to a real-world scenario that is something students would be interested in. With this type of presentation and use of technology, I can definitely see the students applying the skills in this unit to future lessons in and outside of the classroom. -Kim R. (APSU)
Digital Citizenship
 Part of digital citizenship is learning to author and share on the web responsibility. In order to give her students this experience, one of our contemporary issues teachers enhanced a final project focusing on research, to include Blogs where students could form grassroots campaigns around their researched issue. Students receive authentic feedback from a larger audience as well as learn to provide responsible and valid information.
 As part of a class at university I was a part of, the teachers in our group created a wiki site on the topic of Digital Citizenship called at DigiCiti . It was designed to go along with our provincial Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum document.
Please feel free to explore the various pages and particularly the Lesson Plan we prepared. John Evans
(joevans1@gmail.com)
 Three middle/high school classrooms across the world (Austria, USA, Qatar) joined together March-June 2008 to collaborate and determine what it means to be a digital citizen. They have contributed to a collaborative wiki and connected via an 'educational' network Ning . Each school decided on its own outcomes applicable to their school community as actions. These are detailed on the wiki. Julie Lindsay
(lindsay.julie@gmail.com)
Scenario A: Submitted by Raymond Green
My objective has always been to have whatever is learned in my class, turn keyed in other classes. It makes no sense to learn priceless skills in technology which merely stay in technology class. It has been difficult to get teachers and students to the mindset of thinking in this global manner. From September to December, students are introduced to Microsoft Word,
Microsoft PowerPoint, Quark XPress, Adobe Photoshop, and iMovie. I generally go back and forth with all the programs for a while, so that the students will get a feel for how each program can work by itself and in conjunction with others. The students are responsible for publishing and binding a class book. They will use Quark, Photoshop, and possibly Word. They will scan and transfer data using thumb drives. All students have production crews including a director, tech director, videographer, photographer, and interviewer. They are required to take part in

documenting via video, film and word. All of the usages in Tech class are encouraged to be used with their general class reports and/or projects. Last week, students brought their Black
History reports into Media/Tech class and produced a PowerPoint document. One class had a science program, so one of the crews documented it in film and live interviews. Our math coordinator was working with a fourth grade class for "Measurement Week". She asked if I could take some pictures. I sent a fifth grade, two person crew, which taped, photographed and interviewed students.
I really think this is a great idea. The information these students learned in your classroom will help them tremendously in the future. If they do not use these skills in a future job, they can use it for their own personal needs. I would have loved to had a class in school that dealt with these programs. These programs are definately something that can be integrated into other subjects.
Learning how to use these programs at such an early grade, these students will be able to carry this information with them throughout there school years. This will also help them as they enter college. There are so many students I know that still don't know how to use email, much less
Quark. Teaching students such programs as Word, Power Point, Photoshop, etc. is so benificial. I can't wait to get into the school system and start using such programs with my students. Lora Waters-Austin Peay State University
Scenario B: Submitted by Michael Baker
During our fifth grade business projects, students must communicate and collaborate on how to best sell their products. Students track expenses through spreadsheets. They create commercials using iMovie and camcorders. Create signs using Microsoft Word and Print Shop.
They use GarageBand to write jingles. Students have the option to create a website to share their business. The project combines all the technology skills the students learn from grades 1 through 5th. After students create their website, they will give a presentation to the class introducing their new website and how to navigate through it. Their peers will critique their presentations for suggestions to improve.
Scenario C: Submitted by Barbara Mills
Currently the music teacher, Mrs. Knight, and myself are team teaching a unit involving technology and music. This means that we have two 4th grade classes in the computer lab at one time. Each student is asked to choose a partner in his or her class before the start of the project. They also spend time in music class writing a small piece of music that they will play on a keyboard using MIDI software. We decided to team teach this unit of study because we wanted the students to be able to use the Garage Band software that is available to us. The
Garage Band software is designed to allow users to create their own songs. We go a step further and have students write and play original songs on the keyboard. The students work well together choosing instruments, styles of music and tempo. After completing their songs, they use Power Point skills to create slide shows highlighting their original song. They choose backgrounds, a title, and give pertinent information like tempo and style of the song. The students include clip art to make their shows more attractive and finally they insert their song into the production. The students in 4th grade have a chance to expand their knowledge in technology and music during this process. Using the skills that they have previously learned in music class and computer lab, they create something that they can be proud to show their classmates and others.
Scenario D: Submitted by Myron Hanke
Our high school has a laptop initiative that assigns a laptop computer to each student for the school year. The building has wireless 80211B connectivity, and each classroom has a minihub.
I am part of a group that is conducting our classes as a paper-less or paper independent classroom. When my students begin a lab exercise, they receive a document that contains instructions and tables to enter data. We use digital probes to collect some of the data which is

uploaded into the tables. Once they complete the data collection, they move the tables into a spreadsheet to make calculations and graph the data. Data relationships are established through the use the trend line functions to generate equations, and the R-squared value to indicate precision of their measurements. They are given a series of questions that assess their understanding of the exercise, and they are asked to find additional information from Internet resources. Our school has licenses to a broad collection of on-line data bases from which they can select. A completed lab report is placed in my network folder, where it is graded and returned to their student folder in a read-only format. Our students are being exposed to the very best of technology to prepare them for 21st century jobs.
Scenario E: Submitted by Christine McMenomy
While teaching a unit on elections in the United States to my twelfth grade Advanced Placement
Government students I decided to put together a project that would simulate a presidential election. The students were to create posters, slogans, bumper stickers, give away items, speeches and a thirty second television commercial. Students in my school are given laptops to use for the entire school year and because of this my classroom has become a paperless environment. To ensure students are benefiting from a technology driven classroom I try to use a variety of programs and technology. For this particular project, we chose to use Photo story 3 for Windows, Paint, Word, PowerPoint and Publisher. Students created colorful imaginative posters for their candidate. Each group was required to use Photo Story for their commercial and in doing this they took digital images of the student candidate, found pictures from current events happening in our world, and mixed those together with background music as well as a short speech outlining their platform. Students were able to utilize various programs to create a realistic commercial with colorful images by using Photo Story 3. Each group created a commercial and when all was complete we had a viewing day where students were able to see the range of commercials, from funny to very serious. I believe that by using technology for this project students were able to get a more realistic view of the topic than if they had created it by hand.
This lesson is great!! The project incorporates many different aspects for allowing children to manipulate technology. I like the idea that the children are working in groups and collaborating with the group to make decisions. I agree that I think that by using the technology on a project such as this the students are able to get more of a realistic view of what goes on with everything that is behind a campaign for election. Do these students carry any of this knowledge for making commercials ect. to any of the other classes that they are taking. I think that it is important that the students understand that they are able to transfer this knowledge to other areas. –Andrea
Bledsoe Austin Peay State University, TN
Students at the middle school level tend to have a curiosity about all things new.
Increasingly, they venture out into the unknown more easily when they have a solid foundation of instruction on which to build. Educators should model or demonstrate techonolgy concepts several times before they lead their students into a particular project.
Because many middle school-age students are perhaps more savvy than their teachers, a collaborative mindset should prevail. Teachers can harness a student's prior experience and knowledge in a way that will help lead other students to the desired outcome. Teachers should be able to recognize that understanding is taking place by careful monitoring of students and their work. Additionally, teachers need to ask lots of questions and have their students explain themselves to guage full grasp of concepts.