Educational Technology Mission Statement At American Canyon Middle School we do not have an educational technology mission statement nor is there anything explicitly mentioned within as observed by the following, “Inspiring and preparing students today for the possibilities of tomorrow by instilling the 4 “C”s (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration & Creativity) in a respectful, safe, collaborative community by utilizing clear expectations and focusing on strengthening relationships.” Although our school does not mention educational technology usage within our vision statement, American Canyon Middle School’s vision and goals are aligned with the Napa Valley Unified School District vision and goals which states, “Our mission is to transform lives by instilling 21st Century skills and to inspire lifelong learning.” Under this statement and in more detail, the NVUSD website describes the district as a student-centered and 21st Century school district that emphasizes instruction that enables student ownership of their learning, use of technology to enhance learning, and ensuring student active participation and engagement in personalized educational experiences. There is also emphasis on technology-rich classrooms that engage students in relevant, rigorous inquiries aligned to Common Core standards. Specifically, there are three goals: (1) preparing all students for College and Careers, (2) providing equitable access and opportunities to close the achievement gap, and (3) instilling 21st Century skills. Under each goal, there is emphasis on technology. Under the first goal, STEM, computer science, coding and robotics are emphasized. Under the second goal, use of technology to support differentiated instructions for intervention is emphasized. Under the last goal, technology is regarded as a teaching and learning tool used to increase student engagement and provide authentic real-world tasks. NVUSD is a BYOD (bring your own device) district which allows students to bring and use their own personal electronic devices at school. Students may use their devices in the classroom to access and save information from the Internet, collaborate with other learners, and utilize productivity tools available to them. The purpose of the BYOD program is to help students practice responsible use of technology at school as well as learn ways to use technology for productivity, time management, research, and creativity to become responsible digital citizens part of the global online community as well give students authentic experiences to build their 21st Century skills. As part of NVUSD, American Canyon Middle School is also a BYOD (bring your own device) school. Devices are provided to students who do not own their own device. Under the BYOD technology guidelines, devices are to be used appropriately and responsibly as proper digital citizens. Violations of these policies will result in confiscation and may be subject to disciplinary action or reported to local authorities in cases of serious offenses. In summary, the educational technology mission statement encompasses the goal to infuse technology into the classroom to prepare students for College and Career in the 21st Century which means utilizing technology to engage students, provide opportunities to practice the 4 C’s (or 6 C’s—communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, character, and citizenship) through authentic real-world inquiry, and to differentiate, remediate or advance learning. I think that these goals are necessary to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow and they align with my own personal practices. Mission Statement and My Personal Practices Since my first year of teaching and now in my fourth year of teaching, infusion of technology has significantly increased probably ten-fold. Implementing technology into my mathematics classroom was not easy. Knowing that I wanted to incorporate technology for richer learning, collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking did not help me with the actual implementation. Initially, I did not know how to create lessons that incorporated technology in a way that enhanced learning mainly because I had no exposure to the kind of tech tools available to me in my content area. I wondered what tools were out there that aligned to my curriculum and content standards. I never felt like I had enough time to explore or learn about anything well enough to implement. Moreover, I was afraid that the tools would be more of a distraction or liability than an asset. Those fears still exist but knowing how technology can fit into my curriculum has allowed me to infuse my classroom with more engaging lessons and opportunities for my students to practice their communication and collaboration. The Mission Statement and My Capstone Goals The district technology goals align with the goals of my capstone perfectly. The goals of the district emphasize differentiation, remediation, and enrichment of student learning as well as engagement in personalized educational experiences. My capstone is about personalized learning which at the heart of it is about Competency-Based Learning (CBL)--helping students master the content at their pace and in the way they learn best. I am infusing my research of the benefits of metacognition and what I have learned about personalized learning to create my capstone. I would like to see how digital assessment tools that provide hints, videos, feedback can help students master content and with reaching their personal learning goals. How to Support This Mission To support this mission, in the future, I would like to focus more on using data from digital assessments to inform goal-setting for my students. I want them to be more aware of the process or goal-setting which would include helping them figure out what content they will need to master (the standards), creating a SMART goal based on where their learning level is at, and planning how they will go about accomplishing that goal. Moreover, last year I did not spend much time on digital assessments as a remediation tool and would like to pursue this more as I cannot provide one-on-one support as much as I would like. For example, I might have students work on Khan Academy 20 minutes a day or every other day or assign it for homework, mandating that they use the videos or hints when they are stuck. I can also create my own EdPuzzle videos that embed metacognitive questions, helpful hints, and videos as support. For now, this is my answer but I am sure that my solution will continue to evolve as I continue to learn and grow like that of my students.
3 Comments
10/1/2017 08:30:20 pm
Nai,
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Nancy
10/3/2017 11:16:29 pm
Nai,
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Nai, As always, your blog are so well thought out. I think we all are familiar with the district guidelines regarding technology. My daughter (a middle schooler) is also at a BYOD school. I am aware that the school provides those students who cannot afford a device - a device. Still, the whole BYOD issue really brings up the concept of equality. There are many students at my daughter's school that have the same device we bought her, and others who have state of the art devices. Some of her friends tote around a Mac Book Pro, and others have the same Chromebooks that I use in my classroom as they are district provided. Walking into any BYOD class is like seeing a picture of the digital divide. And you can layer on top of all that those who have access to wifi only at school. The internet is a wonderful leveling tool. Students who had no viable access to support or tutoring can now use the internet for videos, free tutoring from sites like Khan Academy, and even homework help from various nonprofits. However, this requires working technology and not everyone has that. It is good to see that schools are including some provision for this digital divide even at the policy level. Allowing students who could not otherwise afford them a chromebook that they can use and take home, allows them to have the same time and exposure as students with their own personal devices.
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Nai Saelee
Middle school math teacher preparing the leaders of the future. Inspiring curiosity, creativity, collaboration Archives
December 2017
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