Standard 1 Evidence

NETS Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

ISTE Definition: Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:

1. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
2. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
3. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
4. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.

How I apply this standard in my teaching.

I strive to model creative and innovative thinking on a daily basis in my classroom. I also network and engage in real world situations with digital tools to set an example for my students and my view of preparing professional and digital teachers in and outside of classrooms.

Our teacher education program is housed in an advanced career center, so we are integrated into an entrenpreunerial, professional environment. As a result, our teacher education students are involved in cross-curricular projects with other "strands" that allow them to work with business partners who may or may not be associated with the field of education but see an education focus on some part of the project.

Just to provide a couple of examples, I encouraged one group of students to connect with Wayside Waifs, a shelter for animals which promotes adoption and provides information for the public. The group of students met face-to-face as well a virtually with employees there. The students saw a need to educate the public about "bully breeds" to avoid misconceptions, and they pitched their idea to the company. When given the go-ahead, they created lesson plans for the company to use when they have public information trainings. They developed the lessons in a packet and presented it to the company for their use. They also traveled to Wayside Waifs on several occasions and got to present their content. This was a great public outreach. I encouraged another group of students, who wanted to do something on social issues for young girls, to create modules on different topics. They then connected with some local girl scouts. We hosted the girl scouts on several occasions, and my students led the young members through their content.

I present at conferences and encourage my students to do the same. They have created and presented material at conferences for both students and practicing teachers. We use google docs and google calendars to engage, and we use doctopus, (a google docs add on), which allows individualized templates to be sent to each student in a provided google docs folder. I can engage with the students on their lesson plans through this system. We also use a program called NING for our social platform, and students engage with each other and me through discussion forums, blogs, and chats. Using another method, I introduce students to online discussions such as twitter and professional collaborations such as #pblchat, (New Tech Network), in which they can discuss topics with professionals all over the world.

Students reflect on their progress using digital tools. They use and share google slides, prezi, and others to create content that reflects their knowledge and learning. Second semester students in our program mock interview for a "teaching position" as part of their final assessment. This interview is conducted by university personnel, administrators, business partners, and HR personnel. As preparation, we include a digital rehearsal through "The Perfect Interview" so that they can practice an interview and film the interaction to preview and practice.

Students are also constantly engaged in learning with fellow students, colleagues, and others in both face-to-face and virtual situations. Groups of our students have worked with companies such as Arcademics, AMC, and Sprint. For these companies, the students created training games for employees and customers, a different twist on teaching experiences. The students who worked with Arcademics impressed them, and the company actually hired them at the conclusion of the project upon their high school graduation. The students continued this employment throughout their college careers, all three working virtually from three different universities.

We have conducted skype meetings with professionals during projects, skyped in university professors and other professionals and have enjoyed face-to-face speakers and field trips, such as to The Children's Place. Also, we have partnered with university personnel to experience "TeachLive" an avatar-based program used to train teachers in classroom management. We additionally worked with a local university to host a regional Future Educators Association conference for which we had an integral part in planning and executing the conference, including designing the conference website and creating a twitter for Kansas members.

Finally, we have provided a showcase of student projects and progress physically and virtually, and some students even created audio tours of their portfolios for the virtual showcase.

Examples of my work for this standard.

1. Project Reflection Girl Scouts ( .pdf )

2. Project Reflection Wayside Waifs ( .pdf )

3. Arcademics Summary ( .pdf )

4. #pblchat student ( .pdf )

5. #pblchat teacher ( .pdf )

6. FEA Regional Conference (website)

7. Virtual Showcase and Audio Tours (website)

My favorite web resources for this standard.

1. New Tech Network

2. Twitter #pblchat

3. NING