Module+6+Reflection


 * Reflection Prompt 6: **// How did understanding the standards and the pre-comp verification help you design your FE plan? How can your use your ePortfolio to help others understand how to integrate technology more effectively in the classroom? //

The NETS teacher and student standards allow field experiences to spread across the spectrum of Instructional Technology. When designing an ePortfolio, it could be too easy to focus on one's existing strengths and accomplishments. These may already be impressive given each individual's unique talents. By breaking Instructional Technology into specific standards, performance indicators, and tasks, one becomes aware of other areas that he/she needs experience in. This promotes challenge and growth beyond one's comfort zone. The standards also makes one aware of concepts that were unknown or received little consideration in the past, seeing the big picture beyond existing knowledge.

As I began building my field experience plan, I first looked at previous field experiences and how they could fit into the NETS standards. I was pleasantly surprised that my experiences addressed multiple standards once I opened my mind to viewing them within that framework. Also, plotting course artifacts into the NETS framework (with the help of others' alignment document samples as a guide) also allowed me to read through all of the standards and apply them to content that I am already familiar with. Once this alignment had been performed to my satisfaction, felt confident to consider new field experiences and how these unknown experiences would fit into NETS. To be frank, NETS covers a substantial amount of tasks that demonstrate each standard, so after a while it all seemed to blur into describing similar things. Also complicating the alignment was that my field experiences are mostly not classroom related, while most of the standards' demonstrations are. But eventually I found the most appropriate standards for each planned field experience, being mentally able to rationalize each choice in the reflections that I will write for each field experience.



Also helpful in aligning field experiences with NETS standards were the pre-competencies verification reflections. Apart from describing prior experiences and how they fit into the standards, it also forced me to think which standards were weakly supported. Even though I used technology at the time in fun and snazzy ways, I discovered that my experiences often scratched the surface of true learning. For instance, my experiences did not provide true collaborative methods using communication tools that students already know and embrace in their personal lives. My assessment tools were canned and did not allow for critical thinking and diverse learning styles. And some technology did not include conclusive content from authoritative sources. And, embarrassingly, the overriding goal of these experiences was designed to improve the professionalism of facilitators like myself and are not attuned to the professional development of the teachers whom I serve.

The beauty of the NETS standards is that they identify these weak areas quite easily and suggest tasks that can effectively address them. Granted, my past experiences do address NETS standards, so they are valid uses instructional technology. But when I devise new field experiences, I intend to implement the standards on a deeper level. Now that I mapped each experience to a set of standards, I know exactly which goals I need to accomplish to reach this depth. The difficulty that I still face is determining which artifacts that I can use for evidence to prove alignment to the standards. In this case, I think that the descriptive reflection paper for each experience will be more important than the artifacts themselves.

The use of the ePortfolio obviously will help me grow into new areas of knowledge as an upcoming technology facilitator or leader. Just as my reading of past students' portfolios gave me ideas for relative field experiences, so others can look upon my ePortfolio for ideas how to improve their own teaching and learning. Since the NETS standards are organized into four major objectives (Leadership, Teaching & Learning, Design & Development, and Professional Development), one can explore an objective that interests him/her and see which practical experiences can be used to enhance existing learning experiences or create new, meaningful one. If one desires more knowledge about how the field experiences relate to objectives, the alignment document (complete with all current NETS standards) is available for further research. My ePortfolio can also be used as a resume that lists my experiences and accomplishments in a highly organized manner. It is organized under the focus of improving teaching and student learning, not as a "look at me" list. And for myself, the ePortfolio reminds me of where I've been and where I should yet go.



An area of improvement that I would like see in the ePortfolio are Web 2.0 tools that allow feedback and discussion. My ePortfolio is currently static in nature, something that others passively read and reflect upon. To facilitate the sharing of knowledge, I would like to read others' comments about my experiences, right within the ePortfolio. I want my experiences to spur discussions where I can reply to comments and find new ways to improve my experiences. Many websites have collaborative features built-in and the ePortfolio should as well, being a resource that is available to the world. It is all about sharing knowledge more than just disseminating it. And maybe I will try to implement this feature if I can learn this type of Web 2.0 technology!