Project Red

I hold a BSB/A-IS degree and have worked for the school district since 2001. I currently work as a data management coordinator. I plan to become the computer teacher in our middle school. I obtained my degree last November and I will come into the classroom as a data expert as well as knowing the direction Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has taken over the last few years and where they are going now. I have a strong business background and strong computer skills. I have worked with our district putting together the common core standards and curriculum develoment on a limited level (I made it all a workable document for our district after teachers aligned the curriculum to common core standards).

My question is; how do I designing my class to be effective in not just the computer class, but help with other classes as well? I want to design my class to help students succeed at all levels in school. I want my class to flow from the other classes and have value. I plan to teach keyboarding but I want it to have value. My plan is to teach keyboarding, but then have them write their papers from other classes using Microsoft Word and research skills that will be taught in the classroom.

Where do I start? I have not taught in the classroom before. From observing the class there is not a real strong curriculum now. I want that to change. I am asking the questions now so when I enter the classroom this fall I am fully ready to teach. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Take a look at the NTech model...i think you can google it. also, on the MI Dept of Ed site you can find links to resources and strategies for technology integration with curriculum and instruction. If you cannot find these, ping me and I'll do some research for you.

One suggestion is to enter the classroom as a 'learner' too - just as your students do. Although your learning will be different from theirs..every day and every thing you do is all additive to figuring out best practices and what works well for your students. Remember, it is always a work in progress....there is no end point if we're always professionally growing and learning. This is especially true with the use of technologies with curriculum.

Glad you asked!!

Thank you for the information. I will begin researching and take the suggestions offered to make it valuable to both the students and me. I have researched the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) website and did not find much that was useful. The technology is embedded in the common core standards and is hard to find because it is in various parts.

I know the biggest challenge will be to stay ahead of my students because I know they will always be getting the newest technology and will understand things better than me at times. I also think this is wonderful because I can use this as a tool to let them teach others and bring the class together and operating as one. Thanks again for your counsel and information.
Keri

Sure! glad to help..did you check out Michigan's DoE site? The MeL site has a lot of ed tech/integration resources....Let me know.
Leslie

You are entering an interesting position. I wish that your school could call your course something like, Technology Literacy or Digital Literacy, to be more aligned with Common Core and other standards. Maybe you could petition for this!
I like your ideas to work with core and co-core classes and I think it is the right direction for you to go. You will likely find some teachers begging you to collaborate with them. If you are met with some resistance, then work with the willing for a starting point.
I would look at the technology standards for Common Core. www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf
Look on pages 59-66 of the PDF
I would also look at www.iste.org/ for the NETS standards, and p21.org/ for a framework for 21st century skills and the Common Core.
We are developing a K-12 Tech Literacy in our school district. When we get a good draft of our work, I will share on this forum.
Good luck to you- get out there and start researching!

Leslie,
I did go and check out the MDOE website but did not find the information you were pointing out. I think because I was having a hard time navigating the website the query I used brought up a lot of information but not what I was looking for. I have registered and am a member of ISTE. I did find a lot of good resources there and will continue to look more at the MDOE this weekend when I have more time to spend on the site. Thanks for the help and the tips!!

Jelfrink,
I really like your suggestion of changing the name to Technology Literacy & Digital Literacy. I can design the one class as a beginning class and the other as a more advanced class. Thanks for the suggestion. It makes more sense to name it this as well to get students thinking out the box. If it is named computer classes, then they come in thinking they will be able to get on the computer and play games. A change of name will have them coming wondering what it is all about.

I have a really good rapport with the district leadership because I have been the DAC for our district over-seeing state and district testing as well as creating and reporting out data as it is tied to student achievement. I think the principal will be interested in the name change when I make the suggestion. I also have a really good rapport with the staff across the district and have been a go-to person when it comes to helping them access and know how to use the different software programs we use in the district around assessment usage; and some around getting and reading reports from the sites.

I went to a Bruce Wellman training for the district years ago called “Mentoring Matters.” This training was about facilitation and using different strategies to help people reach the intended outcome. I plan to use a lot from this training in building relationships within the school building and with staff. I know that everyone at the school is important because you never know when you might need someone, teacher or whoever. They all contribute to my success in one way or another.

Thank you both for sharing your ideas and helping me. I am getting a good idea of where I need to go. I know I still need to research and get ideas but I am getting closer. Let me know if you have other ideas as well. Every little bit helps, even if I think I have it down, and I don’t right now but I will.
Keri