Week 1 - Introduction to Learning Technologies - Blog Assignment - Intro - Standards - Reflection

Part 1:

Hello! I am Jen Hair and this is one of my final two classes in the M.Ed. program. I will finish in February with a Masters of Education in Curriculum and instruction – English. I have enjoyed being in the program this past year having met and befriended many fine educators all over the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

With my favorite student,
my son Ryan.

I live in North Texas and work for a public charter classical academy as an inclusion and resource teacher. I specialize in grammar and literature and work with twelve students in both inclusion settings and small group class settings. I truly enjoy the time I spend each day with my inclusion and small group resource students and grow as an educator each day. They inspire and remind me that I can do hard things too. Upon completing this M.Ed. Program I’m hoping for a position teaching dual credit literature or history at my current school

Originally from Northern Indiana, my husband and I have lived in North Texas for the last 2 with my husband, a pilot with American Airlines, and our  two sons. Danny, our oldest, is a senior at SEOU in the aviation program and will be starting his career with American Eagle (Envoy) in the fall. Our younger son, Ryan, is in 8th grade and attends the school where I teach. We also have two sweet older Golden Retriever girls – Scout and Copper. They are a stark contrast to our Golden Retriever puppy, Chief, who is lucky that he is cute most days.

Part 2:

Student portfolio example

Creative Communicator standard 6a indicates that students should “select appropriate  platforms and tools to create, share and communicate their work effectively” (ITSE Standards: Students, n.d.). This standard pairs well with Texas Education Agency Standard 11, which states that students must engage in “both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry process for a variety of purposes” (Texas, 2017). To meet these standards, high school students can utilize technology sources to accomplish many steps in the research process. For example, Google Scholar and other online library great places to locate scholarly research. Students can utilize apps such as Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides to record and organize their research. As appropriate, students can publish assignments on Google Sites to share with their teachers and peers for critique and collaboration. Integrating technology in the research process allows students to organize, collaborate, and publish work with ease, while also encouraging students to hone soft skills needed to be successful in the job market later on, including online collaboration, writing, organizing data and research (Kolb, 2020).

Part 3: 

The State of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, also known as TEKS, set forth the framework of learning each student must master before graduation. In high school Languages Arts courses, this framework details that students must “engage in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for a variety of purposes". The standard goes on further to stipulate that students must “use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results” (Texas, 2017).  I teach at a public charter classical academy where technology is not always a part of every lesson. In fact, whilst most public school students have traded textbooks and notebooks for iPads and laptops, our students follow a more traditional curriculum, which includes taking copious notes in a notebook and hefting textbooks to and from home.  The have minimal exposure to such things as Google Classroom. Finding ways to integrate technology use into the curriculum, without losing the essence which is classical education, will help students develop important skills needed for success in the workplace. These are commonly referred to as soft skills.

Soft skills are important for job success (Gray 2020).

Liz Kolb (2020) discusses the importance of developing these skills in a focused and deliberate way.  She discusses that millennials, those born between 1981-2000, are “comfortable with technology skills but are deficient in many other soft skills, particularly in skills concerning interpersonal relationships and communication” (p. 26). According to Kolb, in addition to collaboration and creativity, these missing soft skills include “critical-thinking, problem-solving…digital literacies…work ethic, self-confidence, time management...” (p. 26).

References

ISTE Standards: Students. ISTE. (n.d.). Retrieved January 7, 2023, from
          https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-students

Gray, P. (2020, May 21). The importance of soft skills in the workplace! Great People Solutions.
          Retrieved January 7, 2023, from
          https://greatpeoplesolutions.com.au/the-importance-of-soft-skills-in- the- workplace/

Kolb, L. (2020). Learning First, technology second in practice: New Strategies, research and tools for Student Success. International Society for Technology in Education.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills; Texas Administration Code Title 19, Part 2, Chapter 110, Subchapter C, Rule §110.39 . Texas Education Agency. (2017). Retrieved January 8, 2023, from https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=T&app=9&p_dir=F&p_rloc=196168&p_tloc=14610&p_ploc=1&pg=2&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=2&ch=110&rl=39