Notice.that.there.is.much.more.to.the.NETS.for.teachers.
than. possessing. key. technology. skills .. To. be. proficient.
in.the.NETS.for.teachers,.you.must.be.able.to.plan.and.
execute.lessons.involving.meaningful.uses.of.technolo- gy ..You.must.also.be.able.to.assess.student.proficiency.in.
technology.and.use.technological.tools.to.assess.students ..
Furthermore,.you.must.use.technology.to.help.manage.
your. classroom. and. accomplish. organizational. tasks ..
Finally,.you.must.be.aware.and.apply.your.understanding.
of.the.social,.ethical,.legal,.and.human.issues.associated.
with.technology.used.in.an.educational.setting ..It.is.also.
very. important. that. you. and. your. students. follow. the.
guidelines. and. rules. outlined. in. your. school. district’s.
Acceptable. Use. Policy. (AUP) .. The. AUP. is. a. document.
that. all. computer. users. in. a. school. or. school. district,.
including.students,.must.sign ..By.signing.the.document,.
the.computer.user.agrees.to.follow.the.rules.and.ethical.
practices.that.ensure.proper.use.of.the.school’s.or.school.
district’s.computers.and.networks ..The.standards.make.
it. clear. that. students. of. all. ages. should. abide. by. the.
appropriate.guidelines .
Dave. and. Marilyn. Forest,. teachers. from. Union. City,.
California,. recently. became. nationally. board-certified.
teachers .. They. believe. that. “if. we’re. ever. going. to.
improve.the.perception.of.teachers.in.the.country,.we’ll.
have. to. start. raising. the. standards”. (Forrest. &. Forrest,.
2001,.para ..5) ..Both.of.them.integrated.technology.into.
their.professional.activities.and.their.curriculum.in.order.
to. demonstrate. that. they. were. worthy. of. this. highly.
prestigious.certification ..Their.use.of.technology.extend- ed. across. each. of. the. NETS. mentioned. above .. They.
videotaped.many.of.their.own.lessons.and.used.various.
computer.programs.to.organize.data.collection ..In.order.
to.demonstrate.the.social.science.requirements.to.show.
that. students. make. connections. to. the. real. world,. one.
of. Dave’s. projects. involved. having. his. history. students.
interview.someone.who.had.lived.through.an.important.
historical. event .. He. then. posted. the. interviews. on. the.
Internet ..Marilyn.developed.a.computer.program.to.help.
her.English.class.relate.to.the.literature.they.were.reading.
and.respond.in.powerful.ways,.such.as.writing.a.response.
in.poetry ..Additionally,.in.an.effort.to.help.teachers.teach.
technology. embedded. in. content. and. not. in. isolation,.
Marilyn. created. curriculum. programs. with. computer- based.lesson.ideas.(Forrest.&.Forrest,.2001) ..Marilyn.isn’t.
alone .. Many. accomplished. teachers. are. writing. lessons.
for.educational.websites.designated.for.teacher.use ..All.
it. takes. is. a. search. engine,. and. any. teacher. can. have. a.
handful.of.innovative,.creative,.standards-based.ideas.at.
his/her.fingertips .
For.now,.start.by.assessing.your.basic.technology.skills.
to.gain.a.clearer.picture.of.what.you.can.do.on.a.com- puter ..Table.2 .1.shows.a.basic.list.of.essential.computer.
skills.that.teachers.should.have .
Table 2.1: Essential Computer Skills for Teachers
. •. Know.the.basic.hardware.components.of.a.computer . •. Use.the.online.help.function.within.software.applications . •. Understand.how.different.passwords.are.generated.and.used
. •. Know.about.basic.file.structure.and.manipulation.(i .e .,.what.a.folder.is.and.
how.to.copy,.move,.and.delete.a.file.on.a.hard.drive.or.disk)
. •. Know.how.to.search.for.a.file.and.how.to.select.a.location.when.saving.from.
the.Internet.or.an.email.attachment
. •. Know.the.basics.of.the.computer’s.operating.system . •. Know.how.to.send.and.receive.email
. •. Know.how.to.use.the.Internet
. •. Be.able.to.integrate.technology-based.grade.level/content.lessons.into.
classroom.activities . •. Run.antivirus.software
. •. Use.a.word.processor.and.its.basic.functions . •. Save.and.retrieve.files
. •. Manage.data.in.teacher-based.productivity.software.(i .e .,.grade.book,.
attendance,.etc .)
. •. Know.and.use.proper.computer.terminology
. •. Be.able.to.follow.written.and.oral.instructions.to.complete.computer.tasks . •. Use.common.sense.and.have.realistic.expectations.when.using.a.computer . •. Be.willing.to.try.to.figure.out.problems.that.arise.when.using.technology . •. Know.how.to.check.for.unplugged.or.loose.cables
. •. Realize.that.sometimes.computers.do.unexpected.things.and.a.reboot.often.
fixes.the.problem
. •. Report.a.computer/technology.problem.to.the.person.or.persons.who.have.
the.capability.to.fix.it
Improving Your Personal Technology Skills
At. this. point,. you. may. be. wondering. how. you. can.
enhance. your. current. technology. skills. and. learn. new.
skills. in. many. of. the. areas. listed. in. Table. 2 .1 .. Having.
computers.in.the.classroom.that.are.ready.for.use.may.
be.overwhelming.for.you ..You.may.desire.specific.train- ing.in.the.application.of.using.them.within.your.lessons ..
Professional.development.is.readily.available.for.willing.
teachers ..
Professional. development. ideally. should. include. inten- sive.exploratory.training.sessions,.follow-up.support.over.
time,.ongoing.dialogue.amongst.colleagues,.and.observa- tion. of. other. teachers. (Hawkins,. 1997) .. Sometimes. a.
group. of. teachers. can. ask. the. administration. to. bring.
experts. to. staff. meetings. for. training .. However,. staff.
meetings.frequently.tend.to.deal.with.day-to-day.issues.
rather. than. professional. development .. Teacher. exper- tise.is.a.significant.determinant.of.student.success,.and.
teachers.need.focused.staff.development.to.build.compe- tence.in.new.areas ..Teachers.should.ask.about.available.
district. technology. workshops .. In. larger. districts,. tech- nology.experts.may.be.available.to.answer.questions.and.
address.concerns.with.a.simple.phone.call ..
A.teacher.may.choose.to.take.a.course.at.the.local.com- munity. college. as. well .. Technology. courses. are. usu- ally. offered. regularly. throughout. the. year .. In. an. effort.
to. tackle. the. technology. issue. head. on,. a. teacher. may.
want.to.try.an.online.course.to.learn.more.about.tech- nology. while. using. it .. Another. way. to. use. technology.
in.the.search.for.learning.more.about.it.is.to.videotape.
other.teachers.and.learn.from.their.integration.of.tech- nology .. There. are. many. books. written. on. improving.
technology.skills;.many.are.even.written.specifically.for.
self-professed. beginners .. Teachers. can. also. use. search.
engines.(e .g .,.Yahoo!.and.Google).to.search.the.Internet.
for. resources. and. further. coaching .. A. teacher. can. type.
“teacher.technology”.and.find.many.interesting.sites.to.
explore .. These. sites. might. give. technology. training,. as.
well.as.specific.lesson.plans.and.ideas.for.technology.use.
in. the. classroom .. If. a. teacher. searches. the. Internet. for.
the.specific.content.subject,.such.as.life.science,.teach- ing-related.sites.will.often.have.ways.to.integrate.tech- nology. into. the. curriculum .. Finally,. the. best. resource.
for.teachers.is.other.teachers ..Your.colleagues.are.often.
enthusiastic.about.sharing.technology.ideas,.advice,.and.
experience .. There. is. more. guidance. about. this. topic. in.
Chapter.Eight.of.this.book .