Technology Standards

   Technology in the classroom can be a great tool if you, as a teacher, find a way to use them effectively.  Looking at the national and state technology standards are great ways to see what kind of concepts need to be shown and taught in the classroom to really benefit your students.  On the national level broad topics to be met using technology are communication and collaboration, creativity and innovation, technology operations, digital citizenship, critical thinking, and research and information.  Looking at the state standards for Oregon, you find all of the same topics along with decision making.  These are critical skills for our students to learn so they can be successful throughout their education and their future careers.

   Building classroom blogs, one for each student, could greatly benefit them if you keep the standards in mind.  Posting questions that provoke discussion and having your class respond to them is a great way to get critical thinking started in your classroom.  Students can debate and share ideas through their comment and blog posts.  Allowing students to use blogs gives them a chance to show some creativity by personalizing their blog; by exploring all of the different possibilities of the blog, students also gain a great deal of technological knowledge.  Putting assignments on the classroom blog, as well as the students' blogs can open many doors for assignments and projects.  If the students are already on the computer and using the internet, it is a great opportunity to teach them about internet safety, along with gaining research knowledge and how to find trustworthy information and cite your sources.  Using blogs you are able to post easily accessible links and have activities where students can look at different sites and find which one(s) are not trustworthy.  Using a classroom blog and giving that opportunity to the students has many advantages that will help your students be successful.