Jennifer Osorio

Due Date: 9/29/17

CT 200

As a bilingual elementary school teacher, I have various technology goals which focus on being

able to give my bilingual students various modalities to express themselves and more importantly,

demonstrate their understanding of topics and concepts. My current district is one where funds are low

and unlike neighboring districts, we do not have items such as smartboards or promethean boards. We

are very lucky to have two portable IPad carts, a computer cart, a computer library in the building, as

well as projectors in each class. Moreover, my goal is to allow my students from varying levels of English

language acquisition to demonstrate their understanding of concepts. As a first year teacher, I

networked with colleagues and was able to purchase products which would give similar effects of a

Smartboard. As an educator, my goal is to provide my students with as many resources as possible, to

ensure that they will have the most motivating and appropriate forms of learning.

In regards to the ISTE Standards for Teachers, I believe that there are two standards I would

implement in my classroom. The first standard would be ISTE Standard 3: Citizen. I believe that this ISTE

standard is extremely important for all ages, but more importantly in the primary grades. Although, all

subdomains are important the key subdomain which stuck out to me in this standard was subdomain

3A: Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit

empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community. In my classroom creating a sense

of community is essential for the program. In my district, bilingual children loop together to the next

grade. In my classroom, I would begin the conversation of typing in a responsible way and thinking of

what has been written before it is sent. Towards the end of the last school year, several children

received phones and I then implemented the lo-tech version of cellphones through writing notes.
 I believe that although technology was not directly included, it was a good precursor and

discussion of writing and expressing themselves in a positive and constructive manner. In addition, it

also served as a lesson in which, once something was written and placed in my mailbox, it could not be

retrieve. In addition, the other standard which I was drawn to was ISTE Standard 6: Facilitator. I was

fascinated with this standard because it targets the key belief that educators continue their normal

job of guiding children in acquisition, but with the twist of introducing children to technology through

apps. Just as children learn to open a book, hold a pencil, and form letters and numbers, they must also

learn how to mature in a digital world through responsible curiosity. This standard would be

implemented in my classroom through the iPads we have in school. Although the course, CT 200, has

met only once, I believe that I have such a plethora of apps and information that I need to learn, play

with and introduce to my students.

This standard drew me in mostly because I love making my students curious, challenging them,

and allowing them to express their understandings. I believe children inherently try to please their

teachers, and want their praise. Through ISTE Standard 6, children in my class would be given

educational goals and updated as they progress to continue challenging them. Perhaps on an application

like Class Dojo, I would reward my students as they move on to the next reading level, thus they are

always taking ownership of their learning goals. I believe that this could be helpful in my classroom

because we could, as a class, see our growth and foster an environment of pursuing goals. Last year I

was able to do something similar in reading, through RAZ-Kids. On Fridays we would sit as a group, see

where we were and see a text of where we had to be at the end of the year. As children progressed in

reading levels they were not just praised, but encouraged to continue bettering their skills.

In regards to the ISTE Standards for Students I believe that as digital citizens it is extremely

important that they understand all standards, due to many of the standards being interconnected. The

first idea would be to truly appreciate and use technology to its full capacity. Students should keep this
awareness in mind with a growth mindset. As with all new things, students may become stumped or

confused; however they should collaborate with not only friends, but people around the world to

further their understanding of technology and innovative technology. Furthermore, as the internet and

technology allow people to have instant contact, it elicits students to become accurate communicators

and realize that there are various modalities of communication and representation of knowledge.

In addition, the ISTE standards for students comes with the implication of responsibility. Our

culture constantly reminds children/adolescents that they are children. As a result of this constant

bombardment of being told that they are irresponsible or not mature, the internet is a gateway for

receiving and dispersing any and all kind of information. The primary standard which stands out to me is

students learning to be digital citizens and understanding the responsibility of being a part of the digital

world, as well as the legal ramifications.

As discussed in class, the SAMR model is the digital equivalent to Blooms taxonomy, where

children take information and then over various processes move from simply receiving the information

through technology (substitution) and progress through the stages of augmentation, modification, and

eventually redefinition in order to produce a better product. The SAMR model is the equivalent of

Blooms taxonomy but with the digital twist of demonstrating understanding through technology. A

lesson where I would be able to integrate the SAMR model would be in Fundations and our reading

program. Through the use of an IPad I would be able to give an assignment of being presented a word

visually and having them write it or copy it. Eventually, I could move to writing words with no visual aide

and then sentences. I would then print their created sentences. Once children are able to create their

own sentences they could move into the app Chatterpix. Within the app I would have them select an

image of themselves, create a cut in the characters mouth and then have them record their reading.

Once the product is finished I could project it onto the class while demonstrating the sentence being

read.
 This multimode form of representation could first motivate my students and move them from

the substitution stage of the SAMR module into the later stages of actually creating a product, or

redefinition. As a teacher, I believe that the SAMR model prepares students with 21st century skills and

how to move them from simply understanding to being able to produce creations that can demonstrate

their understanding. Technology in the classroom has moved from being an option to becoming a

necessity. As a bilingual and primary grade educator, it is fundamental that I am able to demonstrate to

my students varies modalities of a concept. As well as having them capable of using technology, while

also appreciating and understanding the implications of being digital citizens.