ISTE teacher standard 1 – techy becky librarian

Mystery Skype: Reflection

Becky Putzier — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 21:46:06 +0000

I have written a number of posts this quarter chronicling the planning, design and execution of my Global Collaborative Project (GCP). Today, I take a moment to reflect on the project and how I was able to address the five ISTE Teacher Standards through the completion of this project.

When the GCP was first introduced by the professors, there were a great deal of questions because the nature of the project is so open-ended. As I look back on the last several weeks, I realize the freedom to pursue a project based on my own interests and curiosities helped me to stretch and grow so much as an educator. As the librarian of a dual-curriculum school, I am always looking for opportunities to connect students with the world and other students of bilingual schools. When I stumbled across Mystery Skype, I knew it had the potential to be a great learning experience, but my school had ever done anything quite like it in the past. With little idea of what I hoped to accomplish, I jumped in with both feet and my fifth graders happily followed. They were thrilled to be participating in a new endeavor, they seemed to … Read More

Mystery Skype: Planning Phase

Becky Putzier — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:23:23 +0000

I like to think I’m pretty “in the know” when it comes to educational technology. Then I spend time with my brilliant classmates and professors (I lovingly refer to them as “The Great Brain”) and I realize I don’t know nearly as much as I’d like to think. In the last two weeks they have shared with me a treasure trove of tools that I had no idea existed. This quarter we are exploring the ISTE Teacher Standards and in order to take that learning to the next level, in knowledge and practice, we are planning and facilitating Global Collaborative Projects (GCP). The overview of the project follows:

Global collaborative projects help students become connected learners and provide them with authentic opportunities to learn from other people and experiences. These types of projects also provide students with new, diverse perspectives and help prepare them for an international workplace. In this project, you will collaborate with others outside of the Digital Education Leadership program to design and implement a global learning experience utilizing digital tools.

As I did some brainstorming for this project, the Great Brain told me about Mystery Skype. How did I not know this existed? If you’re … Read More

ISTE Teacher Standard 1: Connecting Students to Outside Professionals

Becky Putzier — Sun, 12 Apr 2015 20:00:00 +0000

Last semester I examined the ISTE Student Standards through the Digital Education Leadership program at Seattle Pacific University, this semester I will start my exploration of the ISTE Teacher Standards. In an effort to learn the difference between the various sets of ISTE Standards (student, teacher, coach, administrator and computer science educator), I scoured the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) website to find the following description: “The family of ISTE Standards works in concert to support students, educators and leaders with clear guidelines for the skills, knowledge and approaches they need to succeed in the digital age” (“ISTE Standards,” 2015). I was excited to find this short video produced by ISTE that gives a short overview of the purpose behind the standards and why they are important to successfully implementing technology into education.

While I am still processing the difference between the many sets of standards, I am approaching my exploration this semester from the perspective of a librarian who is there to serve both students and teachers in order to take their learning and teaching to the next level. This week, I was given the following question and asked to explore it in a way … Read More

ISTE 1: Reaching Reluctant Readers Through Book Trailers

Becky Putzier — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 05:25:07 +0000

The next adventure in my Digital Education Leadership program is well underway and this quarter I am focusing on the ISTE Student Standards and how I can use those standards to address challenges I currently face. This week proved to be a great life learning experience for me, it helped to remind me to ignore the box that I try to stand inside of and instead do what works for me. When serving on committees, collaborating with classmates or meeting with colleagues, I often find that I compare myself to classroom teachers. I forget to see that in my position as school librarian, I am afforded some wonderfully unique opportunities to connect with students and instead I focus on what I cannot do with my limited time or resources.

In my “I’m-not-a-classroom-teacher” state of mind, I was tasked with examining the first ISTE standard and determine how students can “demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.” Through this, I asked the following:

How can students use technology to demonstrate their understanding of a book to connect with other fans outside of the school community (fan fiction, global read-alouds) and, potentially, the author themselves (Twitter, … Read More