6.3 Field Experiences
Candidates engage in appropriate field experiences to synthesize and apply the content and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in these standards.
Artifact: Technology and Beyond Field Experience
Cherokee County School District Technology Advisory Council member and facilitator
Reflection:
During the past two years in my master's program, I have had numerous opportunities for field experiences. The field experience I chose for this artifact involved being a member and a facilitator of our district's Technology Advisory Council. The Council usually meets annually in February, but this past year we met in December and February. The field experience link pertains to last year's meeting. However, the Council topics this year built on the decisions made last year. Last year, we were discussing students bringing their own devices to school. This past year, the purpose of the council was to:
•To collect feedback from stakeholders on how technology can help improve student achievement
•To share ideas on the effective uses of technology for teaching, learning and productivity
•To offer suggestions on strengthening policies related to technology use
•To assist with the development of a District vision for technology use
The Council is made up of district leaders, principals, teachers, parents, students and community members. We decided to divide everyone up into groups to develop guidelines for various types of social media, such as Twitter, blogs, instant messaging, Wikis, digital images, social bookmarking, social networking, and videos. I was assigned to facilitate the group on blogging guidelines. We developed a Wiki so everyone could contribute and access information between and after the two meetings.
This artifact demonstrates mastery of the 6.3 standard by utilizing the professional knowledge and skills that I have obtained through this program and applying several of the standards involved in this program. Through this process, it was interesting to learn the opinions and beliefs of various members of the council concerning social media. Some people were very excited about this opportunity for our students and others were very skeptical and concerned about a few dangers. Each committee had approximately ten members that included a sample of all of the categories listed above. We had two teachers in our group that used blogging quite regularly with their students and could share the success stories with the concerned members. There is always room for improvement and next year's council will be able to offer suggestions for change. School improvement, faculty development and student learning will all be impacted through the Council's decisions, and through the use of personal learning devices in our classrooms. Last spring, we implemented a pilot program in five of our schools throughout the district. The impact of this pilot was assessed through surveys completed by classroom teachers, students and parents that participated in the pilot. Those surveys will be used to make changes for this year's implementation. The "Bring Your Own Learning Device" (BYLD) will be available to be implemented in all of our schools in the coming school year.
During the past two years in my master's program, I have had numerous opportunities for field experiences. The field experience I chose for this artifact involved being a member and a facilitator of our district's Technology Advisory Council. The Council usually meets annually in February, but this past year we met in December and February. The field experience link pertains to last year's meeting. However, the Council topics this year built on the decisions made last year. Last year, we were discussing students bringing their own devices to school. This past year, the purpose of the council was to:
•To collect feedback from stakeholders on how technology can help improve student achievement
•To share ideas on the effective uses of technology for teaching, learning and productivity
•To offer suggestions on strengthening policies related to technology use
•To assist with the development of a District vision for technology use
The Council is made up of district leaders, principals, teachers, parents, students and community members. We decided to divide everyone up into groups to develop guidelines for various types of social media, such as Twitter, blogs, instant messaging, Wikis, digital images, social bookmarking, social networking, and videos. I was assigned to facilitate the group on blogging guidelines. We developed a Wiki so everyone could contribute and access information between and after the two meetings.
This artifact demonstrates mastery of the 6.3 standard by utilizing the professional knowledge and skills that I have obtained through this program and applying several of the standards involved in this program. Through this process, it was interesting to learn the opinions and beliefs of various members of the council concerning social media. Some people were very excited about this opportunity for our students and others were very skeptical and concerned about a few dangers. Each committee had approximately ten members that included a sample of all of the categories listed above. We had two teachers in our group that used blogging quite regularly with their students and could share the success stories with the concerned members. There is always room for improvement and next year's council will be able to offer suggestions for change. School improvement, faculty development and student learning will all be impacted through the Council's decisions, and through the use of personal learning devices in our classrooms. Last spring, we implemented a pilot program in five of our schools throughout the district. The impact of this pilot was assessed through surveys completed by classroom teachers, students and parents that participated in the pilot. Those surveys will be used to make changes for this year's implementation. The "Bring Your Own Learning Device" (BYLD) will be available to be implemented in all of our schools in the coming school year.