ISTE Standards Evaluation

I feel that as a teacher, I am doing a very good job with my students and their use and understanding of technology. As a Social Studies teacher, I did various projects that required the students to use various forms of technology and I feel that the students appreciated it. I was actually going to do an end of the year project where the students would be required to use podcasting as the main part of the project, but we ran out of time. I am blessed to work in a district that has the money to get the latest technology into the classroom. Our district is now requiring that all 6th and 7th grade students take computer class as a mandatory class instead of an elective. There are definitely some students that are more proficient at using technology as their peers, but I feel that most of my students are where they need to be in terms of their technology proficiency. The only things that I don't fell that they are proficient at is being able to identify characteristics that suggests the computer needs an upgrade. I also don't feel that the majority of them know the correct terminologies. As a teacher I am forced to keep up with my students. As I said before, my district is spending loads of money of technology and the requirements for technology knowledge does not stop with the students. Starting in the fall all teacher are required to have a blackboard site. I actually set my up last year, and used it twice, my goal for next year is to use it more often in my classes. I am also about four technology classes the district is offering this summer. I have a lot to learn about the different forms of technology and how to incorporate them in my classroom. The class that I am very excited is the interwrite pad class. I really want to use it in my classroom next year.

Concerning the COPPA law, I think that the law is helpful to a certain extent. My issue is that I am not aware of this law and I don't think too many teachers or parents are aware of this law. I know that the sites the my students visits for research and projects, does not ask for personal information, and I feel that most of those sites are blocked by our district for student safety.