The teacher I interviewed is a female art teacher who teaches at Lenape Valley Regional High School in Stanhope, New Jersey. She teaches all grade levels and several different courses, including photography and a class called "Art for the School & Beyond" which focuses on projects that give back to the community and school system. This teacher did not seem extremely knowledgeable with the NETS, stating that she had possibly heard about them through a grad course she had taken. Her initial reaction was a sense of familiarity, but was not able to pinpoint exactly where she may have learned about them and was not able to recall offhand what they were about.
She does not believe that her particular school or school district has begun to implement the NETS for students and stated solely that they are required to meet a computer requirement to graduate. When asked what resources should be used in order for the transition into NETS to go smoothly, she replied:
“I would say both professional development and funding. Teachers need the training to help their students gain the knowledge and skill necessary to meet these standards. For teachers that teach courses that utilize technology such as myself, I do not think it would be very difficult to help students meet these standards.”
To increase students' proficiency and media literacy, students have a variety of computer related courses that they can choose from. There are four courses at Lenape that students can take to earn computer literacy credits- these include Digital Photography, Computer Design, Advanced Computer Design, and Communication and Graphics Design. There are also computer courses offered in business, music, etc. I had the privilege to observe this teacher’s classroom before and watched her use several technologies in her classroom for both her and her students including computers, digital cameras, SmartBoard, and a projector.
Personally, I was not surprised with the teacher’s responses. This teacher uses many technological tools in her classroom, and though maybe not familiar with the NETS, still follows some of its guidelines. I believe that many teachers are not familiar with the NETS. As a future educator, in order to speak to others within my school about the NET-S and NETS-T, I would like to become more familiar with them which will ultimately make me feel more comfortable discussing them with my colleagues. The NETS could be brought up through school meetings and lesson plans, or even more casually by simply asking teachers if they’re familiar with them.
Link to my spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AngLn3bH0AEKdEg2UlpTcURQcE1qNWZSS0dYVEQ1SXc
I agree that in order to bring the NETS standards to light I would have to become more familiar with them. I was thinking of going to a school that does implement NETS, there I would record the effects that the standards have on the school as a whole. Then also making a comparison could help you in your attempts to discuss NETS with your colleagues.
ReplyDeletei love how the teacher connected the classroom to helping the community. that's a great angle to use in the classroom especially with young children.
ReplyDeleteHi Dana,
ReplyDeleteI think the more time goes on, the more teachers will familiarize themselves with NETS because technology is quickly moving with the world. I also believe that many teachers implement NETS in their classroom without knowing there is an actual study and professional term, NETS.
I have to agree with you the teacher I interviewed also hadn't heard of nets before but had technology in the classroom. I think if we become more familiar with them it will be easier to discuss with future colleagues the benefits they have.
ReplyDelete