BASICS Guide (and Assignment) for 21things4teachers

Name: Abigail Schaitkin

Date completed: 12/19/16
Part I Technology Readiness and Targets for Improvement

Assess Yourself!
Review the Michigan K-12 Checklist, or an alternative more appropriate to your setting
Based on your review of the checklist(s), identify/describe in the chart below 5 skill areas that
you feel are most important to target for improvement for your students success and your
own. Identify the skills that you feel need your own personal improvement with an X in the righthand column.
Student Tech Readiness Skills My Students Need
to Learn

I need to improve
this too
(place an X)

Students can use advanced formatting skills to

align to established citation styles and use page
layout features when appropriate.

Students can use appropriate technology tools

(e.g., dictionary, thesaurus, grammar checker,
calculator/graphing) to maximize the accuracy of
work.

Students can use digital note-taking skills while

viewing online videos.

Students can use source analysis strategies to

determine the credibility of search results (e.g.
existence of cross references, domain name
examination (.org, .edu, .com, etc), date of last
update, etc.).

Students can write correct in-text citations and

reference lists for text and images gathered from
electronic sources.

Part II Basics: Technology Skills

1. Screenshots
Which tool will you will use for taking a screenshot?
I use a Mac laptop, so I will be pressing command + shift +3 to capture the entire screen,
command+shift+4 to capture an area of the screen, or command+shift+4+spacebar to capture a
window.
2. Take a screenshot of your favorite website and place in this document.

3. Basic Shortcuts
My computer: I will be using a Mac (ex: Mac, PC, Chromebook, Surface Pro, etc.) for the
majority of the work for this course.

Post a screenshot of your favorite keyboard shortcut, and briefly describe its use:

This command allows the writer to select a portion of the text, from a sentence to an entire
paragraph, and either make all of the words and letters capital or lowercase at one time. It can
also reverse either by clicking again and having certain letters be capital and certain be
lowercase. I think that this is important to learn because I have manually had to change each
word in a paragraph or letters in a word while writing a paper and it takes a lot of time. This trick
will be very helpful.
Part III: Implementation
1. ISTE Teacher Standards
A. As you review these ISTE-T standards provide an example of at least one thing you do in
your teaching. See the sample provided below and then share the your own example:
Sample
Standard: 2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
Performance indicator addressed: I selected a.
Standard 2.a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and
resources to promote student learning and creativity.
My Lesson Example: I teach a math unit on geometric shapes. I have students use the digital
camera to take pictures of different features or items around our school. I recently started having
them edit the images to create a collage for different types of angles to post in the room.
Future Lesson:

Standard 2.c.: Customize and personalize the activity to meet diverse learning styles and working
strategies and abilities.
There are only two cameras available but our school is going to let students bring their own
mobile devices. Id like to customize the geometry lesson so they can bring pictures of geometric
figures they take outside school and find a way to share the images to add to our lesson, like on
an online bulletin board.

Briefly describe an activity or lesson that meets one of the five ISTE-T standards you teach in
the table below:
ISTE Standard addressed by my activity or lesson
Standard: 1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.
Performance indicator(s) addressed:
Standard 1.c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify
students conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
My lesson description:
I have students collaborate on a google doc. during an English class. This consists of
students working together to write a paragraph or paper, thinking, planning, and piecing
the work together while communicating and forming their understandings of the
assignment and material collectively and individually.
Future Lesson: (target and describe an additional performance indicator from that
standard for a future lesson)
Standard: 1.b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic
problems using digital tools and resources.
I would use this standard as an additional piece to the collaborative writing activity.
Students would research real-world issues on the internet using digital resources to
decide what sites are most authentic and useful and how to apply their research to their
papers. They will form and write about their opinions, communicating and deciding how
best to combine ideas and build off of one another.
B. How I would rate myself based on the ISTE-Teacher Standards at this point using a 5-point
Rubric:
Performance
Proficiency

____

Beginning

Developing

Proficient

Transformativ
e

Rubric
Description

Not
familiar
with

Beginning
awareness
, have an
idea of
what I
need to
work on

Awareness, feel
somewhat
experienced &
knowledgeable

Active
Awareness,
Experienced
and proficient
user and
integrator, Very
knowledgeable

Flexible
Awareness,
the
integration of
multiple
tools/resourc
es at a high
level of
functionality

Your score/reflection:
I would give myself a 3. I think that I am decently proficient in working with technology. I am
used to collaboration, integrating pieces of technology, etc. I feel aware of what else is out there
and knowledgeable about how to incorporate technology and the benefits that they offer. I do
not feel that I am proficient in utilizing all of the technological resources nor do I feel that I can
easily explain it to others yet.
2. Best Practice Connections
Select from one of the lesson/teaching examples you provided in the ISTE-T section, or another
from your teaching. Identify and give an example of three of the nine research-based best
practice teaching and learning strategies (identified in the Framework for Instructional Planning)
and a technology resource you use (or might use) in the chart below. You may find it helpful to
refer to the techbestpractice site.
Best Practice
Category

Technology
resource or
tool(s) used

Technology
Categories

Brief description of what I do

Example: Setting
Objectives &
Providing Feedback

Google docs
(or printed
handout from
docs template)

Word
processing
applications

At the beginning of each new year (7th

grade) I do a quick review of math
problem solving steps from 6th grade. I
help them identify some learning
objectives. We check progress at the
end of the month with feedback and
discussion.

1 Cooperative
Learning

Document
creation/
sharing.

Word
processing
applications, i.e.
Word.

I will assign groups of students to

collaborate on a document for a writing
assignment. The students will work
together based on a rubric and it will be
assessed at the end of the unit.

2 Summarizing and
Notetaking

Summary
frames.

Chart formatted
documents,
google template.

I will provide students with a template

to fill in with information regarding their
topic. The students will then fill in the
chart as they research and progress
through the unit.

3 Generating and
Testing Hypothesis

Problem
solving through
the creation of
a hypothesis.

Interactive
problem solving
games and
sites.

I will provide students with a variety of

sites and games to help them practice
their formation of a hypothesis. They
will then apply it to their papers and it
will be assessed at the end of the unit.

3. Models of Technology Integration

Review your examples in the Question #2 above (Best Practice Connections). Explore the
SAMR and TPACK models and identify a strategy you use in a lesson or activity that fits one or
more of these models and list it in the table provided below.
Example(s)

SAMR level (Redefinition,

TPACK Knowledge Level

Modification, Augmentation,
Substitution)

(Technological, Pedagogical,
Content)

Cooperative Learning

Transforms learning by
allowing students to share
their writing with peers and
receiver feedback.

Combining elements of
those who share what they
are stronger at with those
are weaker at the same
tasks so that everyone picks
up all of the skills.

Summarizing and
Notetaking

Enhances learning by
allowing students to loosely
take notes rather than
formally writing and
correcting grammar,
spelling, etc.

Students will research a

provided topic and relate it
to a lesson previously
discussed in class. This
research utilizes notetaking
and summarization skills.

Final Reflection
Based on the resources in Basics, and your own experience, reflect on how thoughtful
integration of best practice and technology can improve your instructional practice. Give some
details.

I have learned a lot about the basics of technology through this activity. Prior to this
activity, I understood and was capable of applying some technological concepts to my lessons. I
think that I will definitely utilize the shortcuts that I read about and watched through the tutorial
video. There were shortcuts that I did not know existed that would have been beneficial for me
to complete my assignments thus far in life. I am also more aware of how to best apply
standards to lessons and how to incorporate them. Additionally, it was interesting to see the nine
different categories that can be applied to lessons. This was a lens through which I had not
looked while dissecting my lessons and how to improve them. I also thought that it was a great
idea to see how SAMR and TPACK can apply to various elements of the lesson. I think that the
lesson should meet the goals of SAMR and TPACK or be reevaluated to see how it can meet
their goals.