More Standards!

So I talked about ISTE standards a few weeks ago, and now I have more standards to talk about! We all know about common core standards - many of us did not like them when we were in school. Common core standards were made by our nation, and states could choose whether or not they wanted to adopt those standards (the state of Florida adopted standards extremely close to common core).

The state of Florida introduced ELA standards not only for English, but also for math and technology. The ELA technology standards are really just a way for the state of Florida to make sure that schools are implementing technology in the classroom in a way that is useful for instruction. On the Florida DOE website, they have their standards laid out for all grade levels, and I chose to look at grade 3 (because Kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 2 all don't have a lot of standards to talk about). One of the standards talks about how students should be able to pick out important information in diverse formats whether it is read aloud or visual. They list some resources on their spreadsheet that the kids should know and be able to use such as audio recordings, Prezi, iMovie for making movies, and poster creators. I believe that I would be able to teach these things to the kids because I have used all of these things before - even if I haven't used them very much. I might just need a quick refresher course on them!

There is a resource online for teachers to help them implement the technology and the standards for each grade level, and it is called CPALMS. The website lists each grade level, and in each grade level there are multiple different folders that have standards for everything from social studies to dance. Each of the subject areas has all kinds of videos and resources and worksheet for teachers to watch and use for their classroom. I would absolutely use this in my classroom because everything on there would be helpful. All of the resources were vetted and made by other educators just trying to share their knowledge and help teachers all over.

Last week, I had to create a newsletter for my technology in the classroom class. I felt like I was staring at my computer screen for hours on end when I created it - typing paragraphs, putting in boarders and images, figuring out what font to use, perfecting everything - but it turned out nicely! I felt like there were a few things that I learned how to do because of this project. I learned about how to add some columns but not make the whole document columns (and without screwing with the formatting), I learned how to shade a section, I learned how to add a hyperlink that is just a word (ex: click HERE to go to my newsletter), and I know that I will use all of these things in the classroom when I make worksheets or real newsletters for parents. In the future, I would like to fill my newsletters or documents with more color, but I want to make sure that I still make it aesthetically pleasing. Here is the finished product: