NETS-C Standards

          I believe that throughout my coursework at BGSU I have shown strength in all of the NETS-C standards.  That being said I do acknowledge that I have shown greater strength in some standards versus others. 

 

Standard 1: Visionary Leadership
          As far as standard one is concerned I believe I have definitely been part of a shared vision for the use of technology for enrichment and change in the educational atmosphere.  I was part of the technology advisory committee that was responsible for the move to 1:1 integration at Notre Dame Academy.  While being part of this program we all participating in creating a shared vision for the future of our school and technology; along with how we planned to develop, communicate, implement, and infuse technology into our school system.  Since Notre Dame, I have worked to bring this shared vision to my current teaching position at Bowling Green High School.  Currently I am awaiting grant approval of a vision I have for a virtual reality classroom.  I am hoping to raise the funds to make this vision and reality. 

 

Standard 2: Teaching, Learning, and Assessments
          Standard two is an area I have strengths in but I also have a lot of growing that I can do as well.  I believe that I already show strengths in my ability to assist teachers in using technology effective.  I have demonstrated this by helping many teachers over the time I have been in this course with various aspects of technology.  The following are links to tutorials that I have made to demonstrate to teachers not only how to use technology in the classroom but how to create their own materials from it: 
(This link will take you to the presentations section of my MCT Portfolio) 
          I hope to move forward by giving professional development and workshops to assist other teachers in using technology effectively; which is one of the reasons I chose to conduct a Professional Development Workshop as my final project for my courses at BGSU.
          Building off of my ability to assist teachers in using technology effectively, I also show a talent for demonstrating this use with my students especially when it comes to differentiating instruction.  Over my years of teaching I have seen a lot of different types of learners and I have worked very hard in conjunction with my courses at BGSU to use technology to meet the needs of the various learners I encounter in my classroom.  Here is a brief list of some of the assistive uses of technology I have incorporated:

• The creation of a digital textbook for my students that will allow them to take notes, take digital quizzes, create digital flashcards, and much more.  If you wish to see the capabilities of this iBook I have provided a digital presentation at the following link: Here
• The iBook that was created for my students and is available on the iTunes Book Store can be located at the following link: Here
• I have created a podcast for my students to listen to if they need a refresher from class or if they have difficulty sitting still in class.  This on the go podcast can be found at the following link:  Here
• I use Google Drive to facilitate the use of: Podcasts, Homeworks, Policies, Current Events, Review Materials, and much more.
• I use Google Drive to provide extra materials to students who are part of Bowling Green High Schools special needs program.  This includes more in depth study aids, digital work that has been adjusted based on the student’s needs, and much more.
• Special needs teachers have also been provided with extra materials including tests, word banks, practice quizzes, and more to help with the instruction of their students.
• I run a homework Twitter that tweets homework assignments:  @Mr_McEwen_Class
• I use Google Classroom which allows me to send updates to students along with classroom files. 
• I send out mass e-mails to my students and parents that have classroom updates and files attached. 

I plan to continue to grow my use of technology in the classroom with several projects that I hope to implement in the next few years.  This will allow me to continue my use of technology effectively in this 21st Century world we live in.

• The use of Google Cardboard in the classroom.   This will allow my students to explore 360 degree environments that otherwise might not be accessible by my classroom.
• I would like to see Bowling Green High School move to a 1:1 setup.  I am still positioning myself within the school to help make this a reality and I hope that with my Master’s Degree in Classroom Technology I will be able to make this happen.
• I have already been able to provide audio podcasts to my students I hope that eventually I will be able to make full video podcasts as well.

 

Standard 3: Digital Age Learning Environments
            I believe that standard three is probably my strongest of all of the NETS-C standards.  I feel very proficient for the most part in all aspects of this standard.  For starters I work collaboratively with other teachers on the use of technology in the classroom.  Currently in the two courses I teach the school has decided that we will be teaching the same tests and teaching them at the same point in the year every year for the near future.  This is a very large undertaking considering all the teachers that teach these subjects all have different styles and ways of doing things.  I decided to spearhead this change and I have been leading it with the use of technology.
            For starters I have set up collaborative Google Drive folders for us to view all of our materials.  We have used various excel spreadsheets and other timeline apps in order to plan out what we will be teaching and how we will be doing it to maximize the time allotted.  This is still an ongoing process but I feel that BGSU has prepared me for accomplishing this task.
            As I mentioned earlier as a strength in standard two; I feel very comfortable maintaining and managing a variety of digital tools such as my own webpage, audio podcast, Twitter account, Google Drive account, Google Classroom, and an e-mail service to my students.  This all goes in conjunction with my strength in modeling and using a blended learning classroom.  I use all of these tools to help facilitate this.  I hope to continually expand my use of technology so that I may better meet the needs of my students and to stay up on the changes in technology.
            Providing online professional development for teachers and administrators has also been a strength for me seeing how I have demonstrated a great familiarity with videos and YouTube in general.  For more information on this feel free to view my Presentations section of this portfolio.
            Selecting, evaluating, and facilitating the use of adaptive and assistive technologies to help student learning is no easy task but it is one I am very familiar with.  While working at Notre Dame Academy I was part of the technology advisory committee and spent most of my time accomplishing these areas of technology use.  I still provide help with this at my current school but not to the same extent.  I hope that I will be able to expand my technology coaching role at my current job in the future.
            I have a personal knack for troubleshooting various technology problems and I have used this throughout my educational career.  With my master’s degree I hope that I can more formally help out students and teachers alike.  It is my hope that I will be able to continue to create tutorials like the ones located in the Presentations section of this portfolio for my entire school district. 
            Finally I believe one of my biggest strength is communicating with students, parents, and teachers.  I use a number of different tools for all parties to gain information from.  Currently I provide:

• Physically copies of papers and other information to students in the classroom
• Digital copies and updates are e-mailed to students and parents
• I run a homework Twitter
• I have a Google Drive account that is updated with various files beneficial to students
• I run an audio podcast
• I have my own website that helps to facilitate the distribution of information and digital files: www.mrmcewen.com
• I update and host files at Google Classroom

All of this helps me to be an effective communicator with all parties that are connected to my current job.  I hope to keep expanding this list.

 

Standard 4: Professional Development and Program Evaluation
            Standard four is an area I believe I can improve upon in the near future.  I already have some strengths associated with this standard but would like to grow them.  The area that I am growing currently is my ability to design, develop, and implement technology-rich professional learning programs.  I am doing this by enhancing my ability to create professional development.  One of the ways that I am growing my ability in this can be seen with my Final Project where I research good professional development and then create and implement it.  For the future I hope to get better at analyzing data trends and then using that data to make decisions on the direction of my classroom and school.

 

Standard 5: Digital Citizenship
          Digital Citizenship in standard five is an area I feel very confident in for I believe that I model and promote digital citizenship.  I contact my students daily through various means of technology and I make sure that I follow a strict code on how to interact and present myself in an online environment.  One of the codes that I hold myself to when it comes to interacting with students is to make sure that everyone is treated equally for I realize that not everyone has access to technology equally.  Therefore I try to make sure that my technology use is used as enrichment and not a mandatory use for students.  I plan on continuing with all of my practices for the future and hopefully expanding them as well.

 

Standard 6: Content Knowledge and Professional Growth
            Finally standard six encompasses who I am as an individual and as a technology coach; for professional growth is something I feel very strong about.  One of the reasons I decided to enroll in BGSU’s Master’s in Classroom Technology program was that I wanted to continue my education and grow as a teacher and technology user.  I am deeply fascinated by technology and constantly want to improve my understanding, abilities, and implementation of technology.  Currently I am learning how to program and create with programs like Unity.  It is my hope in the future that I will be able to use programs like Unity to create 3D virtual worlds for my students to experience.  Furthermore I hope to stay involved with the use of technology in my current position by being part of a technology advisory committee much like the one I was part of at my previous job at Notre Dame Academy.

            In closing I would like to say that NETS-C Standards have been a very helpful guide as to what an effective technology coach is.  I truly believe I embody many of the aspects of the standards set forth by the NETS-C and I hope to continue strengthen and grow them over the years.