EDT 525 REFLECTION

Early in the semester we were asked to share OUR definition of Digital Literacy
and our insight into what it means to be literate in the 21st Century. As a coach,
being literate in the 21st Century is all about encouraging staff to use technology
independently to enrich the learning environment for their students. My mission is
to assist teachers in using technology effectively to assess students and provide
engaging activities for students. I help teachers integrate technology into their
lessons by introducing them to various technology tools that will hopefully address
the diverse needs and interests of all students.
In our district we promise to keep kids safe while they are using our school
network. As new technologies emerge, new dangers emerge as well, and new
challenges around filtering content and providing kids access to ONLY the
appropriate stuff out there. We take management of the student devices seriously
and promote the use of classroom management strategies for teachers. As an
administrator, being literate in the 21st Century means having a vision for the best
use of technology in our district and inspiring others to buy into it and engage in
whatever process is necessary to make this happen. It means keeping up with new
technologies as they emerge, keeping major stakeholders and the community
invested in technology and aware of new trends that improve student learning.
For me, digital awareness means keeping my students and staff connected by
providing them with access to a plethora of technology and teaching them not only
how to use it, but how to use it well, by providing them with professional
development opportunities. It means looking ahead to new infrastructure,
competent technology staff and appropriate policies for safe and ethical use of
technology and information. It means modeling the behavior I wish to see in
students and promoting awareness of netiquette and digital responsibility.
Part of the growth process for me this semester was keeping an open-mind about
software programs and technology tools that were introduced to me and finding a
more meaningful purpose for many of the technology tools I have been using, but
not using well. My goal for this class was to experience as many of these tools as
possible and identify the ones that will be most beneficial in my environment.
I had a Twitter account for more than a year before taking this class, but had
never used it to its fullest potential. I have discovered some technology resources
that have been useful to me. I had never thought of Twitter as a PLN, but it is
certainly a learning network with tons of information out there. Posts should be
short and concise, offering a lot of information in only a few words! I had never
created any lists before, but after the readings, I attempted to create lists to
compile my favorite tweets by topic so that I have access to the ongoing
discussions. In collaborating with classmates, I was able to gain new contacts and
a wealth of resources. Many classmates also follow Alice Barr, Richard Byrne,
Kyle Pace, Vicki Davis and Kern Kelley. You are likely to meet all of these
educators at an ACTEM Conference.
One of the best things about taking graduate classes with many so gifted

educators is the exchange of valuable information that is shared between us. In

collaborating with classmates, I learned many helpful tips for using aggregators for
the purpose of organizing resources. Spigot.org aggregates news, research,
opinion and info for those working at the intersection of learning, technology, and
youth. I had a great opportunity to look at the portals of many educators. I had
one a few years ago, but never really kept it updated, because I had the same
resources listed on the school website and seemed redundant. Many teachers here
use the portal to organize resources they have accumulated over the years. I have
made some categories for Technology Resources through the grades here at RLRS.
I have also created one for teachers. I will definitely build upon this portal and
guide teachers in organizing their resources.
I enjoyed learning about the importance of evaluating the Web. I think one of the
most important things to consider when evaluating web pages is User Context.
When I am evaluating websites I think about MY search & MY needs. Why am I
using the Web? What am I looking for? The rest of the criteria will depend on this!
Accuracy, Currentness, Author & Presentation are pretty important too.
I have newly acquired tools for evaluating web pages. I would use any of the
Technology and Education Resources suggested by Author Virginia Montecino from
New Century College/George Mason University because most of the links come
from what I would consider a reputable source, such as Berkley & Cornell
University. Her information is presented clearly and resources are up-to-date. The
Resource from Colorado Community College, Five Criteria for Evaluating Web
Pages, would also be useful in the classroom, as there is a 5-Criteria Chart that
can be used as a guideline for interpreting the basics and suggested links and
ideas to practice evaluating Web Sites for reliable information.
This semester we read, Teaching Zack to Think. Alan November said, As much
time as we spend teaching kids how to find things on the Net, we need to expend
10 times more effort teaching them how to interpret what theyve found. Since
reading this, I am making a conscious effort to teach information literacy to our
students. Judging by what I have learned through this assignment, RLRS is behind
the curve when it comes to teaching information literacy to our students. Our
school Librarian was more involved in this when the majority of resources &
references were in print. Students just dont come into the library looking for
references any more. Everything is automated and students search for information
independently. Since the beginning of the digital age, we have been limited to our
level of technology proficiency. When Technology was its own subject and students
attended technology classes, we spent more time on this. Since Technology has
become integrated into each subject and we no longer have a computer lab or
classes, the responsibility falls on the classroom teachers, in the classrooms. It is
difficult for many teachers to teach what is not comfortable to them. We are lucky
that grades K-5 still attend Technology Lab and are introduced to the basics in
these grades. With the amount of misinformation that is out there, it is just not
enough. I will take the lessons I have learned this semester and share them with
my staff. Each grade level should be exposed to these tools and criteria for
evaluating Web Sites.
I am grateful for the tools I have gained this semester that help me to narrow down

my web searches. I learned about 4 features of Advanced Search that I plan to

teach to my staff and students.
1. Verbatim Mode - To find exact phrases
2. Search Operator - Add symbols to search terms to narrow down
3. Google Advanced Search Page - Narrow results by language, region, last
update, site or domain, terms appearing, reading level, file type, all words, exact
words, none of these words, etc
4. Punctuation & Symbols in Search - Using characters that modify search
terms to help you find exactly what you are looking for.
Now that we have access to an overabundance of information and we have
identified a portion that is valid and useful, the question is about how much of it
we can use for our own purpose under Copyright & Fair Use laws and the answer is
a complex one. I really enjoyed getting into the specifics of Copyright and Fair Use.
I had introduced Creative Commons to our students in grades 3-12 as part of our
Internet Safety/Digital Citizenship training. I enjoyed our assignments and the
experience of actually creating a license for myself. I think it is important to get our
students interested in publishing and licensing their own work. I can imagine that
this feeling of pride could be the first step for some of our students to realize the
impact of copyrighted material and the laws involved.
One thing that I read this semester from the article, Educator's Guide to
Copyright and Fair Use, that I hadn't considered was deep-linking to an interior
page of a site. By passing advertising or identifying information on a site's main
page may deprive the copyright owner of revenue. I had never really considered
this as something I would want to aviod. I frequently link directly to a page that I
want my audience to see, and bypass the advertisements. Our AUP didnt discuss
Copyright and Fair Use in great depth. As a result of my learning in this class, we
are doing a better job at following the guidelines for Copyright and Fair Use.
Teachers need to continue to lead by example. In my experience, teachers really
push the limits when it comes to these rules/laws. Every day, I am seeing fewer
things laying on the printer that should not have been borrowed without
permission.
My understanding of Fair Use is the limited use of copyrighted material without
acquiring permission from the person who created it or holds the rights to it. In
looking further into Fair Use in this class, I found these four factors should be
considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair or not.
The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of
commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes.
The nature of the copyrighted work.
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted
work as a whole.
The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted
work.
What is so confusing to educators is that the distinction between what is fair use
and what is infringement in any particular case, will not always be clear and well
defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be

taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material

does not substitute for obtaining permission.
It will always be important to teach students how to request permission. Students
should know how to find the owner of a copyrighted work and how to ask
permission to use that work. There are many sites out there that provide templates
for writing permission-request letters and resources for finding the creators of
copyrighted works when the information isn't readily available.
The cases of plagiarism at RLRS are limited, but just the same, teachers can
combat ideas of plagiarism by breaking down assignments into small pieces so
that in the end, students can use the resources they have created to build the final
product. I also think that our system of grading is flawed. If we were judged on our
ability to demonstrate that we understand major concepts without the pressure of
getting a GRADE, students would be less likely to skip to whatever gets them the
grade. I want the journey to be the reward, not the final grade or what Gail
describes as the Product being more important than the Process.
During one of the weeks of this class we researched ideas for Student Publishing
I enjoyed exploring kidpub. This site features books and stories written for kids, by
other kids. This tool is organized nicely for those who are looking to read a book or
write a book or have their book published. The books and stories published on
KidPub are categorized by genre, author and age. KidPub has a monthly writing
contest and they give away a free book every Monday. If you enjoy the work of one
author, you can track them like sort of like following them on Twitter and you are
notified when they write new work. I like that theres a sample for each of the
books for sale. There are some e-Books available. The Bestsellers are listed as well.
They offer a RSS news feed for account holders. This tool would be useful in the
classrooms to motivate students to write their own poems and stories and even
books and have them published along with other students their own age. Under
the Publish your Book tab, it explains the entire process for having your book
published.
Podcasting is something that was new to me. I think that Podcasting could be
useful to me in a few new ways. I have been recording screencasts with narrated
instructions for various technology related tasks for staff members. I would like to
record instructions for updating the MLTI device for example and have it available
for the classroom teachers to mirror into their classrooms and play for the group,
as they update their devices. This idea almost enables me to be in two places at
once. For professional development purposes, I think we could educate staff on
some of the technology questions regarding updates, e-Backpack, etc through
short podcasts that they could subscribe to.
Accessibility is the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is
available to as many people as possible.- Cynthia Waddell When thinking about
technology and students with disabilities and web accessibility, I used to think
about the headphones they will need or the personal keyboard I will order for them
or the magnified screen or special apps for their disability. I had never really
thought about the general public with disabilities accessing our school website.

My goal was to create a website that is both informative and user-friendly for
everyone who views it. In reading Introduction to Web Accessibility, I learned about
the importance of making our websites accessible and tips for improving the
websites and making them more accessible for everyone. Web accessibility
means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and
interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. It is essential that
the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to
people with disabilities. An accessible Web can also help people with disabilities
more actively participate in society.
When I first started reading the Essential Components of Web Accessibility, I
thought it was way over my head and hoping that most of this was automatically
built into the interface of the web design company we use. While some of it is, I
learned other tips I can do from my end to make the sites I control more
accessible. It can be as simple as making sure that your web pages load quickly
and that the background isnt flashing bright lights. I have also made some other
changes to improve accessibility on my own. In designing the Rangeley School
website, I didnt take into consideration the specific learning disabilities, visual
impairments, hard of hearing conditions, deafness, speech impediments, mobility
impairments, or health impairments of others. Now I have been able to improve
our school website by thinking of things like providing captions for multimedia, and
text alternatives for non-text content. In summary, I would say that we are
extremely lucky that we use WordPress for web design and that they take
accessibility so seriously. I will keep all of these things in mind when creating
websites in the future.
One important part of creating school sites that will be posted publicly is
awareness of the schools AUP. Most schools have a policy for appropriate use of
the districts website. Teachers must adhere to the schools rules and guidelines
that have been put into place when student privacy is concerned. As an
administrator, keeping teachers aware of the policies and monitoring all website &
public activity is quite a task. It is a huge responsibility being the one who is
ultimately responsible if a staff member or a student writes something
inappropriate or uses a student name or face. Every teacher page that is linked to
our district website must be edited with care.
The assignment I completed using Google Sites was a great chance for me to see
the teacher pages of my classmates and how they are including surveys, blogs,
student work and a plethora of resources. When I started this assignment the page
I recreated looked boring. It had only limited text that was way too small and all
the blended green didnt stand out and made reading hard on the eyes of the
audience. I was happy to include some color, photos and provide a more lively
feeling to those who visit the site. I am glad to have had the opportunity to work
on creating and improving this Google Site that will be linked to the RLRS school
website. Google Apps for Educators tools are used by all staff & students in the
RLRS district and Google Sites is the preferred tool for creating teacher pages so
its great to get the additional experience using this tool and learning how to help
others use the tool efficiently.

Being a Technology Director, rather than a teacher and not having a classroom of
my own can sometimes pose a challenge to the traditional coursework in these
classes. Through flexibility and creativity, I have been allowed to modify
assignments slightly so that the product is useful to me, yet still meets the
requirements learning goals outlined in the syllabus and project rubrics. I think I
have earned an A in this class because I have been able to take my learning and
apply it to my everyday use. I have demonstrated that have met the standards as
a Teacher, Administrator & Coach.