Blog #4: ISTE
- Makenna Carlson
- Jan 31, 2023
- 2 min read
I have always loved personality quizzes. These might range from which Harry Potter house are you in to which Barbie would you be to finding out which of the 16 personalities fits me best. You can imagine it was quite fun for me to read through the various ISTE standards for teachers while matching them up with teachers I have had in the past who embody these standards. The first one that came to mind was my TESOL professor, Dr. Tarawhiti, while I read the description under 2.1.b Learner. The description of this standards describes someone who "pursue[s] professional interests by creating and actively participating in local and global learning networks". Dr. Tarawhiti writes research papers, is a member of multiple global TESOL organizations, travels for various conferences- both to listen and as a speaker, and makes an effort to get to know the professionals in her field. In class she brings up recent findings and experiments with new research. She is constantly increasing her knowledge by connecting with others. She is a great example of the standard of learning.
The most important standards for me to work towards are probably the ones I am not as naturally inclined to do. The Designer standard caught my attention in particular. I like the description under 2.5.a which says to "use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs". Differentiation can be a big challenge for teachers in every setting, so I think it could be extremely advantageous to turn to technology to solve that problem. I recently observed a class that is held in a physical classroom but most work is done online so that students can go at their own pace and rewatch videos if needed, or even watch them on 2x speed if that keeps their attention better. Not only is that personalization necessary for classes containing differences in proficiency, but it is always important to make sure that students' learning experiences are addressing their unique needs. I would like to explore which technologies can offer help in creating personalized learning experiences and dealing with differentiation in the classroom.
Hey I choose designer too! I totally agree that differentiation is such a lost and foregin teaching tactic that educators never use. It's something I hope to use in my future classroom because it is a great tool that helps keep students engaged. The classroom you observe sounds like such a great envoirnment to be in as a student and clearly the implementation of technology does a great job of fostering that atmosphere.
I also had teachers like Dr. Tarawhiti. It is really inspiring to see them continuously learning even after their graduate schools. This reminds me of the famous saying that there is always a room for learning and improvement. I like what you shared about being a designer. It is indeed difficult to handle students with different proficiency levels but technology makes it easier now. I also believe that it is better for students to learn at their own pace because all of them have individual needs like what you have said.