Project+Page

=**May 14, 2010**=

Maryland Technology Standards

1. Facilitates the development of a shared vision for school-wide technology use and widely communicates that vision. 3. Fosters and maintains a school-wide culture of responsible risk-taking that promotes the innovative use of technology.
 * I. **** Leadership And Vision **

1. Facilitates the use of technology to collect and analyze data from multiple sources to improve classroom instruction and student learning. 2. Ensures access to high quality professional development aligned with the Maryland Teacher Professional Development Standards to address the Maryland Technology Standards for Students and the Maryland Teacher Technology Standards. 5. Supports the effective use of a variety of technologies to facilitate collaboration in teaching and learning.
 * II. Teaching and Learning **

1. Uses technology to access and analyze multiple sources of data to make programmatic decisions about curriculum and instruction.
 * III. Data-Driven Decision Making **

1. Models the routine, purposeful, and effective use of technology. 2. Uses technology effectively for communication and collaboration. 3. Engages in sustained professional development in the use of technology. 4. Maintains an awareness of emerging technologies and their potential uses in education.
 * V. Professional Practice and Productivity **

1. Ensures equity of access to technology resources for students, teachers and staff. 
 * VI. Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues **

**__Description of Project__**

The purpose of this project is to increase opportunities for teachers to collaborate in a meaningful way without placing an unnessary drain on resources through the use of substitute teachers while mimimizing the loss of instructional time. Teachers will learn to scan documents (student work samples) using the digital copiers, upload documents to a collective Wiki page, solicit feedback from and post feedback for other teachers.

I agreed to join the Kenilworth STEP team in order to learn more about Web 2.0 tools. I have always been interested in new technology and I have embraced the use of it when it can make my life easier by keeping track of the vast amount of information we encounter on a day to day basis. The concept of Web 2.0 takes the sharing of information to a completely different level. It enables all users to have authorship of the information that is shared. This opens a whole new world of possibilities for electronic collaboration in the busy lives of educators, who otherwise may feel very isolated in their classrooms.
 * __Reflection of project experience__**

This experienced allowed me to hone my skills in the use of a variety of Web 2.0 tools. Specifically, the use of Wiki pages and Google Docs for the collaboration and more effective communication. Using a Wiki page to review student work samples and provide constructive feedback, decreases the demand for photocopying and reduces the amount of time teachers have to leave the classroom to plan and collaborate during the school day. Prior to joining the STEP team, I began experimenting with Google Docs, Google Forms, and Google Calendar to share information with my staff. After this experience, I see endless possibilities for application of Web 2.0 tools.

Throughout the process I have had the pleasure of collaborating more closing with three of my staff. In addition, I have been able to experiment with the use of Wiki pages to coordinate field trips chaperones, carpools, family portriat schedules, and lemonade stand volunteers, just to name a few.

The content presented in the STEP classes was sometimes overwhelming and the time between sessions was too long for me. I would have benefited from a more condensed schedule and more opportunities meet for guided practice early on in the process.

 Project