Techy Terms Tuesday

Do you remember in the fall, taking the Level of Teaching Innovation (LoTi)?  I know it was the week of conferences, and we had some log in issues, however, the LoTi is meant to help give you some areas to improve on in your teaching.  One of the biggest complaints I received about the LoTi was the complex "techy" vocabulary used in the survey.   Since we will be taking the survey again in the spring, I thought it might be a great idea to transform some of the complex language into teacher friendly terms - as I think we are all super innovative educators - and I know that will be reflected in the upcoming survey!

Standards-based Learning Experiences 

A standard is a statement of what students should know and be able to demonstrate.  Therefore, a standards-based learning experience is any lesson/activity/learning experience that happens in your classroom that is based on the standards your students are assessed.

Simply put, standards-based learning experiences are pretty much every lesson or activity that happens in your classroom on a daily basis!

Digital Tools 

Digital tools commonly include laptop computers, mobile devices, software applications, web-based applications, digital cameras, printers, probes, MIDI devices, interactive whiteboards, scanners, analog video cameras, digital video cameras, multipurpose calculators, and video-conferencing equipment available for instructional use in your classroom.

Simply put, digital tools are all of the technologies that you use with your students including the hardware, software and Internet.

Environmental Resources 

Environmental resources commonly include any form of non-print materials including manipulatives, displays, dioramas, original photos, original artifacts, measurement devices, household or store products available for instructional use in your classroom..

Simply put, environmental resources are the hands on teaching tools we use every day. 

So if we were to look at the survey questions...

• How often are your students involved in standards-based learning experiences during the instructional day?
• How often are you (the teacher) using digital tools and/or environmental resources during the instructional day?

My guess is that every teacher at Roosevelt would respond "multiple times per day" given all of the amazing teaching going on here!

Stay tuned for next week when I break down complex thinking strategies & content standards.