Reflecting on InTASC Standards

The Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) created a list of ten standards, the Model Core Teaching Standards, which are meant "to articulate what effective teaching and learning looks like in a transformed public education system – one that empowers every learner to take ownership of their learning, that emphasizes the learning of content and application of knowledge and skill to real world problems, that values the differences each learner brings to the learning experience, and that leverages rapidly changing learning environments by recognizing the possibilities they bring to maximize learning and engage learners. A transformed public education system requires a new vision of teaching."
InTASC Model Core Standards Document

The world of education is rapidly changing, and the generation of young digital natives are a huge part of that. As a result of this, teaching instruction is changing as well, and these standards give teachers a great guide on the way that they can do this.

If there's one thing I've learned this semester from my Education, Technology, and Design course, it's that teachers can't stay complacent with the same teaching methods every single year for however long they teach. They must always be developing new skills and methods all while accounting for the learner diversity in their classroom. Through this class, we learned how to do a bunch of new things that we can use in our teaching careers such as creating a video, designing a WebQuest, and building a whole Thematic Unit that we based every project off of for the whole semester. Because we now have these skills, we are more prepared for our future teaching careers, but our learning will not stop there! Even when we become teachers we will need to keep learning how to do new things as more ideas and technology are shared with the world.

The other reason the InTASC standards are a great model to follow is because each of the standards are learner centered, not teacher centered. This allows for the teacher to have a guide that focuses on what their class is like instead of only focusing on what the content knowledge is. There are so many differences in every young student, so it is important to accommodate for different learning styles as much as possible.

Collaborative, Create, Inclusive, Mastery, Challenging, Authentic, Global, Evaluate, Meaningful: All words that describe the Ten Standards. 

These words, taken from the Ten Standards, all speak to my professional development in many ways. They all represent the various areas of commitment I believe each teacher needs to attend to in their classrooms, and they are all so important in the world we live in.

The InTASC standards show that technology can enhance the achievement of students because when you think of a student succeeding in a 21st Century world, you know that there will be a great deal of technology involved. Technology transforms the way that these standards can be met because there are so many different ways that one thing can be connected to another, and all related back to skills they will need in the real world. These standards do not have to directly address technology to include technology, and that is what makes them even greater because they do not forget about the traditional ways that already work so well. All teachers should use these standards when designing their lesson plans and when deciding on their style of class instruction because they will prepare students for college and their future careers and develop deeper learning.

Images: iClipart for schools

Using 1:1 Technology in the Classroom

Technology in the classroom seems like such a daunting task with everything coming full force in these past few years. There are so many new methods out there, and a whole bunch of people telling you to integrate all of them at the same time. The transition from paper to pixels isn't always easy, but when you are able to find resources or ideas that make it easier, they are worth giving a try.

After reading a blog called "Ten Simple Ways to Integrate Technology in the Classroom" by Mandy Neal on Upper Elementary Snapshots, I am inspired by the small and easy ways that technology can be brought into a 1:1 classroom environment. Some of the ways that stood out to me include using Kahoot as a tool for reviewing for tests, through creating a Google form for students to choose their lunch each day, and through the use of sites like Wonderopolis to have students reflect on things they find.
When I was a Junior in high school, our school became 1:1 with Chromebooks, and for the first time ever students didn't have to go to the library or computer lab to type their papers or do their homework. I remember thinking it was the best thing ever that I no longer needed permission to Google search something, or even check my email. I felt like the world lay in the palms of my hands. Little did I know that an even better thing was yet to come: Kahoot, an online test reviewing site.
Kahoot was a huge hit at our high school! It was an incredibly easy thing for teachers to create, and it made reviewing for a test 10x more fun and easy. I liked how Kahoot makes it a competition between the students, and how it displays who's in the lead after each question. This promoted a friendly competition while taking the focus off of the test. When I have a classroom someday, I want to use Kahoot as much as possible because I know that by using this game-like review system students will get a lot more out of their studying for a test.

The Google form for lunch ideas is a really simple one, yet ingenious. When I was in Elementary school, we always spent at least 5 minutes in the morning going through our alphabetized list and telling our teacher whether we were eating hot or cold. Now while this method works fine, I think that by integrating the computers the students will be really excited and enjoy the time they get to use their computers to communicate with the teacher. Also, by using the Google form, teachers will have easy access to the results and will save a lot of time. When I have a classroom, I would like to use a method like this because the students love any excuse to use technology, and it would be an organized way to get things done.

Finally, I really love the idea of using sites like Wonderopolis because it's a consistent thing that students can spend time doing every and incorporate both technology and writing into it at the same time. I think if I did this in my classroom, I would have them use their computers to get on Wonderopolis and then ask them to hand write their responses in their journals so that they get to practice writing at the same time. This would be a great example of using technology as a supplement, and not as something that takes over for something else that is equally important.

Because of technology, the world is forever changed, and students of tomorrow will be different as well. They crave technology and don't know the world without it so why fight against them? By finding easy ways to implement technology, their cravings are satisfied, and we help raise the next generation to be creative, collaborative thinkers.


Image by Upper Elementary Snapshots

The Students Make It All Worth It

Today was my favorite day of my Level 1 Field Experience yet, and it was all because of the students. I got to experience what it feels like to be "in the zone" as a teacher for the first time ever through helping the students with multiplying double digit numbers, and through working on their essay writing with them. I got to see the students go from "I can't do it," to "I did it!" all in a matter of 40 min. It was a GREAT reminder of why I'm spending hours upon hours working on homework, and why I strive to be a teacher.


I have been so fortunate to develop relationships with almost all of the students in the classroom in just 6 short weeks. I love the way they all have personalities and passions that make them so special, and I can see that they all learn in their own ways. Knowing them makes me excited to become a teacher because I know that there are so many awesome kids just like them out there, and many who don't know how awesome they are yet. I want to show kids that they can do anything they set their mind to when it comes to school, and that their futures matter!

"Kid President's Pep Talk to Teachers and Students!"

Follow my twitter at: Ms_JamieBecker
Image: Iowa Clipart for Schools

Thank you Shannon Miller

This past Friday, in my Ed Tech & Design class, we were given the privilege to have Shannon Miller, an expert in using technology to connect students to the world in their classrooms, come and share about her experiences in using technology in her class. She talked about how in her school library, she used all kinds of technology to promote learning, collaboration, new experiences, and ultimately to give her students a Voice in their learning.

She shared many stories about students and their experiences, but the thing that sticks out to me the most, is that Shannon made it all possible. She truly gave her students the platform and opportunity to do some incredible things by working hard, and by taking the student's passions and making them her own. I was inspired by the fact that she was able to get so many different authors to Skype with her classes about their favorite books, simply by reaching out to them via Twitter, or email, or Facebook. This shows her dedication and commitment to giving her students every possible opportunity to be apart of something greater, and to connect with the outside world.

It's easy to give up on something when it seems like it cannot be done, and I think most people would consider it impossible to get a well-known author to Skype with kids in a random school in Iowa, but she didn't think like that, and something amazing came out of it.

When I become a teacher, I want to do whatever it takes to give my students a way to connect to the world and to explore uncharted waters. I want them to have experiences that they'll remember and use as a foundation in their learning for the rest of their lives.

Thank you Shannon Miller for your inspiration, and your dedication to empowering the next generation.

Image by: Jamie Becker

Why Interactive Whiteboards Should Be Used in the Classroom

From very young ages, children are being exposed to all kinds of technology, and are even able to opperate it on their own. I remember how surprised I was when my little 3 year old cousin picked up her mother's iPhone and started playing games on it without any assistance. While this kind of behavior used to catch an adults attention, people are no longer surprised when children of this generation, known as "Digital Natives," are engaged in technology and crave its use.


It's time to capitalize on how Digital Natives think, and begin to use technology in the classroom more and more. I believe that using interactive whiteboards, aka smart boards, in the classroom brings us one step closer to captivating the minds of students, and here's why:

They promote 21st Century Learning

The world is changing, and our students need to learn in environments that relate to the world as it is today. In the 21st Century, computers and smartphones are the way of life, and things will continue to become more and more technological.  

They motivate students to learn

In my current Level 1 Teaching experience in a 4th grade classroom where I observe the teacher and begin to understand how the classroom is run, I have found that there are some students who are very unmotivated when they are asked to write on paper, but when they are asked to use a computer to do something, they are all for it. This is one piece of evidence that shows how much more interested students are in learning when they get to use technology.

It is a great tool for teaching

Through the use of smart boards, teachers are able to put their computer screen up in front of the class and write on the screen using an interactive pen. This allows teachers to create programs online, and use the touch features to manipulate the board. This leads to a clearer presentation of various activities, and gets kids excited about writing their thoughts on the board as well.

Here are some articles I read that support my thinking!

Pros & Cons of using a Smartboard | eHow

Image from: Interactive Whiteboards

First Blog post! Woo!!!

Image by Jamie

Excited to share my thoughts, feelings, and opinions on the ever-changing world of teaching!