We have now talked about what kids think they should know and what we think kids should know. Now we need to cover what the state and the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) say/mandate students should know. These standards are meant to be integrated in to all classes and NOT just taught in the computer classroom. These standards will be used in projects that you will be making in this class so please look them over. I know that these standards are meant for k-12 education and most of you work with higher ed. You should look at these as what you students should be able to do when you get them in college. Read all the stands below. Do they cover what they need to? Are they missing anything? Can schools really do
54 Comments
George Pincock
2/12/2012 10:51:14 pm
I think the ISTE Standards are great. They are very straight forward and simple. We have standards that allow kids to learn, communication and share that knowledge, force critical thinking across cultural boundries and stress safe practices. Missouri has done a great job with its information and Communications Technology literacy expectations. The expectations in s grade k-8 is progressive and continually building upon itself. I like that the expectations for 9-12 are age appropriate and relevant to the life of the student at that age. For example I like how the expectations for cyber safety have to deal specifically with scholarships for 11th grade students.
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Ryan Mansfield
2/12/2012 11:04:47 pm
The safety side of the cyber world is one thing I think is left out more and more these days. The world is changed as far as how people are stealing personal info. Criminals are no longer picking pockets or even bullying people in school. Most of that has gone online predominantly with our younger generation. If kids are keen enough to pick up on it or know how to deal with it, there always seems to be more trouble down the road.
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Prof. Myers
2/14/2012 11:08:03 am
Ryan that is something that we have talked a lot about in my district. The middle school and high school teachers feel that there kids have no clue when it comes to cyber safety. In Fulton we hit it hard in middle school so when I went to Moberly I started teaching it to my 3-5th grade students. We talked about several time during the year. In 3rd grade it is just an intro with some cute fun stuff. 4th grade we get a bit more in to it. In 5th grade I try to scare them to the point they think about it. We talk about the fact that people have killed themselves due to cyber bulling and what to do if it is happening to you ( and that killing yourself is NEVER the answer). This year we even talked about the fact that they are starting their digital footprint. They like that conversation a lot - I was kind of shocked. When I told them that I had talked with some coache at CMU about this all the boys started to listen.
Prof. Myers
2/14/2012 11:09:09 am
That should say coaches at CMU. Sorry.
Audrey Crabtree
2/17/2012 11:45:02 am
I agree! We have to teach them at a young age what is right and wrong. I have heard stories of young kids getting their parents credit card and using it online to buy things! They don't know any better, but its something that can happen.
Ryan Mansfield
2/12/2012 10:57:53 pm
In response to the ISTE NETS-S Standards, I believe that standards 3 and 4 would happen to have the highest priorities (Reasearch and Information Fluency coupled with Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making). At least in my mind, it is not so much the knowing of how to use technonlogy but how to use it. Most kids now days, especially the high school kids and college age kids, are light years ahead of the teachers right now as far as their knowledge as they are growing up with it and we are trying to catch up to it. It is more about how do we teach them how to use technology effectively and how to find what they need in order to accomplish what they need to get accomplished. The critical thinking side of the equation is one aspect that I believe is always left out. Everybody can use the technology in some way shape or form but how do we teach to use it effectively for the goals that we need to have accomplished.
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casey costa
2/16/2012 09:29:06 am
Decision making coupled with critical thinking and the other points you mentioned are so important so that kids learn not only how to retain, but use the information, which is how the real world is so I completely agree on that point. And with technology it is more about how to use it because it's practically useless without it. In my undergrad we learned about a piece of equipment but I couldn't use it until that skill had been demonstrated for us so knowing the text book material is good but not the know all be all guideline
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Christopher Sandefur
2/12/2012 11:10:11 pm
The ISTE Standards can be a great guide for integrating technology in the classroom. Understanding how to relate technology in the classroom to enhance student advancement towards being ready for a society that uses technology is important. Standards three and four will prepare students for the workforce. Many of the points in three and four are necessary to be marketable employee. These are rights of a student to be taught these skills. I really like in standard five the emphasis on lifetime learning. Technology is always going to be advancing. It is going to be important to explore new technology.
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Ryan Mansfield
2/13/2012 11:49:18 am
Agreed. I think that there still needs to be an emphasis on how the new technology helps students reach their goals. I had no idea what twitter was until this class nor did I care since I did not use it in my everyday life. I can see now that there is a way that it can be incorporated into my everyday life and yes it can be helpful to branch out and find new avenues when it comes to career paths. However, the younger generation that is using twitter is using it for strictly social purposes which I guess is fine but not quite sure talking about how wasted you got last night or how awesome some party was is necessarily a good idea to be posting on a site that everybody including employers may be checking on.
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Robert Thomas
2/19/2012 12:05:36 pm
It seems like kids are getting younger and younger when they are doing things on the internet. I was talking with a parent about how their first grader is using the internet and googling things. We have to be sure to guide them the best we can to the good information on the internet. Because there is alot of information out there that is not true and can be taken out of context. Technology is a very benefical item for most these days to be successful. If technology helps we need to use it. Teaching the young kids what is right and wrong is key in their development.
casey costa
2/14/2012 12:42:25 am
Standards are such a general concept and there is such a wide variety of them that it's hard to assess if all are being properly taught and retained by all. I feel like overall, however all bases are being covered. There are specific academics as well as broad things such as thinking creatively which all are important to form a well rounded person for their future.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
2/14/2012 02:59:52 am
Each standard covers a specific topic and there are sub-topics included. From these 2 groups, you can pretty much align what you're doing in the classroom to them. Currently DESE is requiring all colleges to incorporate technolgoy into their lesson plans, and it isn't a separate subject anymore (like math, science, english, and social studies). We are to utilize media and technolgoy in our classrooms everyday, whether it's text media, visual aids (Power Point), charts/graphs, audio/visual (clip from youtube), or a manipulative. By learning/using the NETS-S standards, we can connect what we're currently doing in our classroom and write effective lesson plans. Within this, we are also responsible for promoting and modeling safe digital learning.
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Christopher Sandefur
2/15/2012 01:18:18 am
Great point on how teachers model technology use by incorporating technology in there lessons. Teaching students how to research online correctly is a great teaching tool.
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Jeremy Esry
2/17/2012 01:29:34 am
Chris you are right about teaching students to research online line correctly. I think this is something that is overlooked at times because teachers assume that students will know how to do it since they search for all kinds of stuff on the internet, but to search correctly for information on the interent is much different that just looking stuff up on wikipedia or google.
Kelli Miller
2/16/2012 01:47:07 pm
I have taken education classes in my undergrad and discussed the relevance and importance of standards and GLE's. I have never looked at it the way you do (the standards or GLE's are checklists). I think I will approach my lesson planning in a different way now; not looking at it as a hassel, but as a guide to incorporate learning objectives in the classroom.
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Prof. Myers
2/14/2012 11:11:32 am
As far as the MO standards the thing that I run in to the most problems with is not the standards but classroom teachers. Many teachers do not feel they should have to put these things in there classrooms. That it should be taught someplace other then their room. In middle school and high school that just makes me mad.
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George Pincock
2/15/2012 12:16:15 am
Why do these teacher feel that these standards need to be taught in some other place. I have a feel that most teachers feel that if the standard isn't directly related to what it is they teach, especially math science, english, then it shouldn't be their responsibility. Is there a way for for our school system to prepare teachers to teach core subjects yet still meet minimum standards with regards to technology?
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Matthew Clanahan
2/19/2012 04:35:59 am
@Prof. Myers: At my school, I hear lots of talk about "writing across the curriculum," which is great. Students need to learn how to express themselves on a variety of subjects using the written word. But implementing "writing across the curriculum" goes hand-in-hand with "technology across the curriculum" in my mind. In today's world, I can't imagine professors accepting a hand-written papers; also, I know that many of my own students don't have the computer literacy skills to produce the quality of work that professors expect. Until technology and computing skills become a priority to the TEACHERS across the board, like you said, we will continue to have students who are computer illiterate.
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Stephanie Armiger
2/19/2012 05:40:09 am
Matthew, I agree that technology needs to be incorporated in every class. We encourage writing across the curriculum for every class, because students need to be able to write. However, with the increase of technology, students really do need computer literacy skills because many teachers require the assignments typed, e-mailed, uploaded, etc. If a student lacks the skills to do this, it will make it harder for them to complete the assignments.
Heather Kirkendoll
2/14/2012 11:54:50 am
Looking at these standards, I have to say, that I do not do hardly any of these in my math classroom. When we do go to the computer lab, I do not have much critical thinking or discovery of resources for them. I usually tell them exactly where I want them to go. I do have different projects to help with how to search and what sources to use in my reading class I teach. Looking at the 6th grade DESE standards, I have witnessed them learn this at some point in the middle school. I am not sure they experience them in all classes though. Luckily, with our eMints grant, there is definately use of all these standards. I have seen the work done in 7th & 8th grade with edMoto and other sources, that rewrites the way lessons are done and communicated between students and teachers. Without the individual labtops/computers for each student, it does seem to be harder to administer this type of instruction. I think it can be very difficult for some districts to keep up with technology lessons when their buildings may not have the sources needed. I think these standards are very complete.
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Elyce Lamphere
2/16/2012 10:36:06 pm
Heather- It is interesting to hear how meeting these standards are not the easiest to do, considering you are actually in the class room and teaching your students with technology. You made a very good point that even though technology is relatively available to most students, if the school you are at doesn't have the necessary resources and many computers theses standards can be difficult to meet.
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Stacy Crommie
2/14/2012 10:51:34 pm
The ISTE Standards are an invaluable tool and guide. I liked how it was kept simple and right to the point. The standards are worded clearly on what is expected of the teacher and the student. I like how it emphasized problem solving and safety concerns. I believe the Standards are very thorough and cover what is needed. It is a very good start and as technology grows, it can easily be expanded upon. Cyber bullying is so prominent today and so is protecting your identity. I was a little over protective when I first started to play certain strategy games with chat involved. It is easy to pretend you are someone else and play a game. You don’t have to tell the truth about where you live or give out any real personal information. It is like I tell my students, “ true… it is not okay to lie, but you do not have to give personal information to strangers either. It is more important to protect who you are.”
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Melea Shimkus
2/19/2012 07:57:20 am
I agree that the ISTE Standards are simple and straight to the point. I also liked how it gave clear expectations and the students and teachers knew what to do. Safety concerns are so incredibly important when dealing with technology. I am one of those people that is reluctant to get on any social networking sites because of all the personal information. But I also know that you do not have to provide personal information unless you want to, and I think it is important that teachers make sure their students know that.
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Popi Stevens
2/14/2012 10:59:30 pm
The ISTE is very simple and basic. At first glance i started thinking that they could add more things and maybe be more detailed but as i thought about it more i thought that with technology always changing rapidly, it would be best to keep it simple and straight foward. I liked how it coverd both protecting yourself (informationaly) and protect against cyber bullying (with is getting more and more relaven). Some important things that should be covered in my opinion is Powerpoint, excell, word document, and the basic uses of finding stuff online (google, yahoo ect.).
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George Pincock
2/15/2012 12:31:17 am
Popi I really like the fact that you bring up the fact that technology is ever changing. I hadn't really thought about that and how that would work with standards. Like you said it is probably best that the stands are simple and basic. It will allow for small adjustments in the standards as the technology changes. Small adjustments are always easier than global revisions.
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Robert Thomas
2/14/2012 11:39:39 pm
The ISTE standards are good and straight forward, it is important to have standards that cover all areas. There are no grey areas in it to allow for misunderstanding. It is stated what is expected of the studnets and teacher alike. It is important in todays world to be smart what you put on the internet and what information people can find out about you. With the advancmenet each day you have to be very careful on what things is out there. Technology can be tough to understand if not around it alot keeping these standards basic and straigth forward help alot.
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Elyce Lamphere
2/15/2012 12:00:13 am
The standards on all the sites are very basic but are well thought out expectations. I think it covers all skills needed in every grade level. By the time a student graduates from HS they should be well equipped with the necessary skills for the real wold. The students may not be perfect at all things, but I feel if the teachers follow the standards that are put into place in their classrooms the students should be well prepared to use different types of technology.
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Melea Shimkus
2/19/2012 08:08:36 am
I agree that the expectations were well thought out and age appropriate. I think the problems will arise when certain schools or teachers do not feel that they have to teach according to these standards. Many teachers feel that the students already know the basics when some do not. Those students end up missing out on the information and get behind.
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Nick Camp
2/15/2012 12:29:34 am
I found the ISTE very straight forward and easy to comprehend. Of the four points, I thought two were interesting. Point 1 being Creativity and Innovation, for our society to continue to evolve we must have innovators as thinkers. Students being able to apply existing knowledge to help come up with new ideas that will benefit ones self is a must. Point 4 also happen to catch my eye, Critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. Sometimes I don't think we ask our students to think critically enough. With ISTE, students use critcial thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. If our students know how to use technology properly it can allow them to think more critically.
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Heather Kirkendoll
2/16/2012 07:15:51 am
Nick- I agree we don't always ask the kids to think critically, or discover knowledge on their own. As a teacher of sixth grade students, I can tell you that these kids want me to tell them how to do everything, even how and where to put their name on a paper. Sometimes, it can drive you crazy when trying to have them do labs or activities, because they want you to hold their hand through everything.
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Audrey Crabtree
2/17/2012 11:46:25 am
I think critical thinking is also a area that needs to be focused on more as well. It will help them way better off in the future when you really need those skills in college and even the work force.
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Robert Thomas
2/19/2012 11:57:57 am
Yes critical thinking is very important. There are alot of those who have book smarts and dont apply that to real world situations. I would rather have a person that can apply and figure things out on their own. Not all situations in life and in work can be answered the same. Each situation has a different outcome. Those who can think quickly on their feet will have a better chance of success.
Cara Barth-Fagan
2/18/2012 10:56:54 am
I agree that we don't ask our students to think critically as often as we should. It's important that we give students assignments that aren't just a regurgitation of information but that it is to take a concept from the lesson and ask students to take it one step further, researching more into the point or the information and then presenting it or teaching it to their peers. I often times have students take a section of the reading assignment, put it into their own words and then research the topic to give examples of it, as well as put it in a presentation format to teach the rest of the class. I have had great success with this method.
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Kelli Miller
2/15/2012 12:57:30 am
I read over the ISTE standards. I think the organization does a great job of detailing what students need and should know. However, I feel that there is a strand missing that should be covered. I know that the ISTE strands and the GLE's talk about Internet safety and the correct use of using technology, but shouldn't there be a strand that discusses the stealing and borrowing of Internet or technological materials without the owner's consent? I believe that students should understand that it is wrong to either post or write about other's ideas and using them as their own. Consequences and outcomes should be made clear to the students.
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Christopher Sandefur
2/15/2012 01:11:37 am
Great point and interesting. I am surprised that no smaller schools are involved in this process. I believe that the smaller schools suffer the most with technology being not available. I agree the standards should include information on borrowing others material from the internet. As teachers, we can include this information in our lessons.
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casey costa
2/16/2012 09:33:30 am
Good point about technology bullying. I never thought that that would be an issue but with the way that the internet and everything is being used today that needs to be touched on and taught to students now. Also, with the internet I feel like it's easier to steal things electronically and doesn't seem as bad because there isn't the physical part of actually taking something.
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Popi Stevens
2/16/2012 10:55:10 pm
I like how you mentioned that students should get the same oppurtunities whether they are in a 1A or a 6A school. I think that is very important because smaller schools to have the same technological opportunities as bigger schools. Sometimes i find smaller "rural" schools may not have the same opportunities.
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Stacy Crommie
2/16/2012 11:13:02 pm
I also liked how you commented on how the smaller schools were not mentioned. All the schools should have equal technological advantages or at least access to them. In Arkansas they have created a lottery and the proceeds are to go to education. One of the main things the money is going to is improving technologies in all the schools.
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Jeremy Esry
2/17/2012 01:35:10 am
Kelli great point on the smaller schools not having anybody on the board. This is something that I did not even realizing when reading the Missouri GLE. It is very important that they get some input from rural areas as sometimes their technology is not as up to date with the bigger schools due to budget constraints.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
2/18/2012 11:04:45 am
Kelly,
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Stephanie Armiger
2/15/2012 02:02:47 am
I had not previously read the ISTE standards. I am glad to know what they are so that I can make sure that they are incorporated into my classroom. Many of these can and are used on a daily basis in the classroom. I thought they were very well stated.
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Heather Kirkendoll
2/16/2012 07:22:22 am
Stephanie- I too had not ever read these standards before. Which got me thinking, if I am supposed to be doing these in my classroom, why haven't I seen them?
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Audrey Crabtree
2/15/2012 03:45:53 am
I agree greatly with ISTE standards. It touched on almost everything I think a young student who needs to learn about technology and the internet. It puts students in a great position to learn and can give them the tools to learn more in the future. I believe that in today’s world it should not be difficult to meet these standards. I know some schools are better off than others, but there should be no reason that these standards can't be met.
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Elyce Lamphere
2/16/2012 10:27:25 pm
Audrey- I agree with you, that the standards are that are presented are well thought out expectations. I also agree with the fact that in today's society it is for the most part easy to meet these standards in the class room. With all the technology available most everywhere, children not only use technology in the class room but also in their homes. Children get exposed to technology in most areas of their life.
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Stephanie Armgier
2/17/2012 11:38:52 am
Yes, I agree with you that regardless of school district, these standards should still be met. However, many teachers may be like me and not be aware of the technology standards. Yet, many of us, without knowing these specific standards, encourage our students to practice many of these standards because they overlap into other areas.
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Melea Shimkus
2/15/2012 04:12:16 am
I like the ISTE standards the best because they have the basic rules in an easy to follow manner. The Information and Communications Technology Literacy goes into more depth and shows how each grade level should progress in their knowledge. While this is good information, it is not a quick and easy reference like the ISTE standards are. Something I think that teachers should constantly be reminding their students of is safety on the internet, and social media sites that they use while not in/for school. This will always be a problem area where technology is concerned.
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Matthew Clanahan
2/15/2012 05:54:15 am
The ISTE standards are thorough and cover the technological skills that are necessary for students in today's computer dominated world. However, I felt that they could be a bit more quantifiable. That is, they might be difficult to measure. For example, 3a says, "Plan strategies to guide inquiry." How do we measure whether or not a student is doing this? I like the ISTE standards in theory, but some of them seem a bit vague.
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Popi Stevens
2/16/2012 03:50:20 am
I like how you discuss how the standards are difficult to measure because of how vague it is. I dont know if that is something that they can look at to improve or not, because the problem is if they make it really detailed (and specific) they would have to change it almost yearly due to the ever-changing technology.
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Matthew Clanahan
2/19/2012 04:30:33 am
@Popi: You make a great point there... The more specific they were, the more often they'd have to be updated. This is true when writing ANYTHING about technology, and it's something I didn't really think about when writing my first post. Perhaps these guidelines are written to be intentionally vague in order to ensure that they're still relevant five years from now. That could be good or it could be bad, depending on how "standardizable" (if that's a word) these guidelines turn out to be.
Kelli Miller
2/16/2012 01:40:00 pm
I agree with you that the ISTE standards are a bit vauge . They don't account for some of the minute details that students may encounter in the classroom. Measuring how the students use technology is quite difficult for instructors.
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Stacy Crommie
2/16/2012 11:15:57 pm
I believe you are right about the standards being vague. Christopher mentioned that they are more of a guide. It is a great guide, but it does need to be in better detail or at least expanded upon with closer parameters, instead of being generalized at this level of magnitude.
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Jeremy Esry
2/17/2012 01:26:32 am
I believe that everything is covered in the ISTE Standards. The layout of the pages made reading the info very easy as well which I believe helps. All the skills that are necessary for students to learn about technology and everything that it involves is covered. Teachers can even use it as a check list to make sure they get everything covered in the school year.
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Thomas Buehler
2/17/2012 10:38:17 am
I like the how you refer to the standards as a checklist for teachers. I think that it could even be a grading rubric for work being done with technology by students.
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Thomas Buehler
2/17/2012 10:37:11 am
I think that these standards are very clear and concise. It shows students and teachers the specifics that they should be considering when using technology. These standards can be used as a rubric, much like a class rubric. It creates goals for student usage. These standards should be implemented in all schools. Especially schools where the teaching staff isn't as familiar with the ins and outs of technology.
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Class BlogThis blog is for class conversations for Ed 514 at Central Methodist University. We invite input form other teachers about how they use technology in their classrooms. Archives
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