teacher++tech+requirements

Due to the highly technical aspect of modern society and the fact that technology has permeated almost every area of modern life, technological literacy is an indispensable skill for today's students. We are educating students to perform jobs that do not yet exist, to solve problems we have not yet encountered and to use technologies that have not yet been invented. To meet this need, educators must fundamentally change the way we teach children. Students need to know less facts and information and become more skilled in discernment and applying the information they encounter while developing critical thinking skills. The classroom must extend beyond the four walls of the institution as students collaborate with others draw from the wisdom of the ages, and learn within a global community in order to discern and disseminate truth. As a Christian school we need to teach children to use technology to learn and grow while applying a Biblical worldview to discern the truth of the information they are receiving. To that end, we as a staff, must continue to grow in our technology skills, become more technologically literate and comfortable with the use of technology and integrate technology into the classroom to reach this generation of learners.

Teacher Requirements for Technology Education at Dayspring Christian Academy for the 2010-2011 school year are as follows.
 *  Each CLASS must complete 4 technology projects during a given school year. If the class is self-contained, the classroom teacher is responsible for all four projects, each using a different area of technology. In the upper school, projects will be divided between the teachers so that over the course of the school year, the class has been exposed to all four projects. Teachers in these grades will need to sign up for a project and time slot to complete the project. This can be handled during an upperschool grade level meeting. The technology project must integrate current curriculum and not be taught just for the sake of the technology. This requirement does not apply to special or part-time teachers.
 *  All teachers must do at least one thing they have never attempted before using technology. Your project may be in the area of teacher preparation, teacher presentation, interactive learning, student evaluation or student presentation of learning. This can be as simple as presenting your first powerpoint, having students keep a log on excel and making a graph of the results, using Survey Monkey to conduct a class survey and analyze the results. You may use any of the ideas presented during tech tips in staff meeting or, come up with your own ideas.
 *  One of your two yearly observations must include evidence of the integration of technology.
 * Each teacher must submit their plan to fulfill the technology requirement in writing to Mary or Ed by the end of the first trimester. (I will allow you to revise the plan if you get inspired by a new idea as the year progresses.) You’re technology plan is due before we go on Thanksgiving vacation.

revised 10/14/2010