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Karin Fenn MFA
ISTE Standards for Educators 4: Collaborator
Standard 4: Collaborator
Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems.
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Educators:
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4a Dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology.
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4b Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues.
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4c Use collaborative tools to expand students' authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and globally.
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4d Demonstrate cultural competency when communicating with students, parents and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning.
Artifact
The pdf of Twitter feeds I found and retweeted is a collection of resources to enhance dance instruction. The posts range from announcements for upcoming online presentations of international companies, tools for maintaining a healthy body and frame of mind, and ideas for presenting work online. By engaging with resources online and learning how to use search tools effectively students can gain access to outstanding international work. While I often search Youtube and other platforms for new ideas, I have not used Twitter until this exercise. Teaching students how to social media sites like Twitter responsibly, will provide support for them and encouragement to develop their own creative practices.
In the collaborative lesson using a connection with a teacher from India through epals, I can provide students with an invaluable experience to learn about another cultural expression authentically. I hope that this will enrich the students empathy and respect for other cultures as they discern what the value in their own cultural experience.
Reflection
These artifacts align most closely with 4.b "Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues." and 4.c "Use collaborative tools to expand students' authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and globally." As I have moved to teaching remotely I have found that there are times when I am teaching content with a new platform. The students and I work collaboratively to learn the ins and outs of the platform. Sometimes the students are the teachers and sometimes I am. This is such an important experience for them as it reinforces their ability to be in charge of their own learning and to collaboratively share their learning with others. Additionally, exposing students to real world platforms like Twitter that can have many and varied used beyond social engagement is equally empowering. Students can see that through this platform they too can contribute to a global conversation about art making and sharing. The collaborative lesson plan through epals will provide students with wonderful ways to have authentic learning and creative collaboration as they share ideas with students across the globe. This type of learning and exchange would have been next to impossible without the development of these platforms. I look forward to being able to connect with some of these teachers to enhance my students understanding of the diversity of cultural dance.
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