Standard 3.

6 Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools and Resources

Candidates collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and
resources for accuracy, suitability, and compatibility with the school technology infrastructure.
The artifact that reflects mastery of standard 3.6 is the ITEC 7445 Evaluating Emerging
Technologies project. The artifact demonstrated the usefulness of Bring Your Own Technology
on increasing technology usage in the classroom.
In order to assess how new technologies were adopted, I met with the school administration and
the technology committee to ascertain how new programs were adopted. The results of that
meeting portrayed that data was a driving force behind selecting new technology initiatives. The
discussion centered on the paradigm shift the school was experiencing. The need for technology
in the classroom was apparent, but funding to purchase new technology tools is non-existent. The
answer to the lack of funding was to launch a Bring Your Own Technology Initiative at Mt.
Carmel Elementary. The teachers were involved in supporting the BYOT policy by offering
learning paths and activities directly linked to using technology in the classroom. Teacher input
is encouraged and supported by administration. The use of collaboration and team leader
meetings help facilitates the rollout of new initiatives and programs. Our school has designed the
schedule so that teachers have common planning times. This enables teachers to discuss teaching
strategies, best practices, and time to review data, and new software and textbooks can be
reviewed that are being considered for adoption for upcoming school years. The school utilizes a
leadership team to develop a cooperative environment for sharing information. We have a new
teacher mentoring program to address the needs of new teachers to familiarize them with
curriculum and technologies.
All tools selected are reviewed by the data team members and then presented to the staff at
professional learning opportunities. Parents are involved in the program selection as well.
Presentations are given to parents at curriculum nights and surveys are utilized to determine the
consensus of which programs will be most effective. The data team analyzes the parent and staff
survey results, and the data is presented to administration. The new programs are purchased as
funding allows.
The artifact explains the suitability of implementing BYOT initiatives in order to increase
student achievement. The use of I pads and laptop computers will increase the access to research
tools in the classroom.
What I would do differently for the artifact in the future would be to research grants and funding
programs available in the community that would allow for the purchase of additional digital tools
to be purchased for use in the school community.