Artifact# 6- DASA Certification

Overview

I have recently just completed my DASA certification, which covers the material in the

New York State Dignity for All Students Act. The DASA certification process expected teacher

candidate students to read approximately 85 pages on the resource and promising practices guide for

school administrators and faculty and complete a 35 question test on the material covered. The material

covered in DASA claims that “no student shall be subjected to harassment or bullying by employees or

students on school property or at a school function” ( DASA). The act also includes discrimination based

on race, color, weight, origin, ethnicity, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation or sex. According

to the New York State laws, there is a zero tolerance policy in place for these acts and students/employees

will be reprimanded if they break these State laws.

Connection to Standards

INSTAC Standards

The Interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium were introduced as a means

to raise the level of learning in the classroom. The INSTAC standards are broken down into 10 standards

and for the purpose of this artifact, I would like to align Standard # 1: Learner Development. This

standard focuses on how learners and or teachers (as learners) grow and develop in all areas, as well as

take on challenging learning experiences. I have connected my DASA certification with this standard

because, I, as a teacher in training, am constantly upgrading my personal development to help get

myself ready for the field of teaching.

NYS Code of Ethics for Educators

The New York State Code of Ethics for Educators are broken down into 6 principles. The

purpose of these principles is to provide a public statement of principles and expectations that help to
guide an educator throughout their career. For the purpose of my DASA certification, I would like to

connect principle 3, which puts emphasis on the educator and their own commitment to learning and

personal development. By completing the DASA certification, I have learned how important and

prevalent harassment, discrimination and bullying is in our schools. This certification really opened my

eyes to the real problems that are in the schools today, and it helped me to understand the procedures

to help combat this issue. I am surprised with the amount of bullying that targets students with

disabilities. This makes me really sad to hear, on top of the daily challenges that these students already

have to overcome.

Ontario Teacher Ethics

The Ontario Teacher Ethics are similar to the NYS Code of Ethics, only they are set out to include

teachers in Ontario. These Code of Ethics are broken down into 4 different categories, and for the

purpose of this artifact, I would like to include the ethic of Trust. I believe that a teacher is an important

person in a student’s life, and I feel that the student should have a great deal of trust instilled in the

relationship. I have included this ethic, because after completing the DASA certification, I have come to

the realization that a student who is bullied or a student who is bullied may need some direction. By

completing this certification, I feel more educated with the ramifications of bullying, and as a result, I

feel that I will be able to help students who find themselves in these situations. It is my hopes that by

gaining a student’s trust, I will be able to help direct them into being a better person.

CAEP Standards

The CAEP standards are important to the field of education as they help identify the different

qualities of an educator. The CAEP standards are broken down into 5 standards and for the purpose of

this artifact, I would like to connect standard # 3. Standard # 3 includes, the candidate Quality,

recruitment and selectivity. I feel that this was an important standard to include as DASA is a
professional development, and this standard states that candidates are selected based on their quality

of development and ongoing learning.

ILA Standards

The International Literacy Association has broken down its categories into 7 standards. The ILA

standards help define the importance of literacy development and usage in the classroom. For the

purpose of this artifact, I would like to connect standard # 4: Diversity and Equality. I feel that this

standard connects very well with this artifact as it puts emphasis on diversity in the classroom. The

DASA certification has taught me how to help explain the importance of diversity to all students in the

classroom.

CEC Standards

The Council for Exceptional Children created standards that help support and define the

responsibilities that educators have for exceptional children. The CEC standards are broken down into

12 standards, and for the purpose of this artifact, I would like to include standard #8, which states that

the educator will not tolerate any behavior that hurts a child with an exceptionality. This standard

relates directly to my DASA certification process aims to help prepare educators with working directly

with the laws and policies put in to place to help combat bullying, harassment and discrimination.
[Back to Table of Contents]

Artifact # 7- Cyber Safety Presentation

Overview

The next artifact that I would like to introduce is my Cyber Safety Presentation that I created for

my class in technology. In this course, we created a Cyber Safety presentation that we were expected to

attach to our Weebly website to help educate students on the importance of cyber safety. With the drastic

shift to a technological world, students need to be educated on the risks of using the web. With an

increase in the use of social media, students need to know how to protect themselves from being a victim,

as well as how to not be a bully themselves. This presentation was created using Prezi, and it serves as a

quick reminder to students to understand how to use the internet and social media wisely.

Connection to Standards

INSTAC Standards

The New York State Code of Ethics for Educators are broken down into 6 principles. The

purpose of these principles is to provide a public statement of principles and expectations that help to

guide an educator throughout their career. For the purpose of this artifact, I would like to connect
INSTAC standard # 1: Learner Development. This standard is important and relates to this artifact as it

helps students development in the area of technology, social media and overall cyber safety.

NYS Code of Ethics for Educators

The New York State Code of Ethics for Educators are broken down into 6 principles. The

purpose of these principles is to provide a public statement of principles and expectations that help to

guide an educator throughout their career. For the purpose of this artifact, I would like to attach standard

# 2, which states the importance implementing programs or areas of awareness in this case, to human

development. Students need to understand the implications with using the internet and social media sites,

as well as the risk factors that could hinder their development if not used cautiously.

Ontario Teacher Ethics

The Ontario Teacher Code of Ethics are important to the field of education as they help identify

the different qualities of an educator. I have chosen to align the ethic of Care with tis artifact because by

showing your students that you care, I believe that you can help establish all the other ethics. By creating

a cyber safety presentation, I am showing them that I care about their overall well-being.

CAEP/ISTE Standard

The ISTE standards are broken up in to 7 different standards that relate the student. I would like

to connect this artifact with standard # 2: Digital Citizen. According to this standard, Students should

know and understand their responsibilities while living in the digital world. This artifact on cyber safety

that I have created serves to educate students on how to be aware of the risks of technology and the cyber

world.

ILA Standards

The International Literacy Association has broken down its categories into 7 standards. The ILA

standards help define the importance of literacy development and usage in the classroom. I would like to
connect standard #5 to my presentation on Cyber Safety. By creating this Cyber Safety Presentation, I

have aimed to meet the needs of learners in the digital world by educating them about safety in the cyber

world.

CEC Standards

The Council for Exceptional Children created standards that help support and define the

responsibilities that educators have for exceptional children. The CEC standards are broken down into 12

standards, and for the purpose of this artifact, I would like to include standard # 7, which states,

“protecting and supporting the physical and psychological safety of individuals with exceptionalities”

(CEC). This presentation aims to support all students, including students with exceptionalities, for the

safe use of internet and social media.