Standard+9

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__**9 Teachers are able to evaluate themselves **__ The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on pupils, parents, professionals in the learning community and others and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.

Evidence 9: [|RSS Feed Introduction PowerPoint]

Rationale 9: During my master’s program, I developed an interest in wanting to stay up-to-date with technology used in education in order to be introduced to new ideas for integration and use with students. In order to meet this desire for new knowledge I started attending the Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association Conference. The new knowledge and ideas from this conference that I have integrated into my own professional development, as well as into my classroom, have provided me with a leadership opportunity in my district to share and train other educators.

Upon attending the conference and networking with so many other educators and leaders in educational technology, I started using RSS feeds and iGoogle in order to follow those individuals’ blogs and bookmarks. Every time I open my internet browser I am exposed to new ideas and research from various outlets. I reflect on their use in my classroom and professional development to determine if I should look into them further or move on to other topics. Because I attended the conference, I have had the opportunity to train other teachers in my district on the use of RSS feeds and creating personalized learning networks in order to find more ideas for technology integration in their own classrooms. The RSS Feeds PowerPoint evidence was used in this training of teachers. It introduced the teachers to the concept of RSS feeds and their advantages to educators. The increased use of personalized learning networks by teachers in our district will lead to more students experiencing more engaging lessons and assessments using technology.

KSD 9.K.3 The teacher is aware of major areas of research on teaching and other resources for professional learning (e.g. professional literature, colleagues, professional associations, professional development activities).

The use of RSS feeds from technology associations, content associations, and leaders in the field of education brings new and relevant information to my desktop and the desktops of those educators in my district that I have trained. Using the tool iGoogle as a homepage with relevant RSS feeds has increased my exposure and other teachers’ exposure to research, development and advancement in technology and education.

9.S.4 The teacher draws upon professional colleagues within the school and other professional areas as supports for reflection, problem-solving and new ideas, actively sharing experiences and seeking and giving feedback.

The increased exposure to educational technology through the use of RSS feeds had created more conversation about increasing student achievement using technology among the staff in my building. This has also created a spark for more teachers in our district to want to attend professional learning opportunities like WEMTA, SLATE (School Leaders Advancing Technology Through Education) and Project TILT through our CESA.

9.D.5 The teacher recognizes his/her professional responsibility for engaging in and supporting appropriate professional practices for self and colleagues.

An important goal in education is to create life long learners. The best way to inspire students to achieve this goal is to model it for them. The face of students we see in classrooms and the society they live in are constantly changing, therefore it is important to continue to learn new ways to engage them throughout one’s professional career. Student interest in learning links directly to determining relevance of the material in their life. An educator must engage in continual professional development in order stay in touch with what is relevant and useful for students’ lives. Using technology like RSS feeds to learn from other colleagues’ experiences and educational research is one way to obtain an appropriate perspective of quality education.