This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
The


Project: Bridging the


21things Digital Divide


By Carolyn McCarthy, Jennifer Parker-Moore, Melissa White


The digital divide is real and cuts a gulf between young teachers who are tech savvy, older ones who are less


so, and the students who have become the techno-generation. Further complicating the mix is the inability to truly gauge the technology proficiency of teachers and administrators’ across the State based on a common assessment. Although Michigan requires reporting of Personnel Skilled in Technology in the REP on December 1st


of each year, the reporting of technology


proficiency of teachers, administrators, media specialists, and other staff comes with few guidelines. Based on local district interpretation, for years districts have responded by reporting proficiency in the REP in a variety of ways. Some districts reported the staff was proficient in the use of technology because all staff had email addresses. Other districts reported proficiency based on a network logins or usage statistics. Still others reported proficiency based on local surveys created by


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technology coordinators. Regretfully, few districts reported technology proficiency based on the ability of district staff to meet the National Educational Technology Standards.


In the hopes of a common assessment in technology proficiency, the REMC association endorsed the use of the 21things4teachers Pre-Assessment and in the Fall of 2010 piloted statewide use of the survey. Notably, Michigan educators reported limited or no knowledge of the following tools and technologies deemed “basic” based on the National Educational Technology Standards: creating a web page, rubrics, course management systems, blogging, collaboration, digital storytelling, critical evaluation, classroom responders, graphic organizers, data warehousing, digital citizenship, social bookmarking, distance learning, video conferencing, podcasting, citations, differentiation, file conversion, RSS, screen-casting, copyright, and word clouds.


Fall 2011 | MACULJOURNAL


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