ISTE Blog Post Week 2

#EDU643 #Week2

The past week in EDU 643 was centered around learning management systems and exploring the various features that many popular platforms implement. While critiquing which LMS would work best in our individual classrooms, we were fulfilling several of the ISTE standards, namely those focused on students as empowered learners or global collaborators. To elaborate, while creating the LMS Evaluation Grid as part of the 3-2-1 protocol, we were analyzing and evaluating the different platforms based on a set of 8 different sets of criteria. This criteria included concepts such as course design, ease of use, accessibility, and functionality. We were encouraged to think of the different ways in which our students would interact with the platform we selected, as well as ways in which we could differentiate instruction for them while utilizing the tool.

In a way, this could be related directly to each of the ISTE standards. However, there are a few standards that this research embodies the most. These include ISTE Standard 1b, “Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process”, as well as ISTE Standard 1c, “Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways”. It also includes ISTE Standard 1d, “Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies”, along with ISTE Standard 7b, "Students use collaborative technologies to work with others, including peers, experts or community members, to examine issues and problems from multiple viewpoints”.

When I look back upon Week 2 of EDU 643, there are not any ideas that we explored or assignments that we completed that cannot be aligned to at least some portion of the ISTE standards. However, with that being said, I feel some discussions (i.e. our Zoom meeting) and activities were more helpful than others when it comes to fulfilling the ISTE Standards. For instance, the second step of the 3-2-1 protocol, or where we created the LMS graphic organizer, felt somewhat redundant. I feel as if I did a fairly in-depth analysis of the learning management systems while creating the evaluation grid, after which I knew what singular system I planned to select moving forward. On the whole, however, I feel as if this past week allowed me to branch out and explore educational platforms that I would not have looked at otherwise. It made me really appreciate Schoology and the flexibility that it provides teachers with while creating their online courses.