2.

4 Candidates model and facilitate the effective use of digital tools and resources to support and
enhance higher order thinking skills; processes; and mental habits of mind.

Description

The Internet Lesson Plan artifact created for ITEC 7430 Internet Tools for the Classroom

course was designed to incorporate research-based learning strategies using effective digital tools

in an effort to support and enhance higher order thinking skills, processes, and mental habits.

The purpose of this artifact was to engage the students in effective ways to use digital tools for

productivity, collaboration, and creativity. Through creating a WikiSpaces page as well as a

podcast to demonstrate mastery of social studies content the students were able to show their

creativity through different media outlets as well as develop strong higher order thinking skills

through the use of online tools. In applying the social studies content learned about European

Explorers, the students were able to promote creativity with their application by using various

digital tools.

Throughout this project students demonstrated higher order thinking skills, processes, and

mental habits through applying, analyzing, and creating through the use of digital tools. Using

Office 365 to create and collaborate on writing pieces, decide and problem solve the best ways to

utilize Google Tour Builder, and reflect on their work through creating a podcast allowed for my

students to gain a deeper understanding of how best to use these digital tools to foster their

critical thinking skills.

To address concerns with the diversity of the students within my classroom, I

differentiated the product to create a TED Talk type video rather than a writing piece and

podcast. This allowed for all of my students to demonstrate their knowledge in the manner that

best represented them as well as provide them with ownership of their learning. Having a

differentiated option proved to be just as successful for the students who needed it as the other
component for the other students. The students who utilized the TED Talk option proved to use

their critical thinking skills in the same manner as the students who chose different tools to use

for their projects.

Standard Mastery

The Internet Lesson Plan artifact demonstrates mastery of the standard through utilizing

effective digital tools to support critical thinking skills, processes, and habits of mind. Through

facilitating my students they were able to demonstrate their ability to problem solve by working

with the Google Tour Builder digital tool. By using this digital tool the students had to decide

and problem solve the best course of action for creating the route their explorer traveled. In

facilitating this learning experience I was able to assist my students with developing deeper

problem solving and decision making skills.

In using Microsoft Office 365 software, my students were able to develop self-regulation

and metacognitive skills through collaborating with their peers particularly demonstrating

reflective practices. In developing these reflective practices, my students further investigated

their own learning and thinking in relation to the best ways to complete the project. To address

mental habits of mind, my students were given learning opportunities to foster their creative

thinking through creating podcasts as well as exploring Google Tour Builder. ISTE standards

for students states that students need to become empowered learners through creating digital

learning environments that allow for the increased use of creative practices and high order

thinking skills. This project allowed for my students to become empowered learners through the

use of these digital tools.

At the completion of the project, I next collaborated with my colleagues in order to share

my ideas and gain feedback from other perspectives. In modeling this learning opportunity, my
colleagues also gained a better understanding of the importance of incorporating these digital

tool in order to foster higher order thinking, problem solving, and creativity. To address any

concerns my colleagues had about diverse students within their classrooms, I was able to model

the most effective ways to ensure all students were able to apply the learned content through the

use of digital tools while the teacher was the facilitator.

Learning Gained

The Internet Lesson Plan artifact provided me with numerous learning situations.

Fostering higher order thinking skills is always a goal of any educator, but oftentimes can be

difficult to implement in today’s stricter classroom setups. By utilizing these digital tools, I

gained a new perspective on the importance of providing learning opportunities to foster

creativity. This project proved to truly engage my students and allow for them to challenge their

limits in order to demonstrate these higher order thinking skills in a dependent way. Decision

making skills were also addressed through collaborative work, which taught myself and my

students how to best collaborate with each other as well as best ways to incorporate all ideas

presented. Initially I was a bit apprehensive that many students would not be able to collaborate

effectively to make the best decisions for their project, but I was pleased to see how little

assistance they needed from me as well as how deeply invested they were in collaborating with

each other. Learning this concept was certainly the most impactful and promoted me to insist on

providing more of these learning opportunities with my students in future lessons.

In reflecting on my experience through the creation of this artifact, I would like to

develop the area of differentiation a bit further. I did provide a differentiated option with

creating a TED Talk activity versus a written activity, but I feel that these students may need

more support. To better utilize our time, I would invest in the help of our EIP teacher to revisit
the explorer content within her small groups in order to provide a more clear comprehension of

the content for these students. By doing this I will ensure that all of my students regardless of

learning level will be successful with this project.

Impact on School Improvement, Faculty Development, or Student Learning

In providing opportunities for my students to demonstrate their knowledge gained

through digital tools that support higher order thinking skills, there is a tremendous impact on

student learning. This impact encompasses metacognitive processes where the students develop

ownership of their learning through reflective practices and in turn invest in more engaging

opportunities in order to challenge themselves. In developing metacognitive skills, my students

then grow their drive to be successful which contributes largely to school improvement. Sharing

our strategies and engaging opportunities allows for others to see the deep learning that occurs at

our school. This certainly helps with school improvement, but also impacts faculty development

as more teachers will find the need to provide more of these engaging opportunities within their

own classrooms.

References

ISTE Standards for STUDENTS. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-

students