Embedding Tech Standards into a Non-Tech-Class Unit Plan

Technology standards are currently so broad and all-embracing that embedding them into a semester of Science was a natural fit. I think this reflects the fact that the tech standards define themselves as tools for a set of skills that are universal (as far as education is concerned).

For example, communication is a standard that probably exists in every content area. In the case of science, communication is one of the important parts. After all, it's been said scientific research is worth very little if it isn't communicated to others. So meeting the communication standard of technology is easy. The added bonus of blogs and similar technology is that students can communicate their experiments to others who have not witnessed their experiments. In my current classroom, communication is somewhat artificial because the students and I conduct the same experiment and all know what our results. My hope is that by communicating with a classroom of students who were not involved in the same experiment, their communication becomes more authentic. I would hope students to see what it means to explain procedures and results clearly and why it's necessary.

The standard of collaboration was also an easy fit for science experiments and one that seems applicable to many school assignments. 6th grade science is not an one-student affair. Students work with a partner to conduct experiments. Linking two classrooms with blogs allows my students to solicit feedback about hypotheses and experimental designs from other students with different perspectives. Collaboration in 6th grade science has a chance to expand outside the classroom walls.

Ultimately, embedding a technology standard into a non-technology course is as natural as embedding a standard about students using language (e.g. how to explain, persuade, etc.) into any course besides English. Technology, or language, gets used across the curriculum regularly without standards being identified, because technology or language is a tool. The technology standards are written in a way that makes them easy to identify as being used in a content area classroom.