Technology proficiency

We are about to start a new program at our school - a change in the way we handle "technology proficiency." And readers of this blog can help!

But first, some background. My school is a private pre-K to 12th grade school with about 540 students in the 9-12 grades, where I teach. Virtually all of our students are college-bound. For the past 10+ years, we have had a "technology proficiency" requirement for graduation, which could be met by taking a computer course or by passing a test.

Just about everybody involved hates this test. It is hard to schedule a time when students can take 2-3 hours to take it, and seems artificial and disconnected from the rest of the school curriculum. For the last ten years, it has been predominantly about using Microsoft Office, which only reflects one small aspect of what technology use is all about these days.

We wanted to change things to make them more relevant, more up-to-date, and, frankly, fairer. So this is what we came up with:

Students can still take a computer course, or they can do a technology project (or set of projects). The project(s) must fulfill three of the following four categories:
1. Using digital tools to do research and evaluating the veracity and integrity of the resources found on the web.
2. Using collaborative web 2.0 tools to reach outside of the classroom or to coordinate and collaborate with other students.
3. Demonstrate mastery of an application or web app.
4. Build and maintain a positive digital footprint.

This is new for us - it goes into effect this August. We'll have to see how it goes.

One of my goals for this blog is to spread the word about some of the work our students are doing and help solicit feedback on their postings. Tune in to see what they come up with!