Justification

Proficiency E: 
Use information technologies to support student problem solving, data collection, information management, communications, presentations, and decision making including word processing, database management, spreadsheets, and graphic utilities.

Creates learning situations in which students use the unique capabilities of instructional technology to learn in ways they could not achieve without use of technology on a regular basis
For the students to feel comfortable with computers, they had to regularly visit the computer lab. On average, the students spent two days per week, with at least an hour per visit, in the lab. This included not only my lessons, but Mr. Robertson's, who took the students to the lab once a week to reinforce their email skills. Such frequent visits to the lab resulted in most students understanding how to promptly log in to the network. Most also committed their username and passwords (both network and email) to memory. They ultimately became adept at entering web sites, sending email, and locating information.

Encourages and guides students as they devise their own uses of instructional technology in learning. 
In the USA Scavenger hunt activity, students had to find answers to questions ranging from what is the latest state quarter produced by the U.S. Mint to what is the zip code for Hot Coffee, Mississippi. This activity required them to use site navigation to find information. The more they searched, the better their location skills became. The same applies to the assignment where the students requested online tourist bureau information (Information Please!). Students worked in pairs, alternating between the recorder/typist and information-giver roles. They did this for five regions throughout the unit. By the time they requested information about states in the fifth region, they knew what information to provide in the form, how to use pull down menus, and how to submit information and obtain a confirmation. Some students found shortcuts to obtain information. For instance, many times answers to questions asked on worksheets could be found in Mr. Robertson's Surfin' USA web site. Instead of trying to recall information from a lesson, several students turned directly to the web site and immediately found the answers. Other students found shortcuts to send emails (such as a classroom list that allowed students to "check off" the recipients for their emails in www.gaggle.net as opposed to having type the entire email address in the "To:" box). And, often students sent emails from home, which meant they had to recall information learned in class when using their home computers.

Encourages peer learning to enhance technology capabilities of students.
Several of my lessons dealt with more than one concept. For instance, the regional scavenger hunts required that the students read questions from a worksheet, find the appropriate page on an Internet site, and read the content on the web page to find the answer. Because the students were coming to the table with different computer skills and therefore, could learn from each other, I had them work in pairs for this activity. They also worked in pairs when requesting information from state tourist bureaus. While they initially felt somewhat overwhelmed in this last activity, the cooperative learning paid off; by the end of the unit, many students completed this assignment early. Lastly, there was "virtual" peer learning taking place in the emails that the students sent to each other.

Is able to facilitate student technology use that may go beyond personal knowledge of tools and applications when appropriate for student learning. 
I encouraged every student who said he or she couldn't do something on the PC. Every step forward was a step closer to pushing the envelope with these students and that was important. The students progressed from taking five to ten minutes to log into the computer network, to accomplishing this, plus starting the electronic lesson, within the first few minutes of class. Students that completed assignments early were told to continue exploring sites available in Mr. Robertson's Surfin' USA web site. Links to one site led to students to explore other related links in their search for more information. They were truly interested in learning more about the subject area, as well as what the computer could do for them.