Electronic Interaction

My electronic interaction took place on wikispaces.com on shifthappens. After being accepted into shifthappens I sent a mass e-mail to all members of shifthappens and received a reply. My reply was from Barry Jahn of Salem, OR. He is currently a professor a George Fox University where he teaches ED 556 (Pedagogy- Technology focus). He has been an educator for over 35 years, and developed an award winning technology based program for Talented and Gifted Math students in grades 4 and 5 in his school district. Mr. Jahn is presently researching Web2.0 tools and how to integrate them into F2F and eLearning environments. He was a Lead Developer and Reviewer for creating online courses that utilize these tools. He also travels around in order to do presentations and workshops at conferences and school districts around the state. Mr. Jahn has a very impressive vita, which can be viewed on his google site barryjahn.com.

During our interaction I asked Mr. Jahn "How is technology changing education?". He replied, "This is a very broad question." He then went on to inform me that if there were a simple answer he suggest the National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators (NETS) for students, teachers and administrators. Mr. Jahn states, "I'm a firm believer in these goals and have participated on teams that helped derive them and improve them over the years". These standards are set by the International Society for Technology in Education, which has served as a road map since 1998 for improved teaching and learning by educators. These standards help to measure proficiency and set goals for knowledge, skills and attitudes need to succeed in today's Digital Age.

In Mr. Jahn's blog, Barry's E-Learning Resources he posts related materials about his research on Web2.0 Tools and links to innovative uses in education.

This contact was very beneficial to me as an educator. By knowing about this information and standards this will allow me the resources I need to actively integrate technology in the classroom.