Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to participate as a guest judge for NETA contests with the NETA board. Each person that I met was incredibly welcoming and both open and respectful while listening to ideas. It was an honor to have the chance to experience productive struggle with many of my personal celebrities as we judged a broad variety of grant and contest submissions. I left with many take-aways, and after a week of reflection, will attempt to explain my thoughts.
I began on a committee that was judging teacher submissions for NETA Grants. As someone who has considered submitting my own grant, this was a unique opportunity. In this category, there were many well-planned submissions, so our committee found it difficult to narrow it down to three winners. One thing that stood out about the
winners was that their projects utilized networking across districts, ages, and countries. Not only did the projects connect to state standards, they provided the chance for students to grow into digital citizens as they participated in the projects. I am excited to follow these teachers and watch for their results next year at NETA.
After judging a wide variety of interactive media and still images from students from K-12, I found that I was left with a few questions. Although there were some categories that had many strong submissions, there were others that had few submissions and some that did not fit the criteria for judging. I continue to wonder about the underlying reasons for the lack of submissions. It is possible that teachers are unaware of the contests or some categories are not as relevant with current technology and state standards, but I wonder if there are larger underlying reasons.
As a classroom teacher who has not submitted student work, my main reason is fear that my students' work is not high enough quality. I have many
digital student products, but I am not confident submitting most into contests. Any time I complete digital projects with students, I feel that we are on a time crunch to get back to the "real" work of prepping for assessments. As a result, our projects do not typically receive the time, feedback from a diverse audience, or polishing that I feel they deserve. Maybe I am over-complicating things and I just need to be brave and submit work, but this is where I am at right now. I wonder if other teachers struggle with the same problem as they navigate the ever-changing balancing act of achieving favorable test results and providing real learning opportunities for students, where individuals can shine.
My final observation after judging with the NETA board is how inspired I felt after a few hours of interaction with like-minded professionals. I left feeling recharged and excited about my role as a teacher. The NETA board members are passionate about education and are not afraid to push themselves and others outside of their comfort zones to do what is best for students--to participate in giving students the tools and authentic opportunities they need to become responsible digital citizens that possess an understanding of how to use technology to make the world a better place to live. With this goal in mind, I have spent the past week working on projects, researching, and participating in twitter chats. I am more determined than ever to take advantage of my role as a teacher leader in the area of educational technology, and can't wait to see what the next few months hold as I continue this process.
If you are a teacher and have considered submitting a NETA grant or student contest, here are a few tips that I would share:
NETA Grants
*Research the technology that you are requesting
*Clearly explain the timeline and budget and include links to applicable websites
*Narrow down your topic and make a well-defined request
*Choose a project that is unique and could truly be enhanced with the requested technology
*Think big picture: How will your project impact students now and in the future?
*Bonus: Find ways to collaborate between grade levels, schools, or districts
NETA Contests
*Choose 1-3 of your best student projects to submit
*Find a contest category that best fits your student-created projects
*Submit projects that show depth of learning
*Share NETA contests with your colleagues to increase awareness!
*Submit!
