Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:

a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.

FastDirect is the portal used at my school to email with parents and colleagues. It is not only a communication tool, but also an online planner and gradebook. I believe its best feature is that parents have access to view their child's progress, which enables several monitors and allows for great communication between school and home. Another communication tool is publishing the school's weekly newsletter to give parents additional access to school information. While we still print out a hard copy of the newsletter, we've had positive reception to transferring printed word to an electronic format. Maintaining the school website is a task I view necessary to keep parents informed of school news.

Eight years ago, I built my first school website using Cutesite Builder by GlobalSCAPE. Since that time, I have learned to design and publish websites using CoffeCup's Visual Site Designer, Dreamweaver, and Google Sites. Teaching these website design tools to my students is a challenge that I enjoy, and I often learn new ideas and methods through student exploration. We teach each other. I believe web publication is a tremendous means to develop cognitive skills, and it gives them the opportunity to express on a global scale.

b. collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation

When asked to lead an effort for local education about the Tour of Missouri bicycle race in which my town was a host city, I suggested a digital resource that all the schools could access easily. I gathered pertinent online information and created a hybrid WebQuest that served as an activity resource for teachers to use to educate students in preparation for the event.

Students gain immeasurable confidence when they participate in community events and see that they make valuable contributions. Conducting personal interviews allows them to understand their role as members of the community and develops leadership and confidence. Transcription of the interviews from video to text format is another terrific activity to increase their listening, language, and keyboarding skills.

c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats

The first website I developed for the school was intended to function as a vehicle of information for all school members, whether they be faculty, students, or parents. Running a scrolling marque on the school's home page is not only eye-catching, but keeps current important information available quickly and efficiently.

Collecting and categorizing website URLs is another efficient means to provide easy access to needful information. It's important to keep these sites relevant and available so that all the users can find what they need when they need it. Because I am administrator of the site and have access to the site reports, I see that students use our website resources during their leisure time, which means they find the sites interesting.