Domain III: Competency 009 (PPR)

TEKS Technology requirements

§126.14. Technology Applications, Grade 6, Beginning with School Year 2012-2013. (a) General requirements. Districts have the flexibility of offering technology applications in a variety of settings. Districts are encouraged to offer technology applications in all content areas. This content may also be offered in a specific class while being integrated in all content areas. (b) Introduction. (1) The technology applications curriculum has six strands based on the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS•S) and performance indicators developed by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts. (2) Through the study of technology applications, students make informed decisions by understanding current and emerging technologies, including technology systems, appropriate digital tools, and personal learning networks. As competent researchers and responsible digital citizens, students use creative and computational thinking to solve problems while developing career and college readiness skills. (3) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples. (c) Knowledge and skills. (1) Creativity and innovation. The student uses creative thinking and innovative processes to construct knowledge, generate new ideas, and create products. The student is expected to: (A) identify, create, and use files in various formats such as text, raster and vector graphics, video, and audio files; (B) create original works as a means of personal or group expression; (C) explore complex systems or issues using models, simulations, and new technologies to make predictions, modify input, and review results; and (D) discuss trends and possible outcomes. (2) Communication and collaboration. The student collaborates and communicates both locally and globally to reinforce and promote learning. The student is expected to: (A) participate in personal learning networks to collaborate with peers, experts, or others using digital tools such as blogs, wikis, audio/video communication, or other emerging technologies; (B) communicate effectively with multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats; and (C) read and discuss examples of technical writing. (3) Research and information fluency. The student acquires, analyzes, and manages content from digital resources. The student is expected to: (A) create a research plan to guide inquiry; (B) discuss and use various search strategies, including keyword(s) and Boolean operators; (C) select and evaluate various types of digital resources for accuracy and validity; and (D) process data and communicate results. (4) Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. The student makes informed decisions by applying critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The student is expected to: (A) identify and define relevant problems and significant questions for investigation; (B) plan and manage activities to develop a solution, design a computer program, or complete a project; (C) collect and analyze data to identify solutions and make informed decisions; (D) use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions; (E) make informed decisions and support reasoning; and (F) transfer current knowledge to the learning of newly encountered technologies. (5) Digital citizenship. The student practices safe, responsible, legal, and ethical behavior while using technology tools and resources. The student is expected to: (A) understand copyright principles, including current laws, fair use guidelines, creative commons, open source, and public domain; (B) practice ethical acquisition of information and standard methods for citing sources; (C) practice safe and appropriate online behavior, personal security guidelines, digital identity, digital etiquette, and acceptable use of technology; and (D) understand the negative impact of inappropriate technology use, including online bullying and harassment, hacking, intentional virus setting, invasion of privacy, and piracy such as software, music, video, and other media. (6) Technology operations and concepts. The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. The student is expected to: (A) define and use current technology terminology appropriately; (B) select technology tools based on licensing, application, and support; (C) identify, understand, and use operating systems; (D) understand and use software applications, including selecting and using software for a defined task; (E) identify, understand, and use hardware systems; (F) understand troubleshooting techniques such as restarting systems, checking power issues, resolving software compatibility, verifying network connectivity, connecting to remote resources, and modifying display properties; (G) demonstrate effective file management strategies such as file naming conventions, location, backup, hierarchy, folder structure, file conversion, tags, labels, and emerging digital organizational strategies; (H) discuss how changes in technology throughout history have impacted various areas of study; (I) discuss the relevance of technology as it applies to college and career readiness, life-long learning, and daily living; (J) use a variety of local and remote input sources; (K) use keyboarding techniques and ergonomic strategies while building speed and accuracy; (L) create and edit files with productivity tools, including: (i) a word processing document using digital typography standards such as page layout, font formatting, paragraph formatting, and list attributes; (ii) a spreadsheet workbook using basic computational and graphic components such as basic formulas and functions, data types, and chart generation; (iii) a database by manipulating components such as entering and searching for relevant data; and (iv) a digital publication using relevant publication standards; (M) plan and create non-linear media projects using graphic design principles; and (N) integrate two or more technology tools to create a new digital product.

Grammar

1. mass noun The whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics.

Book trailer

A book trailer is a video advertisement for a book which employs techniques similar to those of movie trailers to promote books and encourage readers.

Browser

A browser is an application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web. The word "browser" seems to have originated prior to the Web as a generic term for user interfaces that let you browse (navigate through and read) text files online. Technically, a Web browser is a client program that uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to make requests of Web servers throughout the Internet on behalf of the browser user. Most browsers support e-mail and the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) but a Web browser is not required for those Internet protocols and more specialized client programs are more popular. The first Web browser, called WorldWideWeb, was created in 1990. That browser's name was changed to Nexus to avoid confusion with the developing information space known as the World Wide Web. The first Web browser with a graphical user interface was Mosaic, which appeared in 1993. Many of the user interface features in Mosaic went into Netscape Navigator. Microsoft followed with its Internet Explorer (IE). As of September 2006, Internet Explorer is the most commonly used browser, having won the so-called browser wars between IE and Netscape. Other browsers include: Firefox, which was developed from Mozilla (the open source version of Netscape). Flock, an open source browser based on Firefox and optimized for Web 2.0 features such as blogging and social bookmarking . Safari, a browser for Apple computers (at this writing, the third most popular browser). Lynx, a text-only browser for UNIX shell and VMS users. Opera, a fast and stable browser that's compatible with most relatively operating systems.

Joystick

A joystick is an input device commonly used to control video games. Joysticks consist of a base and a stick that can be moved in any direction. The stick can be moved slowly or quickly and in different amounts. Some joysticks have sticks that can also be rotated to the left or right. Because of the flexible movements a joystick allows, it can provide much greater control than the keys on a keyboard. Joysticks typically include several buttons as well. Most joysticks have at least one button on the top of the stick and another button in the front of the stick for the trigger. Many joysticks also include other buttons on the base that can be pressed using the hand that is not guiding the stick. Joysticks typically connect to your computer using a basic USB or serial port connection and often come with software that allows you to assign the function of each button. Since joysticks emulate the controls of planes and other aircraft, they are best suited for flight simulators and flying action games. However, some gamers like to use joysticks for other types of video games, such as first-person shooters and fighting games. Others prefer using the basic keyboard and mouse, with which they are already accustomed to.

Slide Show

A series of slides displayed in a sequence; this is controlled manually or automatically.

Table

A table is an arrangement of information in rows and columns containing cells that make comparing and contrasting information easier. As you can see in the following example, the data are much easier to read than they would be in a list containing that same data.

Tablet

A tablet, or tablet PC, is a portable computer that uses a touchscreen as its primary input device. Most tablets are slightly smaller and weigh less than the average laptop. While some tablets include fold out keyboards, others, such as the Apple iPad and Motorola Xoom, only offer touchscreen input. Early tablet touchscreens were designed to work with light pens, but most modern tablets support human touch input. Many tablets now support multitouch input, which allows you to perform gestures with multiple fingers, such as pinching an image to zoom out, or spreading your fingers apart to zoom in. Tablets without physical keyboards allow you to enter text using a pop-up keyboard that appears on the screen. Since tablets do not use a traditional keyboard and mouse as their primary forms of input, the user interface of a tablet is different than a typical laptop. For example, instead of double-clicking to open a program, most applications open with a single tap. Instead of clicking on a scroll bar to scroll through a window, most tablet applications allow you to swipe up and down anywhere within a window to scroll through the content. Since tablet PCs provide a different interface than traditional computers, they offer unique possibilities for graphics applications, games, and other programs. Because of their small form factor, they are extremely portable and can be easily stowed in a backpack or a briefcase. Still, because tablets lack a keyboard and mouse, some tasks such as typing documents and writing email messages, are more difficult on tablets than traditional computers. Therefore, tablets are generally seen as accessories to laptops and desktop computers rather than replacements.

Search engine

A web search engine is a software system that is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are generally presented in a line of results often referred to as search engine results pages (SERPs). The information may be a mix of web pages, images, and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories. Unlike web directories, which are maintained only by human editors, search engines also maintain real-time information by running an algorithm on a web crawler.

Website

A website is a collection of related web pages, including multimedia content, typically identified with a common domain name, and published on at least one web server. A website may be accessible via a public Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the Internet, or a private local area network (LAN), by referencing a uniform resource locator (URL) that identifies the site. Websites have many functions and can be used in various fashions; a website can be a personal website, a commercial website for a company, a government website or a non-profit organization website. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, ranging from entertainment and social networking to providing news and education. All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web, while private websites, such as a company's website for its employees, are typically a part of an intranet. Web pages, which are the building blocks of websites, are documents, typically composed in plain text interspersed with formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, XHTML). They may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable markup anchors. Web pages are accessed and transported with the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which may optionally employ encryption (HTTP Secure, HTTPS) to provide security and privacy for the user. The user's application, often a web browser, renders the page content according to its HTML markup instructions onto a display terminal. Hyperlinking between web pages conveys to the reader the site structure and guides the navigation of the site, which often starts with a home page containing a directory of the site web content. Some websites require user registration or subscription to access content. Examples of subscription websites include many business sites, news websites, academic journal websites, gaming websites, file-sharing websites, message boards, web-based email, social networking websites, websites providing real-time stock market data, as well as sites providing various other services. As of 2016 end users can access websites on a range of devices, including desktop and laptop computers, tablet computers, smartphones and smart TVs.

Standard F:

The beginning teacher: Knows how to incorporate the effective use of current technology; use technology applications in problem-solving and decision-making situations; implement activities that emphasize collaboration and teamwork; and use developmentally appropriate instructional practices, activities and materials to integrate the Technology Applications TEKS into the curriculum.

Standard D:

The beginning teacher: Knows how to use task-appropriate tools and procedures to synthesize knowledge, create and modify solutions and evaluate results to support the work of individuals and groups in problem-solving situations and project-based learning activities (e.g., planning, creating and editing word processing documents, spreadsheet documents and databases; using graphic tools; participating in electronic communities as learner, initiator and contributor; sharing information through online communication).

Attachments

An attachment, or email attachment, is a file sent with an email message. It may be an image, video, text document, or any other type of file. Most email clients and webmail systems allow you to send and receive attachments. To send an attachment along with your email, you can use the "Attach" command, then browse to the file you want to attach. In some email interfaces, you can simply drag a file into the message window to attach it. When you receive an attachment, most email programs allow you to view the attachment in place or save it to your local storage device. While modern email programs make it easy to send and receive attachments, the original email system (SMTP) was actually not designed to handle binary files. Therefore, attachments must be encoded as text in order to be transferred with an email message. The most common encoding type is MIME (Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extensions). While MIME encoding makes it possible to send messages with emails, it typically increases the file size of the attachment about 30%. That's why when you attach a file to an email message, the file size of the attachment appears larger than the original file. You can attach multiple files to a single email message. However, the maximum size of the combined attachments is limited by the sending and receiving mail servers. In other words, the size of the attachment(s) after being encoded cannot be larger than the limit of either the outgoing or incoming mail server. In the early days of email, attachments were limited to one megabyte (1 MB). Today, many mail servers allow attachments larger than 20 MB. However, to protect against viruses and malware, many mail servers will not accept executable file types, such as .EXE or .PIF files. If you need to send an executable file to someone, you can compress the file as a .ZIP archive before attaching it to the email message. NOTE: Even a large amount of text takes up a small amount of space compared to most binary files. Therefore, attaching a document to an email may increase the size substantially. For example, a typical email may only require one kilobyte (1 KB) of disk space. Attaching a single 1 MB file will make the message 1,000 times larger. Therefore, it is best to share large files using another method like FTP or DropBox. Additionally, if you have almost reached your email quota on your mail server, you can free up a lot of space by deleting old attachments.

Output device

An output device is any device used to send data from a computer to another device or user. Most computer data output that is meant for humans is in the form of audio or video. Thus, most output devices used by humans are in these categories. Examples include monitors, projectors, speakers, headphones and printers.

Communication skills

Are skills that help a person share feelings, thoughts, and information with others.

Standard B:

The beginning teacher: Understands issues related to the appropriate use of technology in society and follows guidelines for the legal and ethical use of technology and digital information (e.g., privacy guidelines, copyright laws, acceptable use policies).

Standard E:

The beginning: Knows how to use productivity tools to communicate information in various formats (e.g., slide show, multimedia presentation, newsletter) and applies procedures for publishing information in various ways (e.g., printed copy, monitor display, Internet document, video).

Checklist

Checklists, rating scales and rubrics are tools that state specific criteria and allow teachers and students to gather information and to make judgements about what students know and can do in relation to the outcomes. They offer systematic ways of collecting data about specific behaviours, knowledge and skills. The quality of information acquired through the use of checklists, rating scales and rubrics is highly dependent on the quality of the descriptors chosen for assessment. Their benefit is also dependent on students' direct involvement in the assessment and understanding of the feedback provided. The purpose of checklists, rating scales and rubrics is to: provide tools for systematic recording of observations provide tools for self-assessment provide samples of criteria for students prior to collecting and evaluating data on their work record the development of specific skills, strategies, attitudes and behaviours necessary for demonstrating learning clarify students' instructional needs by presenting a record of current accomplishments.

WiFi

Definition of: Wi-Fi Wi-Fi The standard wireless local area network (WLAN) technology for connecting computers and myriad electronic devices to each other and to the Internet. Wi-Fi is the wireless version of a wired Ethernet network, and it is commonly deployed alongside it (see Ethernet). Every laptop, tablet and smartphone comes with Wi-Fi, as well as most security cameras and home theater devices. Printers and scanners may also support Wi-Fi, and home appliances increasingly use it for control and notifications. Although it must have been inspired by "high fidelity" (hi-fi), the name does not mean "wireless fidelity." To learn how Wi-Fi fits into the home and office, see wireless LAN, wireless router and Wi-Fi hotspot. Wi-Fi Is Officially IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi is the common name for the IEEE 802.11 standard. For details and history of Wi-Fi, see 802.11 and 802.11 versions. The Wi-Fi Alliance certifies that network devices comply with the IEEE 802.11 standards. See Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, Passive Wi-Fi, Muni Wi-Fi, wireless mesh network, Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet and cellular vs. Wi-Fi.

Download

Download can be used as either a verb or a noun. As a verb, it refers to the process of receiving data over the Internet. Downloading is the opposite of uploading, or sending data to another system over the Internet. As a noun, download may refer to either a file that is retrieved from the Internet or the process of downloading a file. Every time you use the Internet, you download data. For example, each time you visit a webpage, your computer or mobile device must download the HTML, CSS, images, and any other relevant data in order to display the page in your web browser. When you click a "Download Now" link, your browser will start downloading a specific file that you can open. You can also download data using mediums besides the web. For example, you can download files using an FTP program, download email messages with an email client, and download software updates directly through your operating system. You can manually initiate a download (such as clicking a download link), though most downloads happen automatically. For example, your smartphone may download email messages and software updates in the background without you knowing it. While you can download a file, the word "download" may also refer to the file itself. A common way you might see "download" used as a noun is in an online advertisement that says, "Free Download." This phrase implies that clicking the download link will download a file (often a software program or installer) and use it for free. The noun "download" can also be used like the word "transfer" to describe the process of downloading data. For example, a program may display a status update that says, "Download in progress" or "Download complete."

Google Docs

Google Docs is a free Web-based application in which documents and spreadsheets can be created, edited and stored online. Files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection and a full-featured Web browser. Google Docs is a part of a comprehensive package of online applications offered by and associated with Google. Users of Google Docs can import, create, edit and update documents and spreadsheets in various fonts and file formats, combining text with formulas, lists, tables and images. Google Docs is compatible with most presentation software and word processor applications. Work can be published as a Web page or as a print-ready manuscript. Users can control who sees their work. Google Docs is ideal for publishing within an enterprise, maintaining blogs or composing work for viewing by the general public. Google Docs lends itself to collaborative projects in which multiple authors work together in real time from geographically diverse locations. All participants can see who made specific document changes and when those alterations were done. Because documents are stored online and can also be stored on users' computers, there is no risk of total data loss as a result of a localized catastrophe. However, the Internet-based nature of Google Docs has given rise to concerns among some authors that their work may not be private or secure.

Input device

In computing, an input device is a (piece of computer hardware equipment) used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system such as a computer or information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, mouse, scanners, digital cameras and joysticks.

Rubric

In education terminology, rubric means "a scoring guide used to evaluate the quality of students' constructed responses". Rubrics usually contain evaluative criteria, quality definitions for those criteria at particular levels of achievement, and a scoring strategy. They are often presented in table format and can be used by teachers when marking, and by students when planning their work. A scoring rubric is an attempt to communicate expectations of quality around a task. In many cases, scoring rubrics are used to delineate consistent criteria for grading. Because the criteria are public, a scoring rubric allows teachers and students alike to evaluate criteria, which can be complex and subjective. A scoring rubric can also provide a basis for self-evaluation, reflection, and peer review. It is aimed at accurate and fair assessment, fostering understanding, and indicating a way to proceed with subsequent learning/teaching. This integration of performance and feedback is called ongoing assessment or formative assessment. Several common features of scoring rubrics can be distinguished, according to Bernie Dodge and Nancy Pickett: focus on measuring a stated objective (performance, behavior, or quality) use a range to rate performance contain specific performance characteristics arranged in levels indicating either the developmental sophistication of the strategy used or the degree to which a standard has been met.

Keywords

Keywords are words or phrases that describe content. They can be used as metadata to describe images, text documents, database records, and Web pages. A user may "tag" pictures or text files with keywords that are relevant to their content. Later on, these files may be searched using keywords, which can make finding files much easier. For example, a photographer may use a program like Extensis Portfolio or Apple iPhoto to tag his nature photos with words such as "nature," "trees," "flowers," "landscape," etc. By tagging the photos, he can later locate all the pictures of flowers by simply searching for the "flowers" keyword. Keywords are used on the Web in two different ways: 1) as search terms for search engines, and 2) words that identify the content of the website. 1) Search Engine Search Terms Whenever you search for something using a search engine, you type keywords that tell the search engine what to search for. For example, if you are searching for used cars, you may enter "used cars" as your keywords. The search engine will then return Web pages with content relevant to your search terms. The more specific keywords you use, the more specific (and useful) the results will be. Therefore, if you are searching for a specific used car, you may enter something like "black Honda Accord used car" to get more accurate results. Many search engines also support boolean operators that can be used along with keywords to further refine the search. For example, you may search for "Apple AND computers NOT fruit" if you only want results related to Apple products and not the kind of apples that grow on trees. 2) Web Page Description Terms Keywords can also describe the content of a Web page using the keyword meta tag. This tag is placed in the <head> section of a page's HTML and contains words that describe the content of the Web page. The purpose of the keywords meta tag is to help search engines identify and organize Web pages, like in the photos example above. However, because webmasters have been known to use inaccurate tags to get higher search engine ranking, many search engines now give little to no weight to the keywords meta tag when indexing pages.

Standard A:

The beginning teacher: Demonstrates knowledge of basic terms and concepts of current technology (e.g., hardware, software applications and functions, input/output devices, networks).

Standard H:

The beginning teacher: Identifies and addresses equity issues related to the use of technology.

Standard G:

The beginning teacher: Knows how to evaluate students' technologically produced products and projects using established criteria related to design, content delivery, audience and relevance to assignment.

Teamwork

Persons synergistically working together.

Search Engines

Search engines are programs that search documents for specified keywords and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found. A search engine is really a general class of programs, however, the term is often used to specifically describe systems like Google, Bing and Yahoo! Search that enable users to search for documents on the World Wide Web. Web Search Engines Typically, Web search engines work by sending out a spider to fetch as many documents as possible. Another program, called an indexer, then reads these documents and creates an index based on the words contained in each document. Each search engine uses a proprietary algorithm to create its indices such that, ideally, only meaningful results are returned for each query. As many website owners rely on search engines to send traffic to their website, and entire industry has grown around the idea of optimizing Web content to improve your placement in search engine results. Learn more about search engine optimization (SEO) in this Webopedia' definition.

USB port

Short for Universal Serial Bus, an external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of 12 Mbps. A single USB port can be used to connect up to 127 peripheral devices, such as mice, modems, and keyboards. USB also supports Plug-and-Play installation and hot plugging. Starting in 1996, a few computer manufacturers started including USB support in their new machines. It wasn't until the release of the best-selling iMac in 1998 that USB became widespread. It is expected to completely replace serial and parallel ports.

Collaboration

Simply defined, collaboration takes place when members of an inclusive learning community work together as equals to assist students to succeed in the classroom. This may be in the form of lesson planning with the special needs child in mind, or co-teaching a group or class. Friend and Cook (1992, p. 6 - 28) listed the defining characteristics of successful collaboration as follows: 1. Collaboration is voluntary; 2. Collaboration requires parity among participants; 3. Collaboration is based on mutual goals; 4. Collaboration depends on shared responsibility for participation and decision making; 5. Individuals who collaborate share their resources; and 6. Individuals who collaborate share accountability for outcomes.

Software

Sometimes abbreviated as SW and S/W, software is a collection of instructions that enable the user to interact with a computer, its hardware, or perform tasks. Without software, most computers would be useless. For example, without your Internet browser software, you could not surf the Internet or read this page and without an operating system, the browser could not run on your computer. The picture to the right shows a Microsoft Excel box, an example of a spreadsheet software program.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Stands for "Central Processing Unit." The CPU is the primary component of a computer that processes instructions. It runs the operating system and applications, constantly receiving input from the user or active software programs. It processes the data and produces output, which may stored by an application or displayed on the screen. The CPU contains at least one processor, which is the actual chip inside the CPU that performs calculations. For many years, most CPUs only had one processor, but now it is common for a single CPU to have at least two processors or "processing cores." A CPU with two processing cores is called a dual-core CPU and models with four cores are called quad-core CPUs. High-end CPUs may have six (hexa-core) or even eight (octo-core) processors. A computer may also have more than one CPU, which each have multiple cores. For example, a server with two hexa-core CPUs has a total of 12 processors. While processor architectures differ between models, each processor within a CPU typically has its own ALU, FPU, register, and L1 cache. In some cases, individual processing cores may have their own L2 cache, though they can also share the same L2 cache. A single frontside bus routes data between the CPU and the system memory. NOTE: The terms "CPU" and "processor" are often used interchangeably. Some technical diagrams even label individual processors as CPUs. While this verbiage is not incorrect, it is more accurate (and less confusing) to describe each processing unit as a CPU, while each processor within a CPU is a processing core.

Subjective assessment

Subjective assessment is a form of questioning which may have more than one correct answer (or more than one way of expressing the correct answer). There are various types of objective and subjective questions.

Internet

The Internet is a global wide area network that connects computer systems across the world. It includes several high-bandwidth data lines that comprise the Internet "backbone." These lines are connected to major Internet hubs that distribute data to other locations, such as web servers and ISPs. In order to connect to the Internet, you must have access to an Internet service provider (ISP), which acts the middleman between you and the Internet. Most ISPs offer broadband Internet access via a cable, DSL, or fiber connection. When you connect to the Internet using a public Wi-Fi signal, the Wi-Fi router is still connected to an ISP that provides Internet access. Even cellular data towers must connect to an Internet service provider to provide connected devices with access to the Internet.

Standard C:

The beginning teacher: Applies procedures for acquiring, analyzing and evaluating electronic information (e.g., locating information on networks, accessing and manipulating information from secondary storage and remote devices, using online help and other documentation, evaluating electronic information for accuracy and validity).

Desktop

The desktop is the primary user interface of a computer. When you boot up your computer, the desktop is displayed once the startup process is complete. It includes the desktop background (or wallpaper) and icons of files and folders you may have saved to the desktop. In Windows, the desktop includes a task bar, which is located at the bottom of the screen by default. In Mac OS X, the desktop includes a menu bar at the top of the screen and the Dock at the bottom. The desktop is visible on both Windows and Macintosh computers as long as an application or window is not filling up the entire screen. You can drag items to and from the desktop, just like a folder. Since the desktop is always present, items on the desktop can be accessed quickly, rather than requiring you to navigate through several directories. Therefore, it may be helpful to store commonly used files, folders, and application shortcuts on your desktop. Both the Windows and Macintosh operating systems allow you to customize the appearance of your desktop. In Windows 7, you can change the desktop background and select the default desktop icons within the "Personalization" control panel. In Mac OS X 10.6, you can change the desktop background using the "Desktop & Screen Saver" system preference. You can choose what items are shown on the desktop by selecting Finder → Preferences... and checking the items you want displayed.

Competency 009

The teacher incorporates the effective use of technology to plan, organize, deliver and evaluate instruction for all students.

21st Century Literacy Skills

The term 21st century skills refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are believed—by educators, school reformers, college professors, employers, and others—to be critically important to success in today's world, particularly in collegiate programs and contemporary careers and workplaces. Generally speaking, 21st century skills can be applied in all academic subject areas, and in all educational, career, and civic settings throughout a student's life. It should be noted that the "21st century skills" concept encompasses a wide-ranging and amorphous body of knowledge and skills that is not easy to define and that has not been officially codified or categorized. While the term is widely used in education, it is not always defined consistently, which can lead to confusion and divergent interpretations. In addition, a number of related terms—including applied skills, cross-curricular skills, cross-disciplinary skills, interdisciplinary skills, transferable skills, transversal skills, non-cognitive skills, and soft skills, among others—are also widely used in reference to the general forms of knowledge and skill commonly associated with 21st century skills. While these different terms may not be strictly synonymous, and they may have divergent or specialized meanings in certain technical contexts, these diverse sets of skills are being addressed in this one entry for the purposes of practicality and usefulness. While the specific skills deemed to be "21st century skills" may be defined, categorized, and determined differently from person to person, place to place, or school to school, the term does reflect a general—if somewhat loose and shifting—consensus. The following list provides a brief illustrative overview of the knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits commonly associated with 21st century skills: Critical thinking, problem solving, reasoning, analysis, interpretation, synthesizing information Research skills and practices, interrogative questioning Creativity, artistry, curiosity, imagination, innovation, personal expression Perseverance, self-direction, planning, self-discipline, adaptability, initiative Oral and written communication, public speaking and presenting, listening Leadership, teamwork, collaboration, cooperation, facility in using virtual workspaces Information and communication technology (ICT) literacy, media and internet literacy, data interpretation and analysis, computer programming Civic, ethical, and social-justice literacy Economic and financial literacy, entrepreneurialism Global awareness, multicultural literacy, humanitarianism Scientific literacy and reasoning, the scientific method Environmental and conservation literacy, ecosystems understanding Health and wellness literacy, including nutrition, diet, exercise, and public health and safety While many individuals and organizations have proposed definitions of 21st century skills, and most states have adopted learning standards that include or address cross-disciplinary skills, the following are three popular models that can serve to illustrate the concept and its applications in education: Framework for 21st Century Learning (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills) Four Keys to College and Career Readiness (David T. Conley and the Educational Policy Improvement Center) Seven Survival Skills (Tony Wagner and the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education)