Educational Technology Organization

     I went through all of the links that Dr. W provided for us but keep going back to the one that I feel is the most useful for me as a teacher and instructor. Not to say the others are not just as good, but this is the one that I feel holds the same qualities that I do. I picked Edutopia as my first organization because it is a useful organization As quoted from the website their mission is;
 "Our vision is of a new world of learning, a place where students and parents, teachers and administrators, policy makers and the people they serve are all empowered to change education for the better; a place where schools provide rigorous project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and access to new technology; a place where innovation is the rule, not the exception; a place where students become lifelong learners and develop 21st-century skills, especially three fundamental skills:

• how to find information
• how to assess the quality of information
• how to creatively and effectively use information to accomplish a goal

It’s a place of inspiration and aspiration based on the urgent belief that improving education is the key to the survival of the human race. We call this place Edutopia, and we provide not just the vision for this new world of learning but the real-world information and community connections to make it a reality."
    The fact that teachers, parents and others can go be involved in an organization that puts students first and strives for the quality of their education is important and helps us as teachers. I like that they meet many different levels of students learning styles and grade levels. As we have discussed in this class before, teachers need a network of a place they can go and network with other teachers for ideas, blogs, stories and policies. We need to be "sharing our story more" as the article last week described. This organization encompasses all of these qualities.

http://www.edutopia.org/mission-vision

     The second organization I chose was Educause due to the fact that it has a focus on Higher Education not just K-12 as a lot of other organizations do. I hope to teach at the college level one day but also have a passion for Secondary Education, therefore I wanted something that included both of these things. The mission statement is as follows;
"As the higher education technology association, EDUCAUSE embraces the value of innovation. EDUCAUSE understands not only the importance of innovation to higher education but also the supporting role that technology can play as a tool for innovation in the learning, discovery, and engagement that colleges and universities offer. Together, all of us in the EDUCAUSE community strive to produce innovations that will advance higher education's mission of creating, transmitting, and preserving knowledge."
I like that their mission is to help be a tool for teachers in higher education and that they are a network for us. I also think that the fact that they have staff development is a benefit as well. Technology is an ever changing beast that if we don't keep up with it, we as teachers and educators will fall behind. This organization is a good way for us to stay abreast to new development and innovations in the field.

http://www.educause.edu/stratdir