The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has developed National Educational Technology Standards for students, teachers and administrators. These standards, particularly for the students, were created to ensure that students will be able to apply the foundational ICT (Information Communications Technology) skills they will need. These standards pertain to higher order thinking skills and digital citizenship, each of which will be essential for them to live, work and contribute to the global society.
Reading through the standards, I reflect back on each of my experiences in the classroom since I have started my graduate studies. In my field observations, as well as my experiences as a substitute teacher, I have seen some examples of these standards being implemented in the classroom. However, if our teachers are expected to implement these standards, and our students to perform accordingly, the tools must be available. Not only does these mean the availability of the technologies, but also the knowledge, understanding, training and support of the teachers with which to use those technologies.
I look forward to exploring these standards further, and integrating their use with my future classroom. While I feel all of the standards are significant, I think Digital Citizenship is crucial. It emphasizes legal and ethical behavior, areas where I feel some students are deficient.
We, as educators, can reach beyond the surface and truly implement these standards for ourselves and for our students so long as we have the desire and resources.
No comments:
Post a Comment