National Education Teaching Standards for Technology
As a teacher we are to become facilitators for students creativity, developing-fostering and modeling digital experiences and learning, and promoting digital citizenship and responsibility (Weidig 2011).
NETS-T Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire
The first standard addresses the need to facilitate the experience to advance students learning with creativity through face-to-face and virtual environments. It asks teachers to explore real life issues with the digital world while collaborating with others. As a teacher it is very important to inspire students in everything they are learning not just the technology strand of learning. As an elementary school teacher I want to have a smart board in my classroom so that I can allow the students to do daily challenges using interactive lessons using math, grammar, and science while they are coming into the classroom in the morning. Each of these interactive lessons would be internet based where the students could than take the lesson home to play on their own time. This is one way I want to be able to facilitate and inspire my students in the classroom with technology.
NETS-T Standard 2: Design and Develop
The second standard addresses the need to develop lessons that use digital tools to enrich the students learning. As a teacher we are supposed to use technology to help students with different learning styles. We are also requested to design different forms of assessment to determine the student’s different technology levels. From what I have seen through my student teaching assessments are not used often with technology but often with pencil and paper other than when state testing comes around. I find it odd that the national standards want us as educators to use computers in daily lessons but schools are not providing the money so that each student has access to a computer in the classroom.
NETS-T Standard 3: Model
The third standard addresses the need to constantly model for your students. As a teacher you need to demonstrate your ability to use technology for your students to believe they can use technology. Many teachers use computers and technology in their daily life but often do not do it in front of the students, by showing the students where you are finding information to teach them will help them understand that they can use technology as well and inspiring them to use it. In an elementary school many students are simply amazed by what you can do with computers but would love to see us as teachers to model how we use it so they can learn from us. This standard lends itself the most to English Language Learners; these students’ need constant modeling to learn from.
NETS-T Standard 4: Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
The fourth standard addresses the need to use proper behavior and follow the laws of using technology. One of the main legal behaviors we as teachers must follow and explain how to follow for students is the respect for copyright. Teaching the students to become good citizens of the Internet will help them grow and understand the rules of technology use. Following all the other standards of modeling, facilitating, and developing you can help students understand the awareness of following the proper behaviors for using technology.
NETS-T Standard 5: Professional Growth
The fifth standard addresses the need to continuously grow as a teacher through Professional development. As a teacher we have heard of professional development over and over and this standard is just asking that we take a few workshops or classes related to technology on a regular basis. Through these workshops and classes we as teachers are contributing to the growing education in technology.
Reflection:
After reading the five standards for teachers I started looking back on the training I had as an undergrad regarding the standards as well as the experience I had as a student in the K-12 schools. Reflecting back on my education I remember the teachers using technology in the classrooms and being asked to use computers to write papers but do not remember much training regarding the teaching standards in my undergrad program. This reflection had me looking into different journal articles that relate to the preparation in teachers to use the technology standards. The first article I found addressed the transition from high school to college and the preparedness the teacher candidates are to use technology and the second article looked at the technology training teachers get at a school in Ohio.
In the article regarding high school students transitioning in 2005, these students were always assessed on their self-reports of technology but not on an actual assessment. When assessed with a computer program only fifty two percent of the students tested with high understanding of computers and technology. Of that fifty two percent only forty two percent thought that they would pass, sixteen percent thought they would pass but did not pass. Through reading this article I discovered that self-reports couldn’t be trusted but rather need to be replaced with performance data. The researchers believed the low-test scores on performance data came from not having strong technology use in the classroom. This finding led the researchers to say future teachers need to see effective K-12 computer utilization while they are students in this environment (Banister, Ross 2005).
The second article used pre-service teachers and working teachers to do their research. These teachers took the same course through the college in Ohio and worked together using the technology standards. The teachers were asked to use basic technology skills in web development, presentation software, and spreadsheet software while also teaching how to evaluate educational web sites and software for pedagogical appropriateness, use electronic communication including threaded electronic discussions, and create lesson plans that incorporate media and technology in teaching high-order thinking skills such as problem solving (Voithofer 2005). These skills were all taught and used by the teachers through the college class. Through the research it was found that by requiring the students to use the technology teaching standards they better understood them. I wish that I had taken more than one technology class during my undergrad and that the standards had been used more thought out the teacher training programs.
Resources
Voithofer, R. (2005). Integrating service-learning into technology training in teacher preparation: a study of an educational technology course for preservice teachers.Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 21(3), 103-108.
Banister, S., & Ross, C. (2005-2006). From high school to college:how prepared are teacher candidates for technology integration?. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education,22(2), 75-80.
Husain, S. (2009, August 20). Free national educational technology standards poster for teachers. Retrieved from http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/20783/Free-National-Educational-Technology-Standards-Poster-for-Teachers
Weidig, S. (2011, September 07).Exploring nets: did you know there are national education technology standards?. Retrieved from http://edreach.us/2011/09/07/exploring-nets-did-you-know-there-are-national-education-technology-standards/
ISTE. (2008). The iste nets and performance indicators for teachers. Retrieved from http://images.apple.com/education/docs/Apple-ISTE-NETS-Teachers.pdf
Banister, S., & Ross, C. (2005-2006). From high school to college:how prepared are teacher candidates for technology integration?. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education,22(2), 75-80.
Husain, S. (2009, August 20). Free national educational technology standards poster for teachers. Retrieved from http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/20783/Free-National-Educational-Technology-Standards-Poster-for-Teachers
Weidig, S. (2011, September 07).Exploring nets: did you know there are national education technology standards?. Retrieved from http://edreach.us/2011/09/07/exploring-nets-did-you-know-there-are-national-education-technology-standards/
ISTE. (2008). The iste nets and performance indicators for teachers. Retrieved from http://images.apple.com/education/docs/Apple-ISTE-NETS-Teachers.pdf