Week 6: Technology Standards in the Classroom

     As part of an advancing view of how education should evolve, it's obvious that we need to teach students to use technology ethically and effectively. I think many teachers assume that today's students already know how to utilize the technology that is placed before them, if only for the reason that they were raised in a time that had the technology in it. However, I've actually found that this isn't necessarily so, and I teach high schoolers. This is why the ISTE created technology standards for both students and teachers.
      The ISTE breaks the standards into manageable groups based on grades and age. I found it interesting, however, that the very basics of technology, such as being able to type or format an essay on the computer or navigate through Microsoft Office applications. I suppose that these are assumed skills. Once these skills are used, I believe that the types of technology required by these standards will be utilized in the students' future lives.
   The standards reference being able to communicate and collaborate via a mode a technology, which in turn would apply critical thinking skills, problem-solving, and decision-making, which is another standard. Then, looking at the students profiles, we can see what students are expected to do while using these standards. For example, a high school student should be able to "select digital tools or resources to use for a real-world task." Now, tell me that these standards don't reflect what students actually need to know before entering the real world. What's that? You can't? Neither can I! Finally! A set of standards that I think everyone can agree on.
    These aren't just skills that students who go off to college and even higher will use. These are skills that every person living in the twenty-first century will need to know. I don't think that my own school district has begun to look at these standards, but hopefully they will soon.

You can find the Student Standards and Student Profiles Here.