ISTE (International Standards for Technology in Education)

This is week #2 of blogging and we have been asked to look into the ISTE website which stands for the International Standards for Technology in Education. There are five standards and also a large list of essential conditions that have been listed and described in detail. 

Standards: 

The first standard states that teachers are to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. This caught my eye, especially after my last blog post in regards to how we as teachers make our instructional decisions and how students learn in different ways. Technology brings in a whole new type of creativity into a classroom setting which we should take advantage of. Many new learning experiences can be had through technology and it can truly inspire creativity and a new interest in students. Last week we looked at google documents and ways that sharing can be done between classmates. Simple things such as working on an assignment with a partner or creating a survey for classmates are new and exciting ways of learning. Students are creative, like to explore, and understand technology. Why not let them do all three while creating a learning opportunity. 

Essential Conditions:

Conditions are outlined in order to use technology effectively within schools. There are a number that stood out to me and made me aware of what is needed from staff and students alike. 

Shared Vision. It is key that not only the teachers and students, but also the parents, administrators, and support staff all share the same vision on technology in order to come together in order to form a learning community. 

Skilled Personnel. If there are no experts/specialists on technology within a school, then technology will not succeed. It is important to have leaders guiding and educating fellow staff and students on the proper use of technology. 

Ongoing Professional Learning. As teachers, we should always be involved in some type of professional learning. With technology being so new and yet always changing, we should dedicate time and effort into seeing how technology can impact our future lessons. 

Assessment and Evaluation. With the new "Growing Success" assessment document recently being published, it is our job as educators to develop useful ways to evaluate and assess our students while using technology. It is important to determine assessment techniques throughout their learning process, not just the final outcome. This may result in new ways of evaluating. 

Here are the links used:  ISTE Standards       ISTE Essential Conditions

Hope these thoughts get you thinking a bit more about your thoughts on technology in the classroom. Have a wonderful week!