Unleashing the power of technology has the potential to change how students acquire and demonstrate knowledge, how teachers facilitate learning, and even where learning best takes place. A major challenge for educational leaders is to map a course that takes advantage of this power to improve learning.
The standards movement in education strives to provide a national consensus on what students should know in content subjects. But within this movement, educators have not adequately addressed the use of technology as a tool for applying content knowledge in authentic contexts, for solving problems and making decisions, for exchanging information, and for communicating ideas. Knowing is not sufficient in itself—rather, students must apply knowledge to construct new understandings, to solve problems, to make decisions, to develop products, and to communicate. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is committed to addressing the development and application of knowledge through its National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Project. Used appropriately, these standards will smooth the road of change.
The NETS Project
- Technology Foundation Standards for Students;
- Standards for Using Technology in Learning and Teaching;
- Educational Technology Support Standards; and
- Standards for Student Assessment and Evaluation of Technology Use.
ISTE has released an initial set of national educational technology standards for preK–12 students, NETS Standards for Students, with support from the U.S. Department of Education, NASA, the Santa Monica–based Milken Exchange on Education Technology, and Apple Computer. Many professional education groups have also joined as project partners. In addition, major curriculum organizations serve as curriculum liaisons: They participate on writing teams and are responsible for linking technology standards with the standards from their organization's academic subject areas.
The initial NETS Standards for Students document includes learning standards and student performance indicators that extend "knowing content" to include the application of knowledge in the context of learning, living, and working in our world. It includes standards that describe the technology skills that should be interwoven in the curricular fabric of our schools; when such skills should be taught; and how the power of technology can help our children become successful learners, information users, communicators, and workers. The standards and profiles are available in print and in electronic format at http://cnets.iste.org.
Technology Foundation Standards for All Students
- Basic operations and concepts;
- Social, ethical, and human issues;
- Technology productivity tools;
- Technology communications tools;
- Technology research tools; and
- Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools.
In conjunction with these standards, the NETS Project has developed profiles describing the technology competencies that students should exhibit upon the completion of four grade ranges. Look for the "Profiles of Technology Literate Students" sidebars throughout this issue to learn more about how these standards translate into technology literacy for students of all ages.
