Another thing that I like is that ISTE does not only offer standards for students, but it also provides standards for teachers and standards for administrators. I think this is wonderful as all too often we have standards for students, but forget about what teachers must do. After all, it is important that teachers model all the things that they want their students to learn so as not to subscribe to the age old adage “Do as I say, and not as I do”. ISTE recognizes this and standard three in its NETS for teachers is “Model Digital-Age work and Learning.”
It is also important that there are standards for administrators. These standards direct them to provide “visionary leadership” and to promote a “digital-age learning culture”. As everyone knows, good leadership is key to schools effectively running there programs.
I recently also looked at a document called American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Learning Standards. I liked how it opened with saying:
“Reading is a foundational skill for learning, personal growth, and enjoyment. The degree to which students can read and understand text in all formats (e.g., picture, video, print) and all contexts is a key indicator of success in school and in life. As a lifelong learning skill, reading goes beyond decoding and comprehension to interpretation and development of new understandings”.
As an English teacher, my job is to teach students to read both for pleasure and for learning. It is sometimes easy to think that teaching reading means only teaching short stories and novels though. I, along with other English teachers out there, must remember that teaching reading also includes understanding texts in other formats than simply books.
The document also says that for future employment needs “today’s students need to develop information skills that will enable them to use technology as an important tool for learning, both now and in the future”. This is becoming more and more clear to educators every day. If we are to adequately prepare our students for the future, they must be able to be savvy users of technology. The document also states that “the amount of information available to our learners necessitates that each individual acquire the skills to select, evaluate, and use information appropriately and effectively.” We are simply living in an age of information overload, and students must become more aware of how to search for information. Recently, I was helping a student on a research project. Earlier, I had been trying to get her away from using Google for everything. Sure, Google is great, but in many ways, it is not the best tool for student research. She also has it in her head that Google is a source and often cites “Google” in her bibliographies. A few weeks ago, she needed to find some information about Cleopatra. When she typed Cleopatra into Google, she came up with 50 million results!! I pointed out to her that it would take her far more time to begin to sift through these 50 million sources than it would to go to World Book Online, for example, and find a relevant article.
Another thing the document advocates is the social context in which learning occurs. It states::
“Learning has a social context. Learning is enhanced by opportunities to share and learn with others. Students need to develop skills in sharing knowledge and learning with others, both in face-to-face situations and through technology.”
I think this point, specifically, is so important to share with administrators. As I mentioned in some earlier posts, I have met administrators that have been very threatened about the idea of students publishing work online. Administrators must understand that learning in enhance through opportunities to publish and receive real world feedback.
AASL believes that learners use skills, resources, and tools to:
1. Inquire, think critically, gain knowledge,
2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.
3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society
4. Purse personal and aesthetic growth.
Under each heading listed above, the AASL lists skills objectives, dispositions in action objectives, responsibilities objectives and self-assessment strategies objectives. The document is a bit cumbersome, but well worth a read.
After studying both the NET standards and the AASL standards, my first thought was that there was something missing. Both documents provided 21st century standards/objectives, but neither seemed to shed much light on what each standard would look like at each grade level. I was frustrated as that is what I am currently struggling with. I understand that my students need to be able to do the things laid out in the NETS and AASLs in order to be successful members of today’s society, but I am just one of their teachers. Which of these standards it my responsibility to cover? How will I know what meeting the standards should look like in my classroom, in my subject area, and at my grade level?
After some more digging, I found a partial answer to my questions on the NETS for Students 2007 Profiles page. On this page, ISTE provides some suggestions for what meeting the standards might look like a certain age levels. Below is an example taking from that page:
The following experiences with technology and digital resources are examples of learning activies in which students might engage during Grades 6-8 (ages 11-14).
* Create original animations or videos documenting school, community, or local events (1, 2, 6)
* Participate in a cooperative learning project in a n online learning community (2)
* Employ data-collection technology such as probes, handheld devices, and geographic mapping systems to gather, view, analyze, and report results for content-relative problems. (3, 4, 6).
All right! This is great stuff. Finally, some guidelines for what these standards might look like in the classroom. Now, the next question is whose responsibility is it to address all these? As I mentioned before, I am but one of the teachers the grade 6-8 students at my school have. Also, my subject is English, and I am not sure how geographic mapping systems would fit into my curriculum.
One thing offered on the ISTE NETS page is ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS: NECESSARY CONDITIONS TO EFFECTIVELY LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY FOR LEARNING. Basically, this page lays out what conditions needs to exist if technology is going to be used effectively to enhance student learning.
One of these “essential conditions” is a shared vision.
“Proactive leadership in developing a shared vision for educational technology among all education stakeholders including teachers and support staff, school and district administrators, teacher educators, students, parents, and the community.”
I feel like I have the vision, but I am not too sure if all the people I work with do. Most teachers have a lot on their plates and are constantly being pulled in many directions. I am very focused on improving the use of technology at my school, but I now that is not everyone else’s current top priority. I have heard administrators complain that they simply do not have enough time to learn about this new technology between meetings and dealing with issues that come up. Without a shared vision, it makes it hard for anything to truly be implemented. Sure, I can do a lot on my own in my own classroom, but there are many things that it is hard to do without true collaboration.
I work at a wonderful school, but it is small. I teach all the English classes for grades 5 and 6. As stated above, one of the essential conditions for applying the NETS is a shared vision. At a school, where each teacher teaches in isolation, I think it is hard to have a shared vision. I meet quite regularly with other members of my department, that is the other Eng
lish teachers in the school, and we do do some vertical planning, but it is very hard to find time to meet with the other grade 5 and 6 teachers to find out what they are doing in their classrooms.
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about how to integrate more media literacy into my classroom. I have had trouble, however, with knowing where to begin and what it is appropriate to teach at my grade level and in an English classroom context. A few months ago, I watched a trailer for the film Miss Representation. After visiting the website for the movie, I saw that the organization, also called Miss Representation, offers a package for sale that includes the movie and lesson ideas for each grade level. I was quite excited. I knew showing the whole movie to grade 5 and 6 students would be inappropriate, but the package came with pre-selected clips that are age-appropriate. I wanted to order the kit, as I thought it might give me a place to start. My thinking was that I could try it out, and if I thought the information was good, pass it on to other grade level teachers. Sure, it would not be true collaboration, but it was a way to possibly get something started. I convinced my department that it would be a worthwhile purchase and I got the admin on board too. The head librarian agreed to order it out of the budget. Finally, I had a place to start. Unfortunately, just last week, however, I found out that I cannot order the package, as it is only available for purchase in the US and Canada. Aaargh! I’m back to square one. Ideas anyone?
Though I keep stumbling upon setbacks, there is hope. Our media department is growing. This year, we have a new head of the department, and he is working with the other department members on developing a new media studies curriculum from K-12. I am in close contact with members of the department, and often have informal chats about what is at our school. I hope to be able to continue to work with them to find out just what is happening in terms of technology at each grade level in our school, where the gaps are, and what else needs to be done.
I feel like it’s a long road ahead.