Among the list of links and articles this week we were asked to take a look at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards. Clicking the website link I was faced with a decision: do I read this from the point of view as an educator or as a student? Of course, I’m studying to be an educator but technically I am still a student. It is funny to think about this weird middle ground the program places us in. I decided to go through the student section first and found most of the material was familiar from digital citizen seminars in high school. This section discusses the importance of learning and being responsible when using technology. After, I moved on to the standards for educators and realized the first two principals were to be a continual learner and a leader. I realized that our role as a student or learner of technology doesn’t stop when we become educators. We are still encouraged to branch out and explore new ideas while remaining a responsible citizen in the digital community. As a teacher, our digital role doesn’t change but is built on. We are responsible for creating a safe environment and opportunity for our students to grow and expand their skills. Many of the standards are similar in some way to those of the student. As a digital educator, we not only need to teach lessons but also serve as a model and example for our students to follow.
ISTE For Students
Empowered Learner: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences. Digital Citizen: Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical. Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others. Innovative Designer: Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions. Computational Thinker: Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions. Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals. Global Collaborator: Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.
ISTE For Educators
Learner: Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Leader: Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Citizen: Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world. Collaborator: Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. Designer: Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. Facilitator: Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students. Analyst: Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals.
See https://www.iste.org/standards
