You are Never Alone

At NECC in June, ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, released the next generation of NETS for Teachers which focuses on ”using technology to learn and teach.”

“Teachers must become comfortable as co-learners with their students and with colleagues around the world. Today it is less about staying ahead and more about moving ahead as members of dynamic learning communities. The digital-age teaching professional must demonstrate a vision of technology infusion and develop the technology skills of others.  These are the hallmarks of the new education leader.”

—Don Knezek, ISTE CEO, 2008

NETS are ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards and they provide benchmarks for teachers to strive towards, what ISTE calls a “roadmap” for improved teaching and learning by educators, that help teachers and administrators to measure proficiency and set aspirational goals for the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for the digital age.

NETS for Teachers is deceptively simple one-page statement that categorises what a teacher must strive to under 5 headings:

• Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
• Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessment
• Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
• Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
• Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Each heading is unpacked with a general description and then four sub-points. They could, if you liked, be used as a check list or performance indicators for 21st century teaching and learning.

NETS for Students was released in 2007 and again is a deceptively simple looking document. It’s sub-headings are

• Creativity and Innovation
• Communication and Collaboration
• Research and Information Fluency
• Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision making
• Digital Citizenship
• Technology Operations and Concepts

In the case of both documents what is then needed is for the individual teacher or school staff to then add more concrete indicators of what they expect of themselves or students.

For example, as a teacher, you could look at each of the statements and work out what you can already do in relation to each of the benchmarks. You won’t be able to honestly write something next to each bullet point. Then work out where your biggest “hole” is. What will be your next benchmark in this area? Work out what your next “learning focus” will be. Maybe aim to incorporate one new tool/skill/capability in your armoury every month or every term. Don’t try to take on too much, because then you will be unlikely to do any of it. Try to increase your proficiency one step at a time.

And after you’ve made a list of what you are going to do, make some plans for how you are going to achieve them.
Perhaps you could keep a blog or simply write a journal to keep yourself on track and motivated.
After a time the blog becomes an interesting record of where you’ve been and what you’ve achieved.
You could use the blog to write about your current “project”, the research you’ve done about it, and the steps you’ve taken, and then finally as a demonstration (or even proof if you need it) of what you’ve learnt.