NETS

National Education Technology Standards for Students,
Teachers, and Grades 9-12

NETS for Students:

1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:

a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.

2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.
d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

3. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:

a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.
b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
d. process data and report results.

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:

a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
d. use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

5. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:

a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

6. Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:

a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.
c. troubleshoot systems and applications.
d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.

NETS for Teachers:

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:
a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:
a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
b. collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:
a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.
b. address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
c. promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.
d. develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:
a. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
b. exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others.
c. evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.
d. contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community.

NETS for grades 9-12:

1. Design, develop, and test a digital learning game to demonstrate knowledge and skills related to curriculum content. (1,4)

2. Create and publish an online art gallery with examples and commentary that demonstrate an understanding of different historical periods, cultures, and countries. (1,2)

3. Select digital tools or resources to use for a real-world task and justify the selection based on their efficiency and effectiveness. (3,6)

4. Employ curriculum-specific simulations to practice critical-thinking processes. (1,4)

5. Identify a complex global issue, develop a systematic plan of investigation, and present innovative sustainable solutions. (1,2,3,4)

6. Analyze the capabilities and limitations of current and emerging technology resources and assess their potential to address personal, social, lifelong learning, and career needs. (4,5,6)

7. Design a Web site that meets accessibility requirements. (1,5)

8. Model legal and ethical behaviors when using information and technology by properly selecting, acquiring, and citing resources. (3,5)

9. Create media-rich presentations for other students on the appropriate and ethical use of digital tools and resources. (1,5)

10. Configure and troubleshoot hardware, software, and network systems to optimize their use for learning and productivity. (4,6)

Social Bookmarking-so many tags and so little time!

Social Bookmarking is a great way to share cool and helpful websites, let me show you what I've learned:

National Archives: This is a great site with online museum exhibits; I viewed the World War II Propaganda and Poster exhibit. This site is an extremely useful tool for showing students information and examples of what they are learning without leaving the classroom.

National Education Association: Focuses on helping teachers become culturally competent. Some of their suggestions I find most helpful include:
Network with parent, family, minority community, and faith-based organizations concerned with the needs of diverse students. Solicit their involvement and input in the design and implementation of initiatives for culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse groups. This is a great suggestion because it doesn’t cost anything and it is hearing directly from the people whose opinions matter most.

Identify and include budgetary expenditures each fiscal year to facilitate personnel development through their participation in conferences, workshops, and seminars on cultural competence. Even if a district does not have enough money to send multiple teachers to multicultural conferences and workshops, have the teachers that do attend come back and present to the rest of the staff.

Gather and organize resource materials related to culturally diverse groups for use by school staff. Have a library of resources on these issues, that way there is no excuse for not finding this important information.

Kids Click: I focused on the vocabulary section of this site, which has safe links for kids to sites that host “word of the day” or “jargon of the day”. I think this would be a good daily activity for kids to learn word definitions.

Kathy Shrock’s Guide for Educators: This site has a great anagram finder that would be fun for students to experiment with. It may be a useful tool for remembering vocabulary words and possibly for spelling.

Edutopia Website: This site details the different ways that people learn. For example, I am definitely of a Linguistic intelligence, which means that I identify more with strong linguistic intelligence often love to read, play with words, write, do crossword puzzles, and invent word games. I am definitely NOT of Logical-mathematical intelligence, meaning I’m dreadful at math, computer programming, logic puzzles, and problem solving.

Teaching Tolerance: The lesson plan activity that I looked at involved using student’s imaginations to journal the experience of Lewis and Clark’s expedition. Students would read actual jourbal entries from the trip to imagine the experience of women, like Sacagawea, and a servant named York.

Multicultural Awareness and Equity Quiz: The 2 questions I found to be most interesting were the crack vs. powder cocaine question, and the amount of teachers of color on staff, or lack there of. It seems suspicious that 00 grams of powder cocaine qualifies you for a felony, as does only 5 grams of crack cocaine. Because both drugs are in the same category, it seems that the offending amount should be closer. I was also surprised to learn that 40% of schools have no teachers of color on staff. This is such a high percentage, but I can see how this would be possible in many schools in the mid-west or states like Idaho and Wyoming, which have small African-American populations.

Netiquette: I scored an 80% on the netiquette quiz, which I thought was pretty good considering I don’t go to chat rooms. Netiquette is important to teach students, because it’s often difficult to read people or the content of what they are trying to say through email or web-based communication. It is easy to detect sarcasm in someone’s voice if their tone or facial expression changes. But sarcasm can be interpreted as simply being rude if not carefully written into an email or chat. For example an emoticon such as ;-) the wink may let someone know your being funny.

Journal 1- Digital Citizenship

Ribble, M (2008, December). Passport to digital citizenship. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved Feb 2, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/Current_Issue/L_L_November.htm

This week’s reading from Learning & Leading with Technology magazine discussed the concept of digital citizenship, and what it means to teach students to responsibly use technology. The article outlined nine elements of digital citizenship, and stressed that students must know what is expected of them when using technology, and that school, parents and the community must all provide a united front in these expectations.
I feel that these are very important issues for students to learn, and many are often overlooked. Because individual levels of technology vary so much from person to person, sometimes the most basic information gets lost or overlooked. For example, think of how annoying and off-putting it is to receive an email written in CAPS LOCK. An email like that can easily be perceived as the equivalent of shouting, but that may not be the intention of the person who wrote it, they simply may have never been taught proper email etiquette. It would be incredibly helpful if, at the beginning of a lesson that incorporates new technology, a quick recap was given to students outlining proper conduct and etiquette in any digital setting.
Q. How could I ensure that my students know what is appropriate/ inappropriate conduct with technology?
A. Certainly the beginning of the school year is a good time to establish rules and codes of conduct for students to follow while using technology in the classroom. I could create a list detailing my expectations for my students, which would require both a signature from the student and their parent. This would ensure that everybody was on the same page and knows what is expected at school, and hopefully in the home as well.
Q. How can I encourage students who are reluctant to use technology?
A. Technology is constantly evolving, so I can easily understand how some students may be reluctant to use it. I think the best way to have them test their comfort zone would be by appealing to their interests. For example, if I have a student who hates computers but loves soccer, I may ask him to research sites where he can find the best price for a specific soccer ball, and email me his top three picks. This would incorporate internet research, learning about purchasing goods, communicating via email, and providing links to websites.