The six (6) National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) for 2007 are:
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical thinking, Problem Solving, & Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts
Of the six (6) technologies those that are well met within the classroom today are 1, 2, and 6. With the amount of information out their on the internet most teachers can create a lesson plan on just about anything with the assistance of the internet and various technologies tools available, provided that the school has the budget and willingness to include such things within the curriculum. However for the sake of this blog, we will assume that the cooperation of all invested parties is their as well as the cost to faciliate this integration of technology within the classroom. Of the 6 however, I believe that we can reach 3 and 5 with practice, the more frequently we incorporate technology in our day to day classroom curriculum them more we will reach the "fluency" within the standards.
The one though that stands out the most as being the most difficult and creates concern of my ability or readiness to meet this standard as a future educator is #4:
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm
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.
This is something that needs to be thoroughly taught to students as well as educating the parents in how this hidden curriculum will be addressed. This is not something that we will beable to address with each lesson, however any good teacher knows that problem solving for the furutre is extremely critical, as well as critical thinking what I like to think of as "thinking outside the box" and decision making, how does a student choose responsibly? These are all concepts that need to be addressed with the student. This will be difficult and resistance may be inevidable, however we must continue to plug along and develop the students in such a way, not only to prepare them for the the future, but also prepare them for everyday life. These core foundations, which truly havenot changed in over the last few centuries, just needs to be addressed to meet the generation that will be affected the most. Technology is changing at the speed of lightning, we need to provide our students with the tools to meet those changes.
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Lisa I agree with you that resistance to the implemnation of technology is inevitable. I watch my parents struggle with technology all the time. My father is very resistant to certain things and becomes upset easily. Many parents are not of the digital age yet and may not understand the importance of technology to their child's future. Also, if the child is struggling to understand the technology when they are home, chances are the parent will struggle and become upset and impatient with it as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well Lisa that we, as educators, need to provide students the right tools to adjust to technology's ever changing format. I also agree that it is a struggle for people who did not grow up with technology to use it in the classroom let alone at home! My mom has learned more about the computer and the internet thanks to her online classes and things that my uncle and I have showed her. However; a 7 year old can whiz through the internet and carry a conversation at the same time and educators have to be ahead of the game so to speak so they can teach student's valuable lessons as well as have fun doing so.
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