National Educational Technology Standards:

Educational Technology Standards and Skills

In our new classroom learning environments, educational technology skills and relevant curricular content must be interwoven. Educational technology standards and performance competencies must be identified and expectations for competence by grade ranges profiled. These learning environments will provide students with fundamental technology skills learned through practice in meaningful, real world settings while developing responsible, ethical attitudes towards technology and learning.

As recommended by the National Educational Technology Standards Project, Performance Domains provide a framework for identifying particular Performance Indicators and the grade ranges where specific skills are likely to be introduced, reinforced, and mastered. The competencies must be introduced, reinforce, mastered, and finally integrated into an individual's personal learning, curriculum applications and social framework.

A profile for each of four grade ranges provide broad statements of what students finishing each grade range should know about and be able to do with technology. The four profiles address the following grade ranges:

• Pre-K- Grade 2 • Grades 3-5 • Grades 6-8 • Grades 9-12

Each subsequent profile builds on those preceding it. The sequence of development in knowledge and skills in using technology culminate in profiles relating specifically to the five performance domains.

NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS:

GUIDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR TODAY'S CLASSROOMS

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Profiles of Technology Literate Students

Educational Technology Performance Indicators

Domain 1. Basic Operations and Concepts Domain 2. Social, Ethical, and Human Issues Domain 3. Productivity Tools Domain 4. Communications Domain 5. Research, Problem-Solving, and Decision-Making

New Learning Environments Goals 2000 launched the nation on a course of school improvement through a process whichfocuses on high standards for student performances and development of local, state, and national plans for their achievement. Technology has been specifically identified as an area which must be addressed in these school improvement plans. Parents want their children to graduate with skills that prepare them to either get a job in today's marketplace or advance to higher levels of education and training. Employers want to hire employees who are honest, reliable, literate, and able to reason, communicate, make decisions, and learn. As educators, we must provide learning environments that not only convey important and relevant content, but also facilitate the types of behaviors that will help students ultimately become employable and self-directed learners.

During the schooling process, students must be provided environments for learning that help them: • communicate using a variety of media and formats; • access and exchange information in a variety of ways; • compile, organize, analyze, synthesize information; • draw conclusions, make generalizations based on information gathered; • use information and select appropriate tools to solve problems; • know content and be able to locate additional information as needed; • become self-directed learners; • collaborate and cooperate in team efforts, and • interact with others in ethical, honest, and appropriate ways.

Although these essential learnings are not specifically technology skills or knowledges, technology can be used quite effectively to address them. Teachers know that the wise use of technology can enrich classroom environments and shape strategies for achieving these marketable skills.

The arena that directly affects student achievement is the classroom. Parents, school leaders, and employers increasingly voice expectations that classroom instruction must extend beyond the traditional factory model to provide new learning environments. These classrooms should use technology to facilitate thinking and decision- making which are necessary in today's workplace.

The NETS Project is an International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) project in partnership with the following organizations: • American Federation of Teachers (AFT) • American Library Association (ALA) • Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) • Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) • Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) • International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) •National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) • National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) • National Education Association (NEA) • National School Boards Association (NSBA) • National Fund for Improvement of Education (NFIE) •Software Publisher's Association (SPA)

Contact: Lajeane Thomas --- email: [email protected] --- tel: 318 257-3923 FIGURE 1

Moving from traditional to new classroom learning environments.

Traditional Classroom New Classroom

Teacher-centered instruction Student-centered instruction

Single sense stimulation Multisensory stimulation

Single path Multipath progression

Single media Multimedia

Isolated work Collaborative work

Information delivered Information exchange

Passive learning Active/exploratory/inquiry-based learning Factual, knowledge-based Critical thinking, informed decision- making Reactive response Proactive/planned action

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As we approach the 21st century, accessing, manipulating, and communicating information are becoming central functions of our society. Processing information from an ever-widening array of resources and applying that information to communicate and to make quality decisions is essential to functional literacy. Modern information skills support collaboration for continuing to learn, accessing collective expertise, creating new knowledge, solving problems, and increasing overall productivity. To meet the needs of the upcoming citizenry, technology is a prime enabling vehicle for carrying out these critical functions.

To develop new classroom learning environments, educational technology skills and relevant curricular content must be interwoven. Technology tools are used to promote effective learning strategies such as on-line information gathering, project-based learning, collaborative projects, and electronic presentations and sharing of data. Consequently, the educational technology standards and performance competencies must be identified and expectations for competence by grade ranges profiled. ISTE and its twelve partners in the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Project are committed to developing educational technology standards and profiles that reflect appropriate technology performances and related curricular applications to support effective learning environments for students across the nation. National Educational Technology Standards The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Project, partially funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in collaboration with the

U.S. Department of Education, OERI, and the National Science Foundation, is designed to develop technology performance standards for PreK-12 students, establish specific applications of technology through the curriculum, provide standards for support of technology in schools, and address student assessment and evaluation of technology use to improve learning. The project's goal is to enable, through coordination and technical expertise, major stakeholders in PreK-12 education to develop national standards for the educational uses of technology that will facilitate school improvement in America. ISTE has joined with other leading professional education organizations in the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Project. Partner organizations include:

• American Federation of Teachers (AFT) • American Library Association (ALA) • Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) • Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) • Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) • International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) • National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) • National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) • National Education Association (NEA) • National School Boards Association (NSBA) • National Fund for Improvement of Education (NFIE) • Software Publisher's Association (SPA)

Liaisons representing major curriculum groups will participate in the development of technology standards for their subject areas. These curriculum liaisons will participate in standards development work sessions designed to identify standards relating specifically to each curriculum area and to build interdisciplinary connections among the curricular areas. Joining the partner organizations in this project are representatives from:

• International Reading Association (IRA) • National Council for Geography Education (NCGE) • National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) • National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) • National Council for the Teachers of English (NCTE) • National Science Teacher's Association (NSTA)

The Partners envision development of milestones that will guide schools/districts in establishing their local plans for integrating technology with curriculum and management efforts. These environments are aimed at providing students with fundamental technology skills learned through practice in meaningful, real world settings while developing responsible, ethical attitudes towards technology and learning. Over three years, these groups are developing the following sets of standards for K-12 education.

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FIGURE 3

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS DOCUMENTS UNDER DEVELOPMENT

Technology Foundations Standards . . . describing what students should know about technology and be able to do with technology;

Standards for Using Technology in Learning and Teaching . . . describing how technology should be used throughout the curriculum for teaching, learning, and instructional management;

Educational Technology Support Standards . . . describing systems, access, staff development, and support services schools should provide; and

Standards for Student Assessment and Evaluation of Technology Use . . . describing means of assessing student progress and evaluating the use of technology in learning and teaching. Educational Technology Standards and Skills

The NETS Project has developed drafts of standards and performances based on responses from educational technology experts and material collected from professional literature, town hall meetings, and state, local, and national documents. Three types of standards documents have been developed thus far:

(1) Performance Domains -- broad areas of educational technology skill development

(2) Performance Indicators -- specific performance skills arranged within those broad domains

(3) Profiles of Technology Literate Students -- broadly stated standards indicating what students should know about and be able to do with technology at the culmination of specific grade ranges.

The Performance Domains provide a framework for identifying particular Performance Indicators and the grade ranges where specific skills are likely to be introduced, reinforced, and mastered. The Profiles of Technology Literate Students provide broad descriptors of technology competence that students should exhibit upon completion of the target grade ranges. The competencies must be introduced, reinforce, mastered, and finally integrated into an individual's personal learning and social framework. A profile for each of four grade ranges provide broad statements of what students finishing each grade range should know about and be able to do with technology. The four profiles address the following grade ranges:

• PreK- Grade 2 • Grades 3-5 • Grades 6-8 • Grades 9-12

Each subsequent profile builds on those preceding it. The sequence of development in knowledge and skills in using technology culminate in profiles relating specifically to the five educational technology skills domains as indicated by the bracketed numbers following each profile item.

All three of these documents are included in this kit and are available for your review and response at the International Society for Technology (ISTE) Web page (http://www.iste.org).

These documents may be used to facilitate solicitation of input on these standards from a variety of individuals. Results from standards will inform the development of benchmarks for student achievement and progress with respect to the use of technology to support teaching and learning. The final standards documents will provide essential, realistic, and attainable goals for using technology tools in the context of curricular content. Domain 1. Basic Operations and Concepts of Technology There is a basic framework of concepts and skills essential for effectively using technology tools and resources. These concepts and operational skills provide a foundation for use of technology to support learning throughout the curriculum. Students have a sound understanding of the operation of technology systems, terminology, basic concepts, limitations and uses of technology, connectivity and compatibility concepts, and an awareness of adaptive/assistive technologies. Students develop attitudes toward technology use which support life-long learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.

Domain 2. Social, Ethical, and Human Issues. The rate of change surrounding technology is staggering. Students understand the historical and societal impact that technology has had, is having, and is likely to have. They understand worker issues related to automation and retraining. Students evaluate new information resources and technological innovations based on their appropriateness to specific tasks and the individual's personal preferences, requirements and resources; they are sophisticated technology consumers. Students understand privacy, copyright, licensing, and intellectual property rights issues, and they make responsible decisions and exhibit ethical behavior related to them.

Domain 3. Productivity Tools There is a set of universally used tools that support both individual and group work. These tools underlie more complex, specific, and emerging technologies. Students are well versed in the use of these tools to support their productivity in a wide variety of endeavors. Topics in this domain include word processing, database, spreadsheet, utility programs, telecommunications, multimedia (graphics, animation, digital video, sound, authoring, presentation), content-specific software and tools, emerging technologies, groupware, and collaborative process tools.

Domain 4. Technology Tools for Communications. The teacher and the textbook are no longer the sole sources of information in the classroom. Students obtain information from a variety of sources and media. Students use their knowledge of information tools to deal with the exponentially increasing and rapidly changing sources of information available to them. Topics in this domain include traditional and emerging research skills, remote information resources, electronic communication, distance learning and teleconferencing, networking, and research skills

Domain 5. Technology Tools for Research, Problem-Solving, and Decision-Making. The environment that our graduates will face when leaving the school system is increasingly complex. Therefore, the strategies for success must be more sophisticated. As students progress through school, they continuously improve their abilities to combine and match technology tools and resources to meet the learning challenges they encounter. Students apply effective strategies to assess the credibility of information sources and to resolve conflicting information. Topics in this domain include locating technology tools and information about them, using specialized personal productivity tools, self-monitoring of effectiveness, developing collaborative skills resolving information conflict, critically consuming information, and using intelligent agents and sophisticated search techniques to support research, problem-solving, and decision-making.