Adressing Ed Tech Standards

NETS, or National Education Technology Standards, are a critical part of a teacher's curriculum.  Technology is here to stay, and has become an integral part of the world we live in.  Almost every job requires some use of technology, and students need to be brought and kept up to speed in the increasingly digitalized world. The goal of these standards is to ensure that students leave school with these skills in place so they may use technology to their greatest advantage in life, and to use it responsibly.

How to address these standards?  Some of my thoughts...

• Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.  This is probably the easiest standard to impart, since technology can be used creatively for learning with very little effort.  It can include anything from the use of blogging, research on the Internet, creating drawings through computer software, reaching out to students in other states or countries via email or social networking (Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Yodio, etc), and sharing projects with the parents and community.
• Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. This goes hand in hand with the first standard, as teachers integrate technology into their lesson plans.  As a prospective elementary or middle school teacher, I could have students put together slides for a power point presentation, create videos that are shared through a class website for parents to view, guide student research using online resources for projects, and have web-pals with another classroom in a different culture or environment.
• Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.  It is important for me as the teacher to be fluent in the technological language I am to instruct my students in.  How to do this?  I am a self-motivated learner, so my plan is to seek out new tools to use in the classroom, either by personal research, developmental workshops, and collaboration with fellow teachers to find new and exciting ways to use technology.
• Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility.  Just as it is important to understand how to use the tools of technology, it is vital to do so safely and responsibly.  Teaching students how to behave while online goes hand in hand with teaching them how to behave on the playground.  Also important is addressing how to properly use and site online resources in projects and reports.  I plan on using group discussion to address these issues, and link online behavior with "real world" behavior so the students understand the importance of their actions.
• Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.  This standard requires similar actions as to the second, where I as the instructor need to model not only how these tools function and the proper way to use them, but also that it is a fluid, ever changing world that we should continue to learn in.  My overall goal is to create life long learners, and I plan to model that with my own continued growth.