Technology Standards Suggestions

I am meeting with a small team of teachers at my school this week to discuss the 'creation' of technology standards for the school. My idea is to develop a set of skills/standards for the school so that we can strategically plan a technology curriculum to be implemented across the school. Currently, the school has a computer teacher that sees the students 30 minutes a week and there is really no classroom technology integration happening. The school has SMART boards and a computer lab. What I want to get the teachers to think about is that technology can be a part of their classroom as well. The goal for this year is to create those standards/skills that the students will develop during their time at the school and for teachers to plan to implement some or all of these standards starting next year while they are planning their curriculum.

Any ideas on what I can share with them? I already have a few documents with examples of standards other schools have created and I was thinking of showing them some videos and sharing some information on the importance of technology literacy.

Tags: skills, standards, technology

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on April 6, 2010 at 1:22pm

I think big changes are coming for teachers in the ed-tech world. Obama is seriously promoting ed-tech (thank goodness!). A draft of the National Educational Technology Plan was recently made available -- it will probably give you some good information about upcoming national expectations.

Also, if you haven't already, you might want to check out the International Society for Technology in Education standards.

I've done a TON of curriculum development in the past several years. My advice is to backwards plan. Outline the skills students will need to be successful in college and the workplace. If they need to have those skills MASTERED by 12th grade, where do they need to by the end of 11th grade? 10th grade? etc.

I italicized the word skills because, too often, teachers focus on teaching specific software or hardware. However, none of the hardware/software available now will be the same when our students graduate. If we teach them to use PowerPoint, they'll probably use a different (or improved) presentation tool in 5 years. Rather, we need to identify the overarching tech skills that students will continue to use throughout their lives. David Warlick does a good job of outlining the major ones -- students should learn to expose truth, employ information, express ideas compellingly, and act ethically. (Here's a Scholastic News article that goes into detail about what all that means.)

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Francine Safdeye on April 6, 2010 at 1:29pm

Thanks for your feedback Kathy. I do want to work backwards because I think its the best way to visualize what we want to accomplish. I will also do a little intro into technology literacy and show them the Did you know video as well as try to have a short discussion about the importance of this project. I want them to believe in it in order for it to be successful. I have seen the National Ed Tech Plan as well as the ISTE standards and I will be bringing them to the table. By using the word standards I really mean skills which I think is the term we are going to be using.
Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Wan Fareed on April 7, 2010 at 12:55am

Hi,

I've worked with several schools and corporate folks in the adoption of technology in class and workplace. It's really a challenging task. Overtime, I reaslied there are many factors to even start making them see the benefits. One of the tings that I think we need to do is to equip./share with them the knowledge and skill of understanding how technology can help them. I'd like to put it into 2 big categories. One is just in time (JIT) and the other is just in case (JUS). Just in time will require them to be able to analyse the affordances of technology that fits their pedagogical needs. It should start with a pedagogical problem, what it requires (for example in oral lessons, a pedagogical need would perhaps include students activities such as doing oral recordings). With this, they will need to find out what technology can support that tasks. Once there is a match, then the use of technology is appropriate--and they can see the benefits.

The other JUS, is for them to be up-to-date with the emerging technologies. For this one, i think only those who are really keen will do their own experimental works. So, when they have a pedagogy needs, they already have in mind a few tools that they can think about and see if these tools may be assistive.

So in the nutshell, we are teaching then how to fish...and not providing them with the fishes.

Hope the above make sense.

cheers