Monday, April 21, 2008

NETS for Students

First, I like the introduction to the NETS for students much better than NETS for teachers. The introduction makes it clear what these standards are for. This intro states that the new standards, "Identify several higher order thinking skills and digital citizenship as critical for students to learn effectively for a lifetime and life productively in our emerging society." Now there is a mission statement and reason for the standards! The world is flat. All students need to be equipped to compete with other student in the digital world. This website makes sense in that it describes what students need to do to be engaged in our digital society. The first standard states that students are able to use critical thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. What a powerful standard for students to master. The second standard states that students can use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at distance, to support individual learning, and contribute to the learning of others. Again, this standard is so important for the time period that we are living in. Students in America, can very easily work collaboratively, with students in India given the right instruction and the right technology. The third standard state that students should be able to apply digital tools to gather, evaluate and use information. The fourth standard states that students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using digital tools and resources. The fifth standard states that students must understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Finally, the last standard states that students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems and operations.

Again, similar to the NETS for Teacher, I never would have seen NETS for Students if I wasn't enrolled in this technology class. These standards are so important, and yet, I didn't know they existed. Again, we are at a time in our history where students can work together with anyone, anywhere, at any time using digit technology. It is so incredibly important that students understand these standards. Again, I wonder who actually teaches our students these standards? Who is responsible for teaching these standards? Is every teacher made aware of these standards? What role do school administrators take in ensuring that these standards are met? It seems imperative that if our students are going to compete in the global world that they understand and can use technology in an appropriate way. I know at my school students are exposed to some technology, but definitely have not mastered all of the standards. I wonder if our technology teacher actually uses these standards to set up her curriculum.

I like how the NETS for students has a section on necessary conditions to implement these standards. Furthermore, there is a section that gives a website for implementing these standards. Teachers can check out: http://nets-implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/

The one thing that I could not find on this website are the standards by grade level. I would love it if someone could let me know where they break the standards down by grade level!

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