IDK WTH ISTE & NETS is, LOL!

We all know there is a huge push to get technology and information about technology into the classrooms. But who is doing this pushing? There is actually an organization dedicated to bringing technology into PK-12 classrooms and it is called the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). They have a very informative and comprehensive website you can view by following this LINK. ISTE “…is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving learning and teaching by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12.” Also, ISTE has an impressive 100,000+ members. ISTE strives to be a community that connects educators in a meaningful and powerful way to share in the transformation of education.

This website also has a LINK to the National Educational Technology Standards or NETS. There are NETS standards for not only teachers but students and administrators as well. Upon reading the standards applicable to teachers I felt that they were very vague. They didn’t say students need to know how to do (blank) on a computer, or know (blank) about the Internet. I feel that ambiguous standards allow teachers to have a lot of flexibility but do not really give teachers a direction. However, strict standards allow teachers to head in a more clear direction but then teachers have less flexibility. I guess the NETS are like many other standards in education. I feel that as a teacher I would like these standards to stay the way they are that way I could feel free to integrate technology into my classroom and instruction they way I saw best. I know other people would disagree.

I found a lot of feedback about ISTE and some was positive and some was negative. I think that it all depends how you view technology in the classroom, it seems there are more people than I would have ever thought that think students are already to technological savvy and rely to heavily on technology. I agree that technology should supplement the class and enhance real experiences with real people instead of replacing them. I found a very interesting video that explains how ISTE connects educators and how this is helping to forge the future for technology in the classroom.