August 21, 2008
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No. 1: ISTE Launches New Technology Standards for Students
The International Society for Technology in Education has launched its new National Educational Technology Standards for Students: The Next Generation (NETS·S). The result of a year’s worth of feedback from educators in the United States and around the world, The Next Generation marks a significant change in “what educators think students should know about and be able to do with technology.”
Whereas the old NETS·S focused heavily on technology tools, the focus of The Next Generation standards has shifted to higher-level thinking skills, covering six key areas:
- Creativity and innovation
- Communication and collaboration
- Research and information fluency
- Critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making
- Digital citizenship
- Technology operation and concepts
Clearly, students know how to use technology tools. It is essential that the focus of the standards shifts from mechanics to methods. As the subtitle of the new standards says, students need “to be able to…learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly digital world.” So we know they can use the technology—now, can they think, and learn, and problem solve, and collaborate as 21st-Century citizens? This seems to be what the framers of the new NETS·S standards are aiming for.
No. 2: Teachers Expand Social Networking with Classroom 2.0
Teachers are not new to online social networking sites. They have just called them “forums” or “bulletin boards” and have been using them for years. But teacher social networking sites look and act different than the old communication sites.
One example of the “new” social networking for teachers is Classroom 2.0—“the social networking site for those interested in the practical application of Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in learning.”
So, what’s so new and different about Classroom 2.0? For starters, there’s the Web 2.0 reference. Because Web 2.0 was developed in the higher education realm, many K–12 educators are just starting to see the term in professional development literature. However, many schools across the country are looking to Web 2.0 as a way to expand how technology is integrated in the classroom and outside the classroom—connecting to students wherever they are, to parents and families, and to the community in new and exciting ways.
According to Wikipedia, Web 2.0 “refers to a perceived second-generation of Web-based communities and hosted services—such as social-networking sites, wikis and folksonomies—which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users.” (OK, there’s another strange new term within the definition: “folksonomies.” These are basically collaboratively-generated keywords.) That doesn’t tell us much, but it’s safe to say that Web 2.0 technology is basically the same “new” technology with a much stronger focus on collaboration among users. So, Classroom 2.0 is Web 2.0 at its best.
Browse around Classroom 2.0 and you’ll find:- Good, old forums—but this time organized by the use of tags according to the type of technology tool you are interested in. Check out “Document Sharing,” “Blogging,” “Podcasting,” or “RSS & Readers,” to name just a few. Plus you’ll find book-discussion forums, forums about upcoming conferences, philosophy and pedagogy, and even “Just for Fun.”
- Videos and podcasts and photos
- “Good Links for Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom”
- Educator blogs
- Groups—a place where groups of teachers can “meet” around specific issues or interests. Check out the DigiSkills group, with the group description, “DigiSkills teachers design, share, compare and enhance teaching methods and materials.”
Joining the ranks of teacher collaboration sites like Tapped In, which covers a broader professional development landscape, Classroom 2.0 offers teachers a place to gather, talk, find and share resources, and get support for using technology to teach. Membership in Classroom 2.0 is free and signing up is simple.