ISTE Standards

Video Transcription

In this tutorial, you'll learn about the history and purpose of the ISTE standards and we'll outline the six categories of standards within this set. Let's get started. The ISTE standards were previously known as the National Education Technology Standards, or NETS. The current standards were developed by the International Society for Technology in Education or ISTE sometimes pronounced isty. This is a nonprofit organization that focuses on integrating 21st century skills into curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

The ISTE standards include separate standards for teachers, students, administrators, technology and computer science teachers, and technology coaches. In this course, we'll be focusing on the ISTE standards for students, which outline the 21st century knowledge and skills that students will need in order to be globally competitive. Many school districts are already incorporating the ISTE standards into curriculum maps and into individual units and lessons in order to help ensure that students have the skills and knowledge necessary in order to communicate, think critically, collaborate, and create in environments that are technology rich, both in and out of the classroom.

The ISTE standards are divided into six categories. First creativity and innovation. These standards focus on students' ability to construct knowledge and to develop products and processes that use technology in innovative ways. The next category is communication and collaboration. Students should be able to use a variety of digital media in order to collaborate and communicate. The third category is research and information fluency. The standards in this category focus on the importance of being able to use technology effectively in order to gather, evaluate, and incorporate information.

The next category is critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. Students should be able to use technology to complete projects, to solve problems, to conduct research, and to make decisions all with an emphasis on critical thinking skills. The fifth category in the ISTE standards is digital citizenship. Standards in this category focus on the ethical and legal issues that are related to the use of technology. And the final category is technology operations and concepts. Students should be able to understand what is going on behind the scenes, how the technology actually works, and how technology systems are set up.

In this tutorial, we looked at the history and purpose of the ISTE standards and we looked at the six categories that these standards are divided into. Here's a chance for you to stop and reflect. Are the ISTE standards already built into your curriculum? Can you see yourself incorporating them into your lessons and unit plans? As you reflect on how this new information can be applied, you may want to explore the additional resources section that accompanies this video presentation. This is where you'll find links to resources chosen to help you deepen your learning and explore ways to apply your newly-acquired skill set.

Thanks for watching. Have a great day.