Unwrapping Technology

Dannel Montesano
Professor Singleton
EDU-225
03/10/13

Unwrapping the Technology Standards The NETS-S (National Educational Technology Standards-Students) has specific set of standards set for grades sixth through eighth regarding the development of technology. Teachers can utilize their understanding of current technology to help students reach and master the NETS-S standards and become successful within the rapidly advancing technological world we live in. What types of technologies are available for teachers, what are the over-all standards developed by NETS-S for this age bracket, are they right on target with the age group, ?
Today’s educators have an endless pool of technological teaching aids at their fingertips. The Worldwide web has put teaching programs, learning apps, downloadable content, and all manner of communication at the availability of everyone. This information is readily and easily accessed. There are electronic whiteboards, video creating and editing programs, Ipads, learning games regarding all subjects, and an endless pool of help and ideas that can facilitate teaching, learning, and communication. Teachers can utilize them all to help students reach each of the standards implemented in NETS-S.
The standards for this bracket include creating videos that record and document school or community functions, gather data, use digital tools and resources, use information gathering technologies, learning to identify and solve computer problems, explore curriculum from perspectives of other cultures, evaluate and determine credibility of resources, and among other things engaging in online collaborative learning projects. All standards work together to create an informed student who has the basic tools needed to become successful in a swiftly advancing technological world.
Among the many standards and requirements expected to be learned by 6th-8th graders almost all of them are right on the mark and can easily be implemented in the classroom, especially number 2. Standard number 2 refers to creating animations or videos that document school or community events. This age group is constantly taking photos or videos for their own social outlets. Tapping into this type of media will be inspiring for the students and can encourage learning through a skill they enjoy and identify with.
Learning through the use of technology can be a wonderful experience for students. There are many ways technology can be used to enhance lessons or engage the students, where more primitive manners of teaching such as straight lecture and note taking can be dry and quite frankly lose the interest of the students. One such tool is the electronic whiteboard. The electronic whiteboard allows the teacher to project images for their computer onto the board in the front of the class. A teacher can prepare a slide show, power point, or show movies or videos regarding the subject being taught. This can draw the attention both visual and auditory of the class. Watching a movie where a science experiment is done can be more intriguing than just listening to a speech about it. Ipads are another great tool that can be used to create an enjoyable learning experience. They can be used to play learning games or even as a manner for communication for certain handicapped students. All of the NETS-S standards and requirements are reasonable there are some that may not be implemented or may be difficult to support. For example: Creating “original animations or videos documenting school, community, or local events.”(NETS-S, 2008) may be difficult if the school does not have video equipment or programs to support this type of activity. Each school will have its own set of standards and available tools that need to be taken into consideration when trying to follow standards. Teachers may have limited resources to work with but they can attempt to apply for grants from sites such as Grant Wrangler (http://grantwrangler.com/) and Teachers Count (http://www.teacherscount.org/teacher/grants.shtml). The resources are out there but need to be sought out and found.
The one expectation that I feel is missing from the standards are relatively fast typing skills. Typing skills can be quite a useful skill to teach and can aid students from this age group up as they begin to have more and more typed assignments given. The usage of programs such as “Word” and becoming familiar with it will also be helpful from this age all the way up to college. By giving them these two tools we are preparing them for their future.
The NETS-S standards are put in place to help nurture students to evolve into capable and involved community members. The technological world we live in is changing more rapidly than ever and it is in the benefit of both student and teacher to learn and advance with the times so they can be knowledgeable and stay at the forefront of these changes. As educators it is part of our job to prepare students for their future, and much of our future lies in technology, NETS-S is helping us do that.

Reference:
NETS-S . Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-2007-student-profiles-en.pdf?sfvrsn=4