NETs for Teachers

Continuing from the previous blog, let's look more closely at the NETs for Teachers:

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

• To me, this is all linked to one's philosophy. Do you value developing innovative thinking in children? Do you believe in real-world application and problem solving? Do you believe that children construct their understanding and that revealing misconceptions and level of understanding is all part of the process in learning? To make this a reality, our learning leaders need to buy in to this philosophical stance.
  

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S.
Teachers:
a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching

• Again, this is the general work of learning facilitators--designing learning experiences and assessments, using the best available and most engaging tools that meet given learners' needs (only figured out through authentic on-going assessment). Once again we see philosophical tenets such as valuing diverse learning styles and allowing students to personalize and show their learning in varied formats. What if teachers don't philosophically believe in this?
  

3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.

• Couldn't one exhibit these skills and knowledge and yet not necessarily improve student learning? Obviously one needs this content base but this standard doesn't seem learning-centered.
  

Teachers:
a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
b. collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats
d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning

• So basically we need teachers to be life-long and effective collaborators, communicators, and learners? Doesn't that encompass all of this?
  

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.
Teachers:
a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright,intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources
b. address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
c. promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information
d. develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools

• Much like what we saw with the NETs for Administrators, of course we need to model, promote and facilitate ethical and responsible use of digital resources--any resources for that matter.

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.
Teachers:
a. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning
b. exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others
c. evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning
d. contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

• I like the part about being a life-long learner and global citizen as a model for students. However, many of the other details have more to do with teachers' lives outside of the learning realm and won't necessarily translate into improved student learning.
  

http://diskurs.hum.aau.dk/english/dexus3/images/collaboration.jpg

In conclusion, I feel these standards are not necessary. I believe we need to have philosophical agreements and support teachers in gaining the knowledge, skills, and understandings to become life-long learners, collaborators, and communicators. The facilitation for learners will then happen naturally. What do you think?