Reflection on NETS - Teachers

This is indeed a very comprehensive set of technological standards for teachers. I do think that they are reasonable and worthwhile (if somewhat heavy-handed and repetitive), and that they do apply to all teachers at all levels. They are workable in everyday practice if we recognize that there is a broad spectrum of methods and applications represented here, and that some teachers will touch on just a few, or even one at a time, as they move through their daily school lives. In other words, it would not be possible for all teachers to meet all standards all the time. But the list is helpful exactly because it defines so many ways to hit technological best-practices. There would seem to be something for everyone.

It's important to recognize that as a society we are still in a very awkward phase of transitioning into the high-tech "total digitalization" of information and communication. At this moment we have teachers who were in the classroom for decades before computers became ubiquitous, alongside those whose first steps were instantly recorded on digital cameras, uploaded onto their parents sleek laptops, and electronically broadcast to friends and family across the globe. Even more insidiously, the "digital divide" is just one more "same as it ever was" factor, which most often further privileges the already privileged, and further disempowers the disadvantaged. It will take vigilance to move through such a transition in a graceful and positive way. I wince when I hear new, young teachers refer to their colleagues as "dinosaurs", and I am shocked at the "zero-tolerance" attitude of many teachers towards the struggles of students who lack computers in their homes - these students, likely to be experiencing multiple hardships related to poverty, are expected to meet the same hard deadlines as their classmates, with a fraction of the access to the necessary tools.

On that note, I think that my own best way in to this list (and best chance of composing the equivalent of two pages of reasonable commentary on the subject...) is to make a sort of "translation" list - ways that I can really meet these standards, sooner than later.

1) Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity -
*offer digital options for completing assignments and demonstrating learning, such as powerpoint or youtube presentations
*create digital spaces for teaching/learning collaboratively, such as class blogs or FB pages
*assign, encourage and guide online research with a broad variety of purposes

2) Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership -
*OK, I'm jumping in head-first right now, aren't I? Three days ago I was a sworn FB-hater, now I'm in danger of becoming a junkie. Even got my own Blog. Feel sorry for those of you forced to read it, but at least I'm getting a clue. I will not turn back! I totally get the relevance to education.

3) Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments -
*God, this is repetitive - didn't we just do this one, only called it "#1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity"?

4) Model Digital-Age Work and Learning -
*As I said, I am diligently working on it.
*create a web page for each class with relevant links to content for both students and parents
*address the issues of "digital divide" and equitable access directly and aggressively in the classroom - develop and establish a protocol for digital expectations and requirements that acknowledges unequal access
*explicitly teach online issues, best practices, etiquette, responsibilities, and repercussions in the classroom

New, Improved Response to “Essential Conditions”

(New & improved because I actually began this class last semester and had to take an Incomplete due to Student Teaching/PACT overwhelm. So here is my second shot at this...)

I'm trying to have a better attitude. I'm trying to be open minded and positive. But the distance between this lovely vision and the reality I've experienced is just so pathetically vast. I can't seem to cross it.

First I wonder, is this list in any particular order? I am guessing not, because if it were, wouldn't "Consistent and Adequate Funding" be at the top? Last semester I spent one very long morning running around the campus of the high school where I taught, just trying to find a classroom where my 11th graders would be able to present their Powerpoint projects on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. All we needed was connectivity and a screen we could project on... I did find it, but mostly I found classrooms where those basic conditions did NOT exist. Including my own of course, which was why we needed to migrate across campus that day before we could get down to work.

There seems to be something about technology that's turned on us. Like - this cart's not just ahead of the horse, this cart's actually running away with the horse.

I know I'm being so vague. Let's look at the first few Essential Conditions. Shared Vision, Empowered Leaders, Implementation Planning... then comes that Funding... and Equitable Access. Yes, how we do need these things. But in my world, these conditions are essential first in order meet some much more basic needs than technology. My mind is stuck inside of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and I can't get out. Is that short sighted? But isn't that the whole point of the Hierarchy? It is not possible for human beings to succeed at the higher levels if the lower needs are not met. If we COULD achieve vision, leadership, collaborative planning, adequate funding and equitable access, my passion would be to see them applied to the basics.