ISTE Standards (cont.)

   In my last post, I wrote about the International Society for Technology Education's standards for student learning. These standards were centered on the central fact that in the 21st century, a new set of learning tools is available to students.  These digital tools, be they hardware or software, need to be part of student learning because they have quickly become critical components of economic and social life for so many people.
   When learning standards are accepted, it is teachers who are tasked with implementation.  But with the new ISTE learning standards, a dilemma presents itself. What if the teachers are not adequately conversant and comfortable with the student learning standards? In other words, with these ISTE student standards, what if teachers don't reasonably understand the digital world they are now guiding students through? Given the rapid ascent of digital tools coupled with a teaching workforce that largely came of age before the onset of the 21st century, this gap between student learning standards and teacher digital knowledge is not theoretical. It can be very real. 
   To that end, the ISTE has also crafted a set of teacher learning standards for the digital age.  These five standards say to teachers, "If you are to be an effective teacher in an era of digital tools, you need to be familiar with the tools and be willing to incorporate them appropriately into classroom instruction." There is an understanding that these digital tools are rapidly evolving, so an important facet of the ISTE learning standards for teachers hinges on professional development.  Teachers must be explicit, conscious learners as part of their job.
   There are five major categories of teacher performance in the ISTE standards:
       1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
       2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
       3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning
       4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
       5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
   The first category asks teachers to inspire students to learn. This, of course, is what teachers have tried to do since the ancient Greeks began to give shape to formal learning institutions.  In fact, in reading through the subtext of this major category, "technological" words like virtual or digital barely appear.  What is emphasized, however, is the teacher should model learning. In other words, if teachers are to help students towards optimal learning and creativity, teachers need to be creative learners themselves. 
   The second category encourages teachers to incorporate technology into classroom learning. Implicit in this category is a re-definition of classroom to include virtual components.  For instance, at GSB, each teacher has a class site in KnightSite. The ISTE would see the class site as part of classroom learning. The classroom is no longer defined and confined by the four walls of the room. Now, it moves across space and time by utilizing digital tools.  Aside from KnightSite, I see technology as part of classroom learning environments daily. An example from today: I was talking with Brett Mershon about her use of a Google Form to help students assess their understanding of figures of speech.  When I asked why she was using a Google Form for a task that could have been accomplished in other ways, she said that students get a little more interested when the instructional tools are varied. I have no doubt she's correct.
   The third teacher standard is the most problematic for a number of teachers.  It asks teachers to model appropriate uses of digital tools.  The explanatory language of #3 above says that "Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society."  There's an assumption here that teachers will be better able to effectively use digital tools in the classroom if they embrace digital tools in their lives.  This standard suggest teachers can be most effective if they do such things as blog, work with digital audio and visual files, and utilize the internet as their go-to resource for information.  I regularly encounter teachers who would challenge this assumption.  I even wrote about such teachers in an article that appeared in T.H.E. Journal called "The Digital Resistors" because I think helping these teachers feel more comfortable with technology is important.  In my experience, it is true that teachers who avoid digital tools in their personal lives often feel overwhelmed with the technology changes they see in school.
   The fourth standard, by contrast, seems like a comfortable fit for virtually all teachers.  Here, teachers are urged to keep digital citizenship front and center as new technologies are blended into learning environments.  In a way, not much changes here from teacher modeling that dates back many generations.  Teachers generally are seen as key adults to help our children learn how to become responsible citizens.  Lying, cheating, harassing and bullying have always been anathema to teachers who seek to help young people mature. Yes, the tools to misbehave have changed, but the core issues are essentially the same.
  The final standard would also be at home in a listing of teacher standards from a generation past.  Teachers must also be learners, and they must develop their professional skills in an ongoing fashion through their careers. But two things do change in the digital age.  Because the tools, both hardware and software, evolve rapidly, more frequent professional development is necessary. An older model of a workshop or two a year simply won't be enough.  The good news is that the ways in which professional development can occur have expanded as well.  Online webinars and MOOCs, for instance, offer free, convenient professional development tools to any teacher. Online information is not only usually very cost effective; it is also not limited by geography.  For instance, this spring, I'm taking a course from the University of Texas on how social media is being used by various professions.  It's a MOOC.  So I'm learning more about an area that will develop my professional knowledge from a professor in Austin, but the whole process will be free and relatively painless.
   Want to see the ISTE standards for teachers? Just click on ISTE Standards.

ISTE Standards

   ISTE is The International Society for Technology Education. It's one of the several very large, influential professional organizations that promote and influence technology education. It's reach is global. Like other educational professional organizations, it supports research, hosts workshops and conferences and maintains publications.
   The ISTE has also taken a lead in bringing technology professionals together to ask an important question: What are the goals of technology learning for students, teachers and administrators?  Significant time has been spent in creating answers to this question, and the result is a set of ISTE Standards that have been published for students, teachers and administrators.  These standards get at what are often called 21st century skills. This post will examine the student standards, and in a following post, I'll review the teacher standards.
   The student standards are categorized with six separate goal areas.
          1. Creativity and Innovation
          2. Communication and Collaboration
          3. Research and Information Fluency
          4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making 
          5. Digital Citizenship
          6. Technology Operations and Concepts
    A closer examination of first goal, "Creativity and Innovation," shows an emphasis on putting technology within the context of creative thinking. The goal is further explained by saying that "Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes through technology."  This broad idea is further defined through four specific tasks students should master. Students should be able to apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas. Students should create original work. Students should use models and simulations to explore systems. And students should be able to identify trends and forecast possibilities.  In short, one goal of technology learning should be to foster and deepen creativity.
   The second goal, "Communication and Collaboration," partners easily and obviously with emerging technologies.  In an explanatory sentence, the standards emphasize that "Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others." This second goal strongly suggests we find ways to use social media appropriately rather than dismiss it out of hand.  It also suggests that learning need not be geographically confined.
   The third goal gets at the processes by which "students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information."  This standard, among all the six student standards, is most difficult for many veteran educators to accept.  The key roadblock to acceptance, I believe, is the phrase "digital tools."  Research and information literacy has evolved very slowly and carefully over centuries of scholarship. Up until quite recently, the accepted means of acquiring knowledge followed prescribed protocols that were highly articulated. The idea of peer review, for example, is a perfect example of traditionally accepted scholarship.  Digital tools opened the door for a sea change in how knowledge could be acquired, shared and deemed acceptable. Wikipedia provides a perfect example of this new model. The ISTE firmly believes that students must be conversant with digital research tools but at the same time, the ISTE also emphasizes the need for students to be able to analyze and evaluate the information these tools yield.
   "Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making" are listed as the fourth goal.  It seems me the key term here is problem solving because critical thinking with resultant decisions have long been articulated as a student learning goal.  In the bullet points that follow the fourth goal, it is expected that students will work on "authentic problems."  Again, this suggests a departure from past practice. Schools are now explicitly being asked to bring real-world problems into the classroom and teach students how to work on these problems through data collection.  There is also an explicit recommendation that digital tools be used in the solving of problems.  Considering the worlds of work and academia, it's hard not to include digital tools as a key resource in solving problems.
   The fifth goal centers on digital citizenship.  It asks that "Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior." For a couple of reasons, this goal will be difficult to achieve.  I believe the definition of "legal and ethical behavior" is and will remain a moving target.  It easy to forget how new our digital world is.  Particularly in the legal realm, issues connected to digital privacy and copyright, for example, are far from resolved.  Additionally, the oft-noted gulf between the acceptable practices of younger users vs. older users makes the teaching of citizenship an ongoing challenge. None of this is to say that we do not try to educate students about the importance of legal and ethical digital practices; it simply means we should understand we're working towards a goal that will likely never be met to full satisfaction.
   The sixth and final goal, "Technology Operations and Concepts," asks that "Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations." This goal provides a unique challenge to schools because it assumes this learning will occur throughout the school, regardless of grade or discipline. In the explanatory bullet points, it is stated that students should be able to "Understand and use technology systems" and "Troubleshoot systems and applications." There is an implicit assumption here that teachers will be conversant with technology systems and be able to troubleshoot systems. We're not just talking about technology teachers or the technology support staff; we're talking about all faculty.  In other words, teachers and administrators need to be reasonably adept at using technology for this goal to be realized. It will simply not be acceptable for educators to declare that "I don't do technology" or "I'm just not interested in learning anything about computers" if this goal is to be realized.
   The ISTE standards for students define goals for students that put learning at the center.  But they also make a 21st century assumption: that the key toolkit for learning will be digital.  Want to know more? Check out the ISTE web site. On the Home page, click on the "Standards" tab to see the complete set of student standards.

Filmmaking

   Last year, following a semester of teaching Filmmaking, I posted a few of the films students created.  I received plenty of positive feedback; readers enjoyed seeing what Upper School students could create when given some time, direction and encouragement.

   This year's class is different from last year in two specific ways. The group, at least during the first semester, is smaller. Only three students are enrolled.  And importantly, all three were completely novice filmmakers.  They needed to learn everything from script writing to story boarding to camera work to editing.  These very substantial challenges were met with the enthusiasm and persistence of students who really wanted to learn how to create a film.
   Individual and group projects were completed through the semester.  Below, a sampling of some of the work completed by Marisa, Stephen and Alex.

Stephen created a promotional piece for a Film Appreciation Club

Marisa's short film highlights the benefits of mechanical pencils

A promotional short by Marisa encourages participation in the Model U.N Club

Alex's short film about Habitat for Humanity utilizes stop action

A group effort, this film's recounts GSB's Halloween 2013 celebration and was co-created by all three students