The most important ISTE Standard – EDUC 932 Blog Post #1

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During our first class Professor Steve Katz introduced the ISTE standards (International Society for Technology in Education.)  These standards are quite relevant for me especially given my most recently developed presentation, The Google Curriculum.  I’ll be presenting it for the first time at my school on July 19th and hopefully again in Zurich this fall!

Its hard to pick the MOST important standard since they compliment each other so well.  Each standard provides a framework for teachers to prepare their students for a 21st century world.  A world where computers are not only everywhere but essential to live and function as a citizen of the future.

Even though they are all important I keep finding myself coming back to the first standard, Empowered Learner.

Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences. tweet

I find this strand fits with what I often refer to as Digital Literacy, the concept that inspired The Google Curriculum.  Its imperative for students to learn the ins and outs of hardware and software that is being pushed into our lives to a greater degree everyday. Students should understanding that ultimately they are in charge of their own learning and can leverage technology to help dive deeper and learn more.  Being literate with how technology works, knowing how to troubleshoot or teach oneself will empower our students and make them more marketable as future college students and employees.  Teachers should capitalize on technology to help students make themselves an empowered learner and open new doors to a very exciting future!