NETS: Old vs. New

With the release of the new NETS standards (NETS Refresh - very clever), we can now take a look back at how far we've come, or haven't come, in the last nine years. The old version of the standards were released in 1998 in an effort to guide educators in our quest to prepare our students for the "real world." But not only to be able to pass their state exams, and know that the United States has 50 states, and that Romeo loved Juliet, etc. The goal was to make sure that students were heading out of high school with certain skills that would enable them to succeed in today's high-tech world. Students should be able to use a computer, at least basically. They should be able to connect to the internet, locate resources (including web-based resources), decide what is relevant and useful, and discard the rest. Then, they should be able to interpret that information and present it in multiple formats, depending on requirements and effectiveness (text document, presentation, spreadsheet, etc.) And, possibly even more importantly, students should develop effective group/team working strategies, problem solving skills, and critical thinking. In my opinion, this is what it is all about. This way, when our students enter corporate America, or start their own businesses, or head off to college, they have the tools necessary to succeed and excel. However, in my experience with urban education, these goals are a long way away.

First of all, the majority of schools do not even have the capabilities to teach and facilitate these kinds of lessons. Not enough computers in the school, class sizes that are too large, and a large percentage of students who don't have access to a computer with an internet connection at home. This is a major problem in integrating different forms of educational technology into the curriculum. How can you make a class blog a part of the instruction if all of your students cannot access it. Can you really force them to go to the library? Sure our students can text message each other until the cows come home, check their emails and send email, and use MySpace.com, but most of them do not know how to effectively use a computer and the internet to complete a task, even a basic one. So, I feel that at this point, at least for sure in Jersey City (from dealing with my own students, talking with family of high school age, and talking with other educators in Jersey City), most students are not reaching the goals for the old NETS standards.

Now, as for the new NETS, as you can tell from the above, I think they are way above and beyond what most schools can hope to achieve given their facilities, budgets, and socio-economic status of the community. Also, I find the standards to be somehow redundant and vague both at the same time. I think they could probably be trimmed down where they overlap and then once that has been done, give a more detailed explanation of the objective. I think Gary Stager also makes a few interesting points in his article (Stager, 2007) about the new standards. He questions why much of the standards seem to center around students composing PowerPoint presentations. Is this a necessary skill in todays world? Also, what about other presentation software? These are interesting questions and, as he goes on, teachers must be careful to consider if all of the goals of the standards are worth dedicating instructional time to. There is no doubt that the use of technology in all its different forms is increasingly a requirement to function in society. But, how much of it is the responsibility and the realistic objective of public schools?

Stager, Gary (2007). Refreshing the ISTE Technology Standards. District Administration, June, Retrieved 07/29/07, from http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1186&p=6#0

Multimedia Instructional Tools: Harnessing digital resources to enhance instruction

This brief letter from the editors of eSchool News explains that in today’s society, it is a foregone conclusion that multimedia elements are an essential part of instruction; and that the use of such tools allow educators to target the wide variety of learning styles that are recognized today. The various educational technologies now available to us (blogging, podcasting, etc.) help to liven up lessons and draw today’s “digital natives” in to the learning process. However, educators must also realize that there comes along with these tools certain responsibilities, concerns, and new preparations. For example, educators have to discern what is useable and meaningful, and not just filler. There are so many resources available that one could never hope to be exposed to it all. The editors of eSchool News have put together “this in-depth resource center complete with integration ideas, best practices, quality web resources for streaming video, web sites for research and lesson supplementation, podcasting trends and ideas, and much more.” It is an excellent resource for any educator.

Ascione, Laura (2006, March 1). Apple offers free hosting of class lectures at 'iTunes U'. Retrieved July 15, 2007, from eSchool News Online Web site:
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=6153

One link that I followed led me to this article which details the experiment that took place at the University of Michigan’s School of Dentistry. Here, the students are using Podcasts of lectures to enhance their learning and reinforce lessons learned in person. The Podcasts are available for download through “iTunes U” at no cost. At Michigan University, the students have taken responsibility and perform all the tasks required to acquire, edit, and upload the audio files. Initially, the lectures were available in video files with audio, PowerPoint presentations with audio, and just audio. The administrators discovered that the most popular format was audio alone. This was attributed to that fact that today’s students are multi-taskers by necessity, and being able to listen to these lectures on portable mp3 players while doing other activities is a huge advantage. These students have kept the program running for three years now and have found it to be an excellent asset.

I think the use of lectures in the form of Podcasts can be a powerful way for students to reinforce what they have learned and possibly catch information that was missed the first time around. And I think this application is useful in the secondary level as well, not just in university. Particularly given the fact that I think sometimes in today’s society, with the knowledge and understanding about learning that has been attained, some people feel that the “lecture” is obsolete in the classroom environment. This is foolish. While today’s students are in fact multi-media learners and have a wide range of learning styles, there are still some subjects and some sets of information that can best be conveyed in this method. As an educator, there are moments when I plan lesson and I look at the available resources and weigh various activities for a certain subject. And to myself I say “this information was acquired in such and such away. And no group assignment, web quest, blog, etc. is going to get this information across to students quite as well as me just telling them about personally in a specific way.” And these would be times where a podcast could help students go back and review the information. Perhaps most for those with very short attention spans, or who are poor note takers. Or, even if a lecture wasn’t the initial means of conveyance, it could be available as a review resource. Indeed, this is a useful tool.