District Administration - June 2007 - (Page 30)

COVER STORY: TECHNOLOGY REFRESHING THE ISTE Technology Standards Senior Editor Gary Stager interviews Don Knezek, CEO of ISTE, on the revised National Educational Technology Standards (NETS). DON KNEZEK OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR TECHNOLOGY in Education has served with the organization for years. Since 1999, he has directed the association’s National Center for Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology, targeted to improving technology preparation among teachers. DA: Why are new NETS necessary? KNEZEK: A number of forces inﬂuenced the need to update the NETS, from their age (NETS for students, or NETS*S, were released in 1998) to the globalization of education, from developments in technology and changing demographics of learners to the emergence of the digital learning landscape inside and outside of schools, and, of course, pressures from the ﬂattening world and the slippage in our nation’s leadership in innovation and in its world economic leadership. DA: What was wrong with the last set of standards? KNEZEK: Absolutely nothing was wrong with the last set of standards except that societal, learning, technological and economic landscapes have evolved, and it is clearly time to re-examine what our students need to know and be able to do to learn eﬀectively and live productively in increasingly digital and global environments. The NETS for Students published in 1998 by ISTE are very strong, and we should be ashamed of how many of our students have not yet been given 30 June 2007 the opportunity to master them. However, there are other capabilities that are now critical in order for young learners to have rich and equitable opportunities to develop and participate in society. DA: Why did it take so long to identify creativity and innovation as important aspects of learning? KNEZEK: That is a really good question. Many educators, even in 1998, talked about the importance of several of the “noncore” areas of the school curriculum (the arts, for example) and some of the less structured learning opportunities as major forces in developing creativity and innovation in students. However, until recently most education stakeholders assumed the United States had a lock on world leadership in these two areas. Evidence of the last decade—the boom in applications for patents from Chinese nationals, for example—have made it clear that the world is rapidly cutting into our lead. Also, as more routine jobs have gone oﬀshore, there is a realization that creativity and innovation generate salaries and employment opportunities that Members of the International Society for Technology in Education brainstorming the new NETS. continue to be desirable to the U.S. workforce. I suppose it took so long because trends take time to come into focus, and people take time to react to those trends once they are evident. DA: Who is the audience for the NETS Refresh document? KNEZEK: The “audience” for the NETS Refresh is really a misnomer. They are truly for audiences teachers, curriculum and learning resources developers, other standards bodies such as content area organizations (NCTM, NCTE, etc.), school leaders, students, parents, policy-makers (especially state departments of educaDistrict Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2007

Contents
Editor's Letter
Letters
News Update
Security Update
Technology Update
Curriculum Update
Inside the Law
Admistrator Profile
District Profile
Refreshing the ISTE Technology Standards
Action Teams
RE-Construction
Professional Development for the New Century
Multimedia LIT
New Products
Leadership Books
Problem/Solution
Online Edge
Speaking Out
Supervisor's Opinion
Professional Opinion
Research Corner
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - June 2007