According to the National Educational Technology Trends Study State Strategies Report: Vol. 1, states are moving towards implementing technology standards through the Enhancing Education Through Technology program (EETT). This federal grant program has been created to assist student learning through technology and is focused on helping to establish proficiency by 8th grade. I noticed some interesting trends as a result of the state data acquired through the formula grants in 2004-05. The report was part of the U.S. Department of Education's National Educational Technology Trends Study (NETTS).
What I found surprising was that 45 states have student technology proficiency standards. “18 reported having "stand-alone" standards, and 16 reported embedding technology standards with other academic content standards. The remaining eight states reported having both stand-alone technology standards and integrated standards.” I did not realize that many states were prioritizing technology to such an extent. The report indicates that many more states are working toward implementing technology standards or are “assessing student progress toward” technology proficiency. In my district, while I’ve noticed a move toward an emphasis on technology through the soon to be implemented “Gateway to Technology”, I have not heard mention of stand-alone technology standards. Things are changing very quickly, and I don’t believe that many of my colleagues are prepared for this change.
This leads me to another point the report made about different state technology standards, which was that some states are actually requiring technology proficiency for educators as well. “Many states have put in place minimum standards for teachers' use of technology, and five states reporting (sic) using statewide assessments of teachers' technology proficiency in FY 2004. Five other states that do not assess the technology skills of teachers reported that they were planning to do so.” That will certainly come as a surprise to many educators. While the number of teachers who are not comfortable with technology is waning, there are still many who have not managed to integrate it into the classroom.
An example of this is in my district, as with most in the state of Washington, we are using a statewide grading and reporting system called Skyward. This program is only in its second year in many schools, and still many teachers have not managed to make the switch from pen and paper grading, leaving the grades to be entered into the system at the end of each grading period. The fact that statewide assessments of teacher technology proficiency may be looming on the horizon may make for challenging implementation to say the least.
The report mentioned that in 2004 and 2005, “Just over half of (the)states reported the provision of activities related to online education, with 26 states reporting that they provided online courses, tutorials, software, and other academic content and resources in core subject areas.” This is a number I find rather small considering the online programs I see being offered in my district as well as others in the area. I believe this number will be proven to be much higher as we enter into the next academic year.
As with any report, this is subject to missing variables which are cause it to overlook states that may not have been included in the report due to budgetary concerns or for other reasons, but the trends in the growth of technology proficiency standards cannot be overlooked, and are reflecting the national prioritization of technology in instruction and learning. The impact on the learning community will be undeniable and will be a challenge to many who are unprepared to make the adjustment.
~link to the executive summary~
~Learning.com Creates New Technology Literacy Assessment to Align to Refreshed ISTE Standards~
~Washington State Tiers of 8th Grade Technology Literacy Indicators - with examples~
~Tiers of Technology Integration into the Classroom Indicators - with examples as they appear on the OSPI website~
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2 comments:
Just like you, I was unaware of the expectations of students to reach technological standards. The number of states required to meet these standards was fairly overwhelming.
I remain torn on the issue of technology in education. Growing up, I didn't have computers available until the end of high school. So all of that easy access wasn't available, forcing us to find different ways to achieve our academic success. But now, there seems to be absolutely endless support for students in technology. I feel like it is important for our students and children to learn about the advances in education, including how technology plays a part in education. But at the same time, I fear that the basic fundamentals of what we grew up with may be lost if we are not careful.
It’s good to know that many states are prioritizing technology, however as you said, not all teachers are ready for the change. I know that change for some people is overwhelming, especially without adequate training and support. Maybe some teachers need that push to try using new techniques in their classrooms and once they do, hopefully they’ll realize it’s not as bad as they had once believed. Another point I wonder about is are teacher’s given time and opportunities to learn technology-enhanced projects and methods to use in their classrooms? What would happen to those teachers who fail to meet the standards, then what?
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