For the data collection purpose of
this interactivity, I interviewed a 5th grade Language Arts teacher
in the Union City Public School District.
When asking her the suggested questions from the NETS Adoption Survey,
she was particularly unaware that such standards existed in a specific format
beyond the NJCCCS. She said that most of
the objectives from the NETS-T and NETS-S are woven into other standards based
upon content area but are not as specifically interested in technology
integration. As far as she was aware, these standards have not been implemented
into her school or any other schools in the district. While the district is attempting a digital
conversion in some aspects, they have not fully adopted any of these standards
with a full implementation but are making gradual, slow pace, changes to their
teaching styles to be more acclimated with 21st century learning.
Her reaction to the standards was
particularly interesting. She seemed
unaware of their existence as a whole but was aware of their importance in some
fashion because all of her colleagues, as well as herself, have been steadily
changing aspects to students’ learning to prepare them for the future. Now
aware of their existence, she believes this a better step to help create
meaningful connections between what they are learning and how many ways they
can learn it using different technologies.
She considers these standards to be “a strong way to increase digital
involvement for both students and teachers, while the landscape of education is
continually being redesigned”. Though this conversion is slowly taking shape
with the addition of laptops for teachers and students alike, she feels that
the district would require (1) increase in heavy funding to convert fully, (2) more
staff and personnel dedicated to this focus, and (3) district-wide professional
development in either seminars or training.
After interviewing and thinking
about these responses, I was unaware of these standards as well. I think they are a crucial design to help
increase a digital participation and a more heavily structured adaptation to
assist and redefine curriculum for 21st century learners. These standards serve a great purpose in the
future of education as well as learning for all types of learners whether they
are visual-spatial, bodily kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic,
etc. I was not surprised that she and
most of her colleagues were unaware of these standards because I feel that
despite their presence since 1998, their implementation is not as widespread as
we might believe in education today.
Their importance is heavily known but the funding to adapt curriculum
and staff may not be entirely there.
I feel that students deserve the education
that our technology has paved the way for.
As a future educator, I feel that there is an importance that we intertwine
these standards into our lessons so that students are not only receiving the
best education they can be, but that we are also preparing them for the
different landscape of education that is on the horizon.
It's really interesting that your teacher said they were integrating them gradually, etc. I had to get in touch with a technology teacher just to find a teacher who knew what the NETS were, and he told me that unless they were funded properly, NETS wouldn't touch a class outside of a technology class. Integrating NETS seems an important aspect of 21st century learning, and I don't see how this standard will be approached without funding. Personally, I'm glad I've been introduced to these now, so that I can intertwine them with the core standards I'm expected to teach. How schools figure 21st Century Learning will be addressed without NETS, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteIt's really unfortunate that integrating technology into the classroom takes so much funding, considering most school district's funding gets cut annually. I know the district that I grew up in can't afford full integration because of lack of funding. Another reason that schools are more technologically advanced is due to the fact (in my opinion) that some administrators don't deem it necessary to be completely technological. Since standardized tests still require pen and paper and no technological knowledge, I think that districts don't see the importance of the NETS integration.
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