I interviewed a middle school math teacher, in the Montclair School District, about the impact of national technology standards in the school. She has seen the standards before, and was familiar with both, The National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) and The National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). The school, as well as the whole district have begun to implement the NET-S for students. The standards at the school, are used "mostly in technology classes (required each semester for each student), but also used in all subject area classes as appropriate."
The teacher aligns many of her lessons according to the standards. Recently, she gave the students a scavenger hunt for the TI-89 calculator, so that they would explore all the features the calculator has to offer. Also, the school just got brand new Macbooks for them to use, which she uses in her lessons for applications such as the Geometer’s Sketchpad. She went on to tell me, that the students really engage and participate more, whenever technology is used.
The district has a technology mission plan which states, “If we are successful integrating technology, all students will use technology to gather information, solve problems, share their expertise, and develop the life skills needed to function in the 21st century.” They have planned out 3 year goals, which show great motivation and they are as follows: (MONTCLAIR PUBLIC SCHOOLS GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR TECHNOLOGY 2010-2013)
Goal 1
Students and staff will have seamless access to information technology in their schools.
Goal 2
Students will develop the technology and information literacy life skills needed to succeed in the growing technological world.
Goal 3
Staff will utilize technology to enhance the educational goals of the district.
Goal 4
Parents and community members will understand the effectiveness of technology in education.
The school website has a section set aside for technology as well. The importance of this technology infusion is clearly stated, and how students will benefit from it. The school understands that technology is the way of life, and is doing everything to prepare their students for the future.
I was not surprised at the teacher’s familiarity with the standards, because I have seen the way she incorporates technology into her lessons. The teacher sees the importance of technology in education and tries to infuse it in her lessons as much as possible to make them more interesting.
As a future educator, I see the importance of NET-S and NET-T. If the district I work in, is not implementing the standards, I would try to voice my opinion on the advantages of using technology in the classroom. Not only does it make lessons fun and interesting, but also enriches every lesson and gives students a deeper understanding.
Spreadsheet:
Montclair Public Schools
District Technology Plan :
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