ISTE Standards for Educators

A Guide for Teachers and Other Professionals

Helen Crompton

• Publisher: ISTE
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781564843951
• eBook ISBN: 9781564846501
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Standards

This guide to the ISTE Standards for Educators is your go-to resource for understanding, preparing for and adopting the standards in your work.

With this booklet, you'll take a deeper look at the Educator Standards, with suggestions on how to start implementing the standards, and profiles and tips for adopting the standards by role.

This booklet includes:

• The ISTE Standards for Educators with concept definitions and testimonials.
• Analysis of how the Educator Standards connect to other standards and frameworks.
• Reflective questions and tips for implementing specific competencies within the standards.
• Profiles by job role identifying tips and approaches to adopting the standards.

The family of ISTE Standards work in concert to support students, educators and leaders with clear guidelines on the skills, knowledge and approaches needed to succeed in the digital age. Check out our full suite of ISTE Standards booklets:

• ISTE Standards for Students
• Education Reimagined
• Transform Learning Through Technology
• Computational Thinking Meets Student Learning

PART ONE

Understand

Characterizing the Educator Standards

This section of the booklet unpacks each of the seven standards to outline the meaning behind the text. The standards appear with concept definitions included as footnotes. This will help educators understand the standards, and how to best apply them to their practice. The Educator Standards are organized into two main categories: Empowered Professional and Learning Catalyst.

As you read this section, it is important to know that the standards are made up of the standard statement, which is the initial sentence, and the indicators, which is the additional text listed by number. The standard provides an overarching statement of what educators will be doing if they are effectively integrating technology into learning and teaching. The indicators provide concrete skills sets that demonstrate mastery of the standard.

Empowered Professional

1. Learner

Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Educators:

a. Set professional learning goals to explore and apply¹ pedagogical approaches made possible by technology² and reflect on their effectiveness.

b. Pursue professional interests by creating and actively participating in³ local and global learning networks⁴.

c. Stay current with research⁵ that supports improved student learning outcomes⁶, including findings from the learning sciences⁷.

Educators have the responsibility for preparing students for their future. To do this effectively requires an empowered educator to continually reflect on their practice to take learning to the next level. An empowered educator is strong, confident, curious and willing to take risks. These traits belong to an educator who is also a learner.

The journey as a learner should never end, and educators must continually extend their knowledge, skills and practices to amplify their professional abilities. The learner is always looking for educational opportunities that test their ability to apply research-based best practices.

For educators to instill a love of learning in their students, educators themselves must become learners and demonstrate the empowering process.

The indicators provide specific ways educators can leverage technology to become active learners. The first has educators being intentional in their learning by setting goals. The second is to learn from the vast network of other educators available on the web. The third indicator is to keep up-to-date with research identifying best practices in teaching and learning. Although these indicators provide specific, tangible approaches to meet the standard, there are multiple pathways that can be taken.

Here are examples of how ISTE members work toward this standard:

Participating in Twitter chats, reading blogs, attending edcampsn and engaging in ISTE forums are just a few ways that I connect with educators from around the globe to continue to stay informed about current research and best practices in technology integration.

–Kristin Harrington, Florida

I always try to stay in touch with new technologies and consider how I could use them to help my students. I participate actively in different Communities of Practice to ensure I extend my understanding and to ensure I’m receiving help when I need it and extending help to other teachers.

–Marc Guerin, Canada

I am an emerging learner. I would like to move forward into the future of technology with my students and become more familiar with and include the ISTE Standards within both my teaching and learning, so both my students and I are able to benefit and grow. As a professional, I feel it is vital to continue to set goals and explore numerous pedagogical approaches so that I do not become stagnant in my teaching and jeopardize the future development and growth of my students.

–Donna Banks, Pennsylvania

2. Leader

Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Educators:

a. Shape, advance and accelerate a shared vision¹ for empowered learning with technology² by engaging with education stakeholders³.

b. Advocate for equitable access⁴ to educational technology⁵, digital content⁶, and learning opportunities⁷ to meet the diverse needs⁸ of all students.

c. Model for colleagues the identification⁹, exploration¹⁰, evaluation¹¹, curation¹² and adoption¹³ of new digital resources and tools for learning¹⁴.

Technology is a powerful tool that can be harnessed to transform learning and teaching. However, there are many who are unaware of what it can do. Educators need to take on the leadership responsibility to share with colleagues how technology can transform teaching and learning. Educators at all levels can be leaders, each with a valuable contribution. When all educators feel equally enabled to lead from where they are, it causes us to rethink who is offered a leadership role and how leadership is performed.

Standard 2 shows how educators can empower their students and improve teaching and learning using digital technology. This leadership can support students to meet the ISTE Standards for Students as they are empowered to become self-directed and self-driven. This standard also includes advocacy and modeling.

Great leaders model the change that they want to see happen in the school.

The standard indicators provide further direction in how to become a leader. The first indicator is about developing a shared vision to provide the driving force behind digital initiatives. The educator has united various stakeholders in shared values and goals that are collaboratively voiced. The second indicator asks educators to practice leadership by advocating for equitable digital access for all. This indicator identifies that there are many types of learners for reasons of physical, emotional, and cultural differences and preferences, and that all learners should have equitable access to all opportunities. The final indicator re-emphasizes the importance of modeling digital resources and tools.

Here are examples of how ISTE members work toward this standard:

We scheduled and held a variety of parent workshops and community open houses. This allowed us to educate parents and showcase what we were doing in the community. Parents attended with their children, and teacher leaders would share what was taking place in the classroom, highlighting the devices, digital tools and apps in use. We invited everyone, including the state president of the teachers union, the city mayor, local board of education members and education faculty from the local colleges.

–Renee Alford, New Jersey

When I find a digital tool is really helpful in my classroom, I share the tool and how I use it with other art educators through informal conversations and demonstrations as well as more formal presentations. I display what students have done with the tool, explaining how other educators can implement the tool in their own classrooms. Students in some classes do not always have access to computers, and I advocate for equal access for all students, including those with disabilities.

–Julie Mallinson, England

I frequently present at state and local conferences to share the powerful impact of technology with other teachers. I also work with other teachers in my district to ensure that the technology we use protects our students and conveys curriculum in an effective and meaningful way.

–Jennifer Smith, Illinois

3. Citizen

Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world. Educators:

a. Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions¹ and exhibit empathetic behavior² online that build relationships and community³.

b. Establish a learning culture⁴ that promotes curiosity⁵ and critical examination of online resources⁶ and fosters digital literacy⁷ and media fluency⁸.

c. Mentor⁹ students in safe¹⁰, legal¹¹ and ethical practices¹² with digital tools and the protection of intellectual rights and property¹³.

d. Model and promote¹⁴ management of personal data¹⁵ and digital identity¹⁶ and protect student data privacy¹⁷.

In our world, each country has rules and norms about how to interact with others and content. Children learn about these cultural characteristics as they grow up immersed in the culture. Learning about a culture can also happen at all ages as a person visits a new place or moves to a different country. The person learns to adapt to the cultural rules and norms. The same applies in the digital world. Students need to learn how to be good digital citizens as they work, learn, play and engage with others.

Digital citizens learn to be safe, be respectful of others and make positive contributions to the internet as they build relationships.

The main difference as people learn to navigate between analog and digital worlds is the scale and speed of impact. In both worlds, students have opportunities to “make the world a better place,” but in the digital world, students are using digital tools and social media to work toward causes that are important to them. Digital citizenship addresses the rights and responsibilities, but also the nearly unlimited opportunities students have to make an impact, even at a global scale.

Standard 3 provides guiding principles on the rights, responsibilities and opportunities that students have within the digital world. Educators can mentor students to exercise their civic rights in order to co-develop social norms.

Here are examples of how ISTE members work toward this standard:

The ISTE Standard for Educators, Citizen, informs my professional practice as I strive to model safe and responsible uses of digital media. While guiding students in the awareness, protection and analysis of their own digital footprints, it is also important that I promote best practices among my colleagues that are respectful of student information, such as data collection and storage, emails that include student demographics and critical evaluation of privacy policies for mobile apps that students use.

–Eric Carson, Connecticut

I teach students how to be responsible digital citizens through an infographic that I made. The infographic focuses on digital footprints, what they are, why students should care, and how to manage and protect their own digital footprint.

–Ashley Ward, Michigan

I am always looking for ways to talk about students as digital citizens and how teachers can encourage rather than limit their digital opportunities. As an example, I spoke with a teacher just yesterday who wanted to stop using Google Classroom because her middle school students were saying inappropriate things to each other in the comments. I explained to the teacher that she actually had a great opportunity to discuss with her students the difference in communication styles and appropriateness when you are texting your friends or having a school discussion. I encouraged her to get her students involved in setting their own guidelines and norms.

–Nancy Watson, Texas

Learning Catalyst

4. Collaborator

Educators dedicate time to collaborate with b...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Foreword
• Preface
• Contents
• Introduction: Transformation of the Digital Learning Landscape
• ISTE Standards for Educators
• PART ONE: Understand
• PART TWO: Prepare
• PART THREE: Adopt and Implement
• Essential Conditions
• References
• Development Team and Credits