This week the International Society for Technology in Education released a promising update to its National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) framework.  The new standards reflect a new way of thinking about technology’s role in 21st century education.

The previous NETS-T standards maintained a focus on teacher-driven textual knowledge.  I am delighted to see that the updated NETS-T standards reflect a strong emphasis on the teacher as a co-learner and a knowledge facilitator.  Rather than merely delivering content knowledge to students, teachers are now expected to guide their students through a creative learning process that involves collaboration, innovation, problem solving and authentic learning experiences.  This is a significant step forward in re-defining the role of the teacher in 21st century society.  NETS-T 2008 is now on the right track.

NETS-T 2008 consists of five major performance indicators:

  • Learning and creativity
  • Assessment
  • Digital Age skills
  • Digital citizenship
  • Professional development

For more information on NETS-T 2008, I invite you to read Dave Nagel’s article The Future of Instruction: Teacher as ‘Co-Learner’ in The Journal.

ISTE