NETS for Coaches

ISTE has NETS (National Educational Technology Standards) for students, teachers, administrators, computer science teachers, and coaches.  A session was offered at the ISTE Conference on the newly released NETS for Coaches, so I made sure I attended.  I enjoyed the discussion that took place among other technology integration specialists like me.  I plan to use these standards to help guide me as I work with teachers this coming school year - There are supposed to be rubrics to go along with each standard, but I cannot locate them -  perhaps they have not yet been released.  The white paper that is available to ISTE members is excellent.

There are six standards and 28 performance indicators.  To summarize:

Visionary Leadership:  Shared Vision, Strategic Planning, Advocacy, Innovation/Change

Teaching, Learning, & Assessment:  Content/Technology Standards, Research-based Learning, Meaningful/Relevant Learning, Creativity, Higher-order Thinking, Differentiation, Instructional Design, Assessment, Data Analysis

Digital-age Learning Environments: Classroom Management, Online/Blended Learning, Selecting Adaptive/Assistive Technology, Basic Troubleshooting, Selecting Digital Resources, Communication/Collaboration with Community

Professional Learning & Program Evaluation: Need Assessment, Professional Learning, Evaluation

Digital Citizenship: Digital Equity, Safe/Legal/Healthy/Ethical Use, Diversity/Cultural Understanding/Global Awareness

Content Knowledge & Professional Growth: Emerging technologies, TPACK, technology skills, technology standards, organizational change, leadership, project management, adult learning

ISTE 2012

I had the pleasure of attending the ISTE Conference in San Diego. WOW!   It's been a few weeks now, but today is the first day I've been home and able to do some reflection.  I stayed for a few extra days to enjoy the lovely sunny 70 degree  weather - I visited the San Diego Zoo and the US Midway Museum (time well spent).  The day after I got home, I left again to spend time in beautiful northern Michigan - golfing, boating, and visiting with family.

I learned just a few weeks before the conference that I could attend, thanks to the MACUL organization.  I am humbled to be elected as their President Elect, so I'm looking forward to my year in training from this year's President, Steve Schiller.

There will be several blog entries coming in the next several days about what I learned at the conference.

I most enjoyed attending the ISTE Affiliate meeting.  The day before the main conference began, a full-day meeting was held and attended by all of ISTE Affiliate group (MACUL-like groups from all over the USA and a few other countries) leaders. We discussed ideas and strategies to make our respective organizations stronger.  I appreciated all of the networking opportunities and feel proud to be a part of MACUL, one of the largest and most vibrant affiliate groups.  Our Executive Director, Ric Wiltse, is on the ISTE Board and had a role in planning and facilitating the meeting - I also learned that he was elected to be ISTE's new treasurer!

I attended the conference through a "MACUL lens" - looking for ideas to tweak or replicate, hunting for presenters that we might want to invite to our conference, and networking with ed tech leaders from other states. Overall, I left the ISTE Conference with a strong feeling that MACUL serves and leads its members in innovative ways that make a difference at the classroom level.