The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) are a set of standards published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) for the purpose of leveraging the use of technology in K-12 education to enable students to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly digital society.

With technology teachers can teach outside of the classroom. It is very beneficial for students to learn quickly and easily. Students will be more motivated to learn. Using the internet will cut out the unwanted (extra) information provided in text books. Classrooms need to be updated. When society changes, teaching and learning needs to change. Using any type of technology, cameras, computers, etc, students can resort back to the saved images and such to remember things that they can never look at again. For example, a class goes on a field trip to study rocks, students take pictures of them so when they go back to the classrooms they can see exactly what each rock looks like instead of struggling to remember.
Technology is beneficial to all of those hands on children. Students will be determined to learn as much as they can because it is a fun experience. Having engaged students will call for their success.

History

The NETS project was initiated by ISTE’s Accreditation and Professional Standards Committee. It was funded by NASA in consultation with the U.S. Department of Education, the Millken Exchange on Education Technology and Apple Computer. The first set of standards, NETS for Students, was released in June 1998. In 2000, the ISTE revised its previously published standards for teachers, ISTE Technology Standards for All Teachers, and released it as NETS for Teachers. This new version subdivided the Application of Technology in Instruction category into the areas of planning, implementing, and assessing and added a category on the social, ethical, legal, and human issues related to technology use. In November 2001, NETS for Administrators was released. These three sets of standards were revised in latter years: 2007 - NETS for Students, 2008 – NETS for Teachers, 2009 – NETS for Administrators.

NETS for Students

Skills and knowledge students need to learn effectively and live productively in a digital world. Within NETS for Students there are six Performance Indicators. Each Performance Indicator indicates and outlines what the student should be able to achieve within technological literacy by the completion of a school year. The Performance Indicators are guidelines where the students are aware of the programs goals and what they are attempting to achieve to meet NETS standards.
The Performance Indicators are as follows:

• Creativity and Innovation: Using creative thinking and innovative technology the students demonstrate and develop models and simulations to explore and identify complex systems and forecast possibilities as well as they use existing knowledge to generate new ideas and creative thoughts.
• Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to collaborate, communicate and interact with other students, teachers and professionals. They also engage in a cultural and global awareness and contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
• Research and Information Fluency: Students apply digital tools to plan, organize and gather information, in order to be able to inquire, analyse, organize and evaluate information.
• Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making: Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
• Digital Citizenship: Students demonstrate personal development to be life long learners because they are aware of the human, cultural and social issues related to technology and they practise ethical and legal digital behaviour.
• Technology Operations and Concepts: Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations so they are able to select, transfer, understand and troubleshoot various systems and applications productively and effectively.
• Here is an example of technologies influence in the classroom post 20th century. How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century
• Educational technology standards are the roadmaps to teching effectively and growing professionally in an increasingly digital world.

Here is the link to the PDF file for the NETS-S
url = http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf

NETS for Teachers

The program standards for the teachers have been implemented to provide teachers with the effective tools so they are able to engage their students, improve learning environments and their own professional practice as well as provide a positive model for their school community. Teachers should be able to effectively and productively follow and achieve the following five Performance Indicators.
The Five Performance Indicators are as follows:

• Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Teachers model, support, promote and use their knowledge to provide and facilitate productive technological experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation both face-to-face and virtually. They also promote student reflection and collaborative construction environments.
• Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessment: Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context. They do this by adapting relevant learning experiences to incorporate digital tools, they customize and personalize learning activities to address different learning styles and they provide students with varied and multiple formative and summative assessments.
• Model Digital-Age Work and Learning: Teachers model, communicate and collaborate with their students, colleagues and school community using current technologies and digital-age media to share and transfer knowledge. They do this by exhibiting their own knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional to a global and digital society.
• Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: Teachers model and advocate safe teaching and understand the societal global issues of media literacy in an evolving digital world. They address diverse needs of the students, promote digital etiquette, and they exhibit legal and ethical responsibility and respect.
• Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership: Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. They do this by reflective practices, participation in local and global learning opportunities, and exhibiting leadership within the technology infusion and incorporation process.

A field trip from Ferryway School, near Boston, to the nation's oldest ironworks is captured with the latest tech, using NETS-S and NETS-T.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Examples of Technology for Teachers

Some examples of technology in the classroom are:

• Smartboards
• Computers
• Voicethread
• Projectors
• Skype
• Google Docs
• Ipads
• Cell phones

For more examples, see the following link:
http://innovations08.pbwiki.com/FrontPage

Examples of Technology for Students

Examples of student use of technology in a classroom are:

• Computers
• Twitter or Facebook
• Cameras
• Video Cameras
• Photo editing software
• Cell phones (some school districts may allow, others may not)
• Printers/Scanners
• Clickers
• Tablet/Ipad
• Headphones
• Google Docs
• Wiki

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.