ISTE student standards (2016 refresh)
As we expected, the ISTE (the International Society for Technology in Education) standards for students update was released at the 2016 convention. Our recent textbook edition contained information based on the 2007 standards. ISTE still provides access to the 2007 standards, but we believe it important to recognize the update.
The new guidelines from ISTE establish 7 standards. The standards, indicators and classroom examples are available from the ISTE web site and you are encouraged to examine this material to gain insights relevant to your teaching interests.
In past editions of our textbook we have included the standards and referenced individual standards within most chapters. We have decided not to do this in our present book. ISTE has made it clear that direct use of the standards requires licensing of the content.
Educators will continue to have access to the technology standards for free. But "if you're a business, and you're developing a product or service or doing consulting based on the standards, you're going to have to license them, and pay this nonprofit for their use," Lewis said.
The fee required for use is beyond what is practical for a textbook with a retail price of $9. Exploration of the standards from the ISTE site is easy enough.
We will say this. Examination of the indicators indicates obvious connections with many of the topics we prioritize in our textbook. Using our own terminology from chapter titles these topics include:
- Online Tools for Communication
- Authoring and Tutoring to Learn
- Computational Skills and Computational Thinking
- Responsible Use of Technology
Our chapter titles could be used as direct alternatives for several of the standards. Other topics we cover in multiple locations (collaborative use of technology and the multiple meanings of individualization with technology) also detailed examination.