Blog Post #1

The Introduction to ISTE Standards

• There are many influences on both teachers & students that causes them to introduce technology in to their curriculum. For students, it allows them to construct & produce unique learning experience which are very useful in the retention of information. Technology also allows students to connect with others globally to enhance their avenues of learning for a form of enrichment. For educators or teachers, it allows them to improve how they teach by being able to connect with other resources technologically. It also allows them to be creative when they deliver lessons so that they can make up for students who better learn in different ways.
• The ISTE standards allow for almost all those with careers in education to be able to further enhance their careers through the use of these technology. These standards, which can also be seen as goals, give both teachers & educators almost a guideline on how to enhance their use of technology in the area of education. I believe these standards are very general & I wish they had more specific details & examples of certain skills so that I had something concrete to practice. One standard that is meaningful to me is meant for educators. This standard can be found on the ISTE website & dictates "Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability." This standard is important to me because, I usually had to reteach myself everyday after school because I simply didn't learn the same way everyone else did, putting me at a disadvantage. This standard allows instructors to account for the variability of different learning styles such as mine. One standard that it outside of my current skill level can also be found on the ISTE website & read,"Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions". It is outside of my current skill set because I feel that not only do I lack the skills to make new & visually pleasing creations through technology but I also lack imagination when it comes to creativity.
• Digital natives are just those who basically find it easy to both learn & understand how to use technolgy, since they grew up using technology making them "natives" to it. I had many teachers that had asked me for help with their technology during class because they simply did not know how to work through its intricacies while I, even though I may not have been exposed to the technology at hand, was able to learn & fix the issue most of the times where my assistance was called upon. The difference of learning speed & comfortably is what made me a digital native & my teachers a digital immigrant. This sometimes took away from instruction time & put a halt in the movement or motion of the class which obstructed my learning. I feel as if my future students would be exposed to much higher forms of technology than I am which frightens me that I will not be able to teach them the best way possible to enhance their learning.