Having
standards by which we create lessons helps us to ensure that we are creating
and curating quality learning experiences—offline and online. The ISTE standards were created to help our
students thrive in a technology infused, globally connected world. The standards give educators a framework to
re-think the teaching and learning as they set out to create life-long learners. Standards set the bar for everything we do,
whether in education, or in our business.
We have standards (or guidelines) for our jobs, and we have expectations
when we engage others in business. ISTE
standards help us embrace technology and its role in education. Although they were created for K-12, I
personally think we should be applying them at all levels of education and in
the workforce. Why stop when they
graduate high school? ISTE standards can
help us define the learning in higher education institutions around a global
set of standards and when we think about applying them in the workforce,
imagine the possibilities! How many jobs
are remote or home-based? How many
people are working on remote teams from all around the world? To me, it just makes sense to take these
standards beyond K-12 and apply them to create a world in which we all can
learn how to be responsible digital citizens as we connect with people from
around the world.
SCORM
basically tells e-learning software programmers how they can write their
programming code so that it can interact easily with other e-learning
software. In other words, if I create a
course (or course content) using SCORM compliant software, that content can be
shared in any LMS. As an Instructional
Designer, I do not have to apply SCORM, but I do have to know that it is how
learning content is “packaged” to be used across LMS systems.
When
it comes to best practices for technology enhanced learning, we could list
several effective strategies tied to learning theory and standards. I choose to focus on instruction, or the
experience. My thought is if we focus on
what instruction should look like when we utilize technology, then we can
create experiences that are not necessarily technology-centric, but educational
goal oriented. The key is to look at
these intended outcomes from a technology standpoint:
·
Students explore
·
Instruction is
interactive
·
Students perform
authentic multidisciplinary work
·
Students work
collaboratively
·
Teacher is the
facilitator (Williamson & Redish, 2009)
When
we look at the above list, and we think of ways in which we can engage our
students using technology, students can be given an opportunity to explore
online, via a google search, for example.
Interactive instruction can be readily available through simulations,
games, and multimedia content. We always
encourage collaboration with our students, and discussion boards, blogs, and
social media are great tools to help our students learn how to collaborate
outside of the classroom, as well as in.
And of course, our teacher as a facilitator is one we’ve heard for a
while. When we utilize technology to
help our students learn new concepts, explore, and collaborate, we are
inherently put in a more guide or facilitator role. These practices are taken from “ISTE’s
Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards” and provide a solid
foundation for us to start thinking about ways in which we can utilize a
variety of technologies to create engaging learning experiences.
References
Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009).
“ISTE’s Technology facilitation and leadership standards.” ISTE (International Society for Technology in
Education). Retrieved from: http://www.iste.org/images/excerpts/TLPREP-excerpt.pdf
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