By Brian Lewis, CEO, International
Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
three decades since the first computers began to appear in schools around the
country, we still seem to be engaged in a national conversation about whether
or not they belong there - whether the investments that our communities have
made in education technology can be linked to improved student outcomes.
Our collective truth is that today's students were born into a world where
technology has been a part of their lives from
the very beginning. As preschoolers, they pick up their parents' smartphones
and seem to intuitively know how to play a game. Ask a first-grader who is a baseball fan to find
information on when his favorite team, the Chicago Cubs, will be playing next,
and there is every possibility he will tell you to go to www.Cubs.com. Ask a high school
freshman if there should be technology in schools and you will likely get that
look that only a 15-year-old can give, telling you that you are
These same students are graduating
into a world where they are competing for jobs on a
global level - not only on a local, state or national level. The days of the reading,
writing and arithmetic being alone at the core
of schoolwork are far in the past. As the new Common Core State Standards
recognize, students also need to master the
three Cs as well: critical thinking, creativity and collaboration.
Technology already is playing an important role around the country in supporting students as they develop these important
skills. It's serving to strategically support educational objectives. It's not
about the technology. It's about how districts are using technology to support
and enhance curricular objectives and student achievement. As an advocate for
education technology at the local, state, national and global levels, ISTE seeks to accelerate
the effective and innovative use of technology in schools so that the instances
where it is linked to true educational change are increasingly the norm.
To achieve this goal, it's more important than ever to
further the implementation of ISTE's technology
standards for the meaningful integration of technology into thriving learning
environments, where each student learns on a personalized path and builds the
thinking skills requisite for success in today's world. Every aspect of what we
do - from professional learning opportunities to tools and resources for
schools - must focus on helping educators at all levels engage technology to support learning.
As a key part of that work, we seek to nurture and promote pragmatic examples of the
successful integration of technology into learning and teaching. These specific instances across the curriculum
areas provide powerful representations of best
practices for schools around the country and the world, as well as demonstrate to policy makers and community
leaders how technology - engaged effectively -
puts students on the path to success in the 21st century and beyond.
At ISTE, like every
organization or person who has dedicated its time and energy to education, our
ultimate responsibility is to serve the best interests of students. As a national and global voice for promoting the
effective use of technology in learning and
teaching, we are focusing on supporting educators
in their mission to ensure that all students achieve their creative and
intellectual potential. The time is now for all of us to join together and
provide the thought leadership, advocacy, professional learning and resources
to ensure that we deliver on the much-anticipated
promise to accelerate educational improvements.
Views expressed in this post are strictly those of the author and do not reflect the endorsement of the Learning First Alliance or any of its members.