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Posted by:
Kirsten Peterson
University
Newton, MA
Topic:
Standards Objectify a Subjective Process: Language Arts Examples
Message:
My perspective regarding technology integration into the curriculum is both that of a high school Language Arts teacher and a designer of online professional development courses for educators. I see standards, in general, as a way to objectify what can often be a subjective process. When I am designing curriculum, whether it be a unit on Cry, the Beloved Country for my sophomore English class, or an online workshop for teachers on using technology to support the writing process, I use the standards as a guide for how to structure my content. I have plenty of ides for how I'd like to present information and ides, but standards help keep me focused on what I should be covering. I always feel more comfortable about my content if I am aware of and have address local, state, and/or national standards.
Overall, I'm very comfortable with the standards developed by professional organizations in my field, i.e. NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English), NSDC (National Standards for Staff Development), and ISTE's(International Society for Technology in Education) National Educational Technology Standards. What I find interesting and affirming, is the fact that these standards accurately reflect my belief that new technologies such as the Web, email, and software applications are just additional teaching and learning tools to be used towards the same solid objectives we have had in education over the years. For example, NCTE Standard number 7 (see below)
Students conduct research on issues and interest by generation ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
can be achieved with or without new technologies, but because new technologies allow us readily available access to all of the examples in the above standard: print and non-print texts (online libraries, audio/video files); artifacts (primary source locations on the Web such as the Library of Congress); and people (email, synchronous chats, threaded discussions); teachers and students can benefit from a true variety of sources.
I also believe that when using technology in as standards-based curriculum, it is important to pay attention to the technology standards, as well as to the curriculum standards. I've found that if I'm using technology with the content standards in mind, that the ISTE standards tend to map right onto what I'm already doing. For example, if as part of my unit on Cry, the Beloved Country, I focused on the NCTE Standard 7 (see above), and encouraged my students to further examine their questions about the politics of racial apartheid in South Africa, and to present their findings to the class, I could be simultaneously addressing ISTE's Standard 7 for Grades 9-12 (see below)
Students will routinely and efficiently use online information resources to meet needs for collaboration, research, publications, communications, and productivity.
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