International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) I came across the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) while in my EDUC 540: Instructional Technology course. After considering my strengths and weaknesses, I identified a main weakness of mine to be incorporating technology into my lesson plans, as I am an extremely traditional teacher and prefer paper and pencil. As the world rapidly changes and my students and I are exposed to various technologies throughout our lives, it is a responsibility of mine as an educator to incorporate technology so that my students are technologically literate and prepared for the world after they leave my classroom. This realization is what led me to ISTE. Below is an overview of ISTE.
State Affiliate: Virginia Society for Technology in Education
Overview of History: A group of K-12 educators and University of Oregon educators in Eugene, Oregon had backyard barbeque. At the barbeque, educators asked the following questions:What if we gave students powerful tools allowing them to take charge of their learning?
What if we let students follow their passions and work with peers to solve problems?
What if teachers didn't lecture, but served as guides and collaborators?
What if we let computers do what they do best, freeing up humans to create, to dream, to change the world?
These educators began by connecting with others who shared their belief in the potential of educational technology. From there, ideas and inspiration spread. 40 years later, their ideas led to a worldwide network of educators who are focused on finding the answers to these questions.
Mission/Vision/Standards: ISTE has standards for students, educators, educational leaders, coaches, and Computer Science educators. For the purposes of professional development as a future teacher, I will focus on the standards of educators. ISTE standards for educators are as follows:
Learner Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Educators: 1a Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness. 1b Pursue professional interests by creating and actively participating in local and global learning networks. 1c Stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences.
Leader Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Educators: 2a Shape, advance and accelerate a shared vision for empowered learning with technology by engaging with education stakeholders. 2b Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content and learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students. 2c Model for colleagues the identification, exploration, evaluation, curation and adoption of new digital resources and tools for learning.
Citizen Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world. Educators: 3a Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community. 3b Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency. 3c Mentor students in safe, legal and ethical practices with digital tools and the protection of intellectual rights and property. 3d Model and promote management of personal data and digital identity and protect student data privacy.
Collaborator Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. Educators: 4a Dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology. 4b Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues. 4c Use collaborative tools to expand students' authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and globally. 4d Demonstrate cultural competency when communicating with students, parents and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning.
Designer Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. Educators: 5a Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs. 5b Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning. 5c Explore and apply instructional design principles to create innovative digital learning environments that engage and support learning.
Facilitator Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students. Educators: 6a Foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes in both independent and group settings. 6b Manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on maker spaces or in the field. 6c Create learning opportunities that challenge students to use a design process and computational thinking to innovate and solve problems. 6d Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections.
Analyst Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals. Educators: 7a Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning using technology. 7b Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback to students and inform instruction. 7c Use assessment data to guide progress and communicate with students, parents and education stakeholders to build student self-direction.
Membership Process: ISTE offers two types of memberships; basic ($125) and premium ($305). Each membership lasts one year and generally offer the same things besides the premium membership offering peer-reviewed journals and one ISTE Job Board posting.
If you are renewing your membership, to the left of the screen, you will be prompted to log into your account and you will select a renewal rate and will be prompted to enter payment information.
If you are becoming a new member, to the right of the screen, you will be prompted to entered to enter your First and Last name, an email address, your shipping country, and you will be asked to create and confirm a password.
Once you have created a login you will be prompted to enter your address, the level of membership you would like (basic, premium, or organizational).
Next you will then be asked if you are a member of any state affiliates.
Then you will be asked if you would like with any professional learning networks (choices are the Arts and Technology Network, Computer Science Network, Digital Citizenship Network)
Then you may add any digital journals that you would like. Options are either the Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE) or The Journal of Digital Learning in Teaching Education (JDLTE). JRTE covers topics ranging from original research, project descriptions and evaluations, syntheses of literature and theoretical positions that relate to educational technology in learning and teaching. It costs $109.00. JDLTE is a peer reviewed journal that publishes original research that furthers knowledge in the field of technology and teacher education.
Next you will enter in your demographics (race, title, level of education, language spoken, etc.) and interests.
Finally, you will be redirected to a payment site where you will pay your dues and you are instantly a member!
Conferences: ISTE has a variety of workshops, summits, pop-up events, webinars, and seminars. Recently, ISTE had a Creator Constructive Lab in Seattle, Washington where participants could learn how to create hands-on learning experiences for students to use technology to communicate, share ideas, information, and solve problems. This two day summit costs participants $200 ISTE members and $230 for non members. The registration fees included two days of authentic learning opportunities, digital media experts, continental breakfasts, refreshments in the afternoon, and the opportunity to create a final project to take home. ISTE’s main conference is called ISTE. In 2019, this conference will be held in Philadelphia and the theme for this conference will be Bold Educators Activate Change. During this conference, a variety of expos that range in topics from Educational Technology leadership to different technology programs such as Schoology and Google Classroom. At this time, prices for this year and next are unavailable.
Publications:
Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE) is a journal that publishes articles about research, project descriptions/evaluations, syntheses of literature, assessments of the state of art, and theoretical or conceptual positions on educational technology.
Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education (JDLTE) is a journal that is published in partnership with the ISTE Professional Learning Network for Teacher Educators. The research in this journal focuses on the use of digital technology in teacher education.
Conclusion These organizations have a lot of resources that can help me improve on my weaknesses and maintain my strengths. I believe it is important to keep working on both, because even when you’re good at something, there is always room for improvement, a concept education has coined a “growth mindset.” One of the best resources that both associations provide is their journals, which I will be perusing in the next section of my Professional Development Project.