Week 7 - NETS

There seem to be two standards within National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for teachers and students standards that are very closely related to my ongoing efforts to design and promote a new approach to home-study. They are:

"Teachers will design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity”

And

“Teachers will participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.”.

By now, reader and fellow students who have followed my blogs are aware of my pet project. That is: teacher generated, home-based, self paced tutorials. I believe that through the use of these tutorials, students can improve their understanding of physics. As such, this personal initiative seems to align closely with the intent of NETS, that is, to strive for ongoing continue improve in our educational system.

Indeed, I am an advocate of the use of technology in our schools where there is a fit. What I will not advocate is technology for technology sake. Teachers must be guarded. They must ensure that the tools they intend to use will yield significant benefits to the student. Anything else is a gimmick. I recall a college professor long before calculators could fit in one’s pocket. His subject was physics. He did more with a piece of chalk and a blackboard than many teachers do today with all the technology they can grab. The point is this. Technology is a tool that we should use judiciously and not at the expense of polishing our teaching technique. When we stand in the front of our classes, we are on our personal stage. We must zealously grab and hold the attention of our students as that old professor did. Anything else is not teaching, it is presenting.