Oregon Educational Technology Standards Shaping Our Future

I believe that the Oregon Educational Technology Standards (OETS) are trying to prepare our future with the future. We are living in the digital world and we must accept it. It is inevitable that as adults students will become employed and will require some sort of technology knowledge. Second of all and most importantly these standards are trying to create opportunities to expand our minds and make connections. These standards will allow students to become creative in generating new ideas. At this moment students are limited on what they can do. Students will be able to interact with other cultures as well as their peers. Students will be able to evaluate information and report results. There are various ways for students to explore solutions. These standards will teach students how to become responsible and make appropriate decisions when using technology. Digital citizenship we be the overall big picture that the standards are trying to accomplish.

First of all I would begin with identifying the role of Digital citizenship. I would model to the students the importance of practicing safe, legal, and responsible usage of technology. I would give examples of what could happen if students did not follow these practices. Due to the economy our resources and opportunities are limited, however, with technology, communication and collaboration would be endless. I know that the school where I work at, fieldtrips are becoming a thing of the past. I would use tools like tokbox and skype to have guest speakers present for my students. Diversity projects I would invite students from another state or country to speak about their culture. These are just some examples of how the standards would create opportunities for students’ to expand their minds.

I think the biggest challenge would be the fears some administrators and teachers would have who are not as knowledgeable about technology. I think their fear would be that students’ information would be open to all on the web. I feel that the support would be limited. Another challenge would be lack of support and computers in some schools. Technology is obviously an important tool for teaching; I just hope that everyone jumps on board.