Computational thinking is really about thinking. It’s about formulating ideas in a structured way, that, conveniently enough, can in the modern world be communicated to a computer, which can then do interesting things.
Stephen Wolfram
…“computational thinking”… is about formulating things with enough clarity, and in a systematic enough way, that one can tell a computer how to do them. Programming — and programming education — have traditionally been about telling a computer at a low level what to do. But thanks to all the technology … one doesn’t have to do that any more. One can express things at a much higher level — so one can concentrate on computational thinking, not mere programming. Yes, there’s certainly a need for some number of software engineers in the world who can write low-level programs in languages like C++ or Java or JavaScript — and can handle the details of loops and declarations. But that number is tiny compared to the number of people who need to be able to think computationally…
Stephen Wolfram
I must admit, Julene, I am not thrilled with the idea of more standardized testing either... more on that later!from Julene Reed, Director of Technology
Palm Educational Technology Coordinator
St. George's Independent Schools • Collierville, TNWow! What a great commentary on educational technology and technology literacy. You are right on target with what your thoughts.
This is SUCH a moving target because of the rapid changes in this field as well as the increased knowledge base of our students. I especially agree with the thought that although our students are the "digital natives," they still have much to learn in regard to understanding and skill sets. I fear that we are making assumptions about their overall knowledge base in regard to technology that aren't necessarily correct, and yet I am not in favor of more standardized testing to address this.----- Julene
from Dr. Helen Barrett
Researcher and Consultant • Kent, WashingtonISTE developed Technology Standards for students, teachers and administrators.
Their website gives information on how many states have adopted these standards.
----- Helen
from Patsy Lanclos
Smithsonian Laureate
George Lucas Educational Foundation Faculty Associate
Palm Education Training Coordinator/ProviderIn 1997 Texas adopted Standards for Technology Applications and here are the actual standards.
----- Patsy
from Kurt Johnson
Utah State University • Department of Instructional TechnologyState of Utah Core Curriculum Objectives for 3-5, 6-8, and 7-12 are here.
However, they started their development loosely based on ISTE but do not reflect them in the current structure.
----- Kurt
from Paula White
Gifted Resource Teacher
Albemarle County Public Schools • Crozet ElementaryAnd Virginia has a technology consortium who is certifying teachers inNETS*T standards. . . It's a pretty rigorous procedure where teachers submitartifacts to show their expertise and are evaluated by trained evaluators.
----- Paula
-- I really liked how Mr. Simi's county has organized and created a scope and sequence for the technology standards!John M. Simi, Technology Specialist
Shelby County Schools • Memphis, TNWe have attempted to do what you are talking about in my district. Two years ago, we developed a set of student technology standards based on the ISTE NETS as well as our own Tennessee state standards. We placed them in a matrix format and suggested at what grade level the various skills should be introduced, developed, and mastered. We also included examples of activities that could be used to help teach the performance indicators included under each standard. The examples we chose are lessons that use that particular technology skill but are taught or used within the context of another curricular area such as science or math for example.
We have been encouraging their use and many of our administrators require that their teachers reference these standards in their lesson plans. I'm not sure we can measure the impact just yet (I love Dr. Barrett's quote from Einstein) but we at least took a stab at giving our teachers some direction about whatthey should be teaching their students in an effort to make them technology literate before they leave our school district. I think this is still a wide open debate and I look forward to following the continued discussion.
If you'd like to see what we've done in my district:
http://www.scs.k12.tn.us/tech_std/default.htm-- John --
from David F. Warlick
The Landmark ProjectGordon,
I listened to your podcast early this morning and enjoyed it. The music is great, and it is very well produced.
The content, however, leans in directions counter to my current writings and preaching. I'm afraid that I have to hit the road right this minute, but will get back to you as soon as I am settled and have a little more time.
Again, great job!
-- dave --
from Joseph Morelock, Director of Network & Information Services
Canby School District • Canby, ORWe have been using the NETs standards for a while in our district as well for several years, and have several folks trained in using the ISTE standards. I am going to go out on a limb here...but I think that they are actually quite antiquated in their scope and their focus. They were developed in a time much different than our current reality, and with the convergence of "just-about-everything," I worry that they do not translate well for the future. The tools are really invisible to our students...they use them to communicate and create. We are no longer in the old world of "Web 1.0"- the simple downloading of information that the web revolution started. We are quickly moving toward "Web 2.0," where anybody is an expert ("blogs"), and information is open to change ("Wikipedia"). A simple Google search is not so simple, and may come up with undesirable results for our researching students.
I am pushing us (my district) more toward a pervasive approach to technology use and media understanding, and I have to agree with Gordon that we are not spending enough time on the "Media Literacy" and evaluative practices of available media with students. They are swimming in more information available on their mobile phone than any of us had access to in all of the books we have ever read. We need to help them categorize, evaluate, interpret, and add value to information and the media they find.
Take a look at the Partnership for 21st Century Skills group's work: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org
-- Joseph --
-- Brucie baby, you are dancin' around the fire so nimbly! First you lead with right hook - the unfortunate fact "what gets tested, gets taught" and then you give us the left jab: "our institution is riveted into this infinite loop of testing" And finally I hear the fear that one of the few fun things in education -technology- is about to be codified into another drill and kill lesson (maybe?)from Dr. Bruce Ahlborn
iTechnology Coordinator
Northbrook Junior High • Northbrook, ILLet me suggest that what gets tested, gets taught.
While we know better (I think we know better!) our endeavor seems to be focused on coverage, not uncoverage, on misunderstanding, rather than understanding. I think the question to ask would be which local, state and national tests include items that reference any of the standards listed in the NETs project.
Although we know better, our institution is riveted into this infinite loop of testing.
Gordon you are correct, these standards have not received the attention they deserve. I think you should ask about how schools build accountability for integrating technology into the curriculum.
I think for students, the opportunity to engage in learning experiences involving technology, may well be the best motivation for them to show up to school. Think about it, drill and kill, direct instruction, fill in the blank, word search, grinding boredom or engaging in creativity and thinking and problem solving and collaborative projects.
Gordon, sorry for the cynical rant, but then again, you asked.
-- Bruce --
from Dr. Helen Barrett
Researcher and Consultant • Kent, WashingtonThe ISTE Standards have received that criticism, that they are both outdated and too general, but they were also written to be more timeless, so that they would not have to be rewritten when the next "new thing" was introduced. The student standards not only cover basic operations and concepts, but also social, ethical, and human issues, and tools for productivity, communications, research, problem-solving and decision-making. The teacher standards, which I am much more familiar with, were designed around the teaching, learning and assessment process.
Those who criticize the standards tend to point out specific applications that are not covered that change over time, which is precisely why they were written with such a broad scope. One criticism is also that the broader the competencies, the more difficult they are to assess. ISTE has been working on several books and online assessments to address that issue.
I think the issue is really ACCOUNTABILITY. In schools, we tend to (have to?) teach what is tested, and some states have started moving toward the EETT 8th grade assessment outlined in NCLB. But as schools struggle with the other testing requirements of NCLB, technology is far behind the priorities of reading, writing and math. I hear that schools are under so much pressure to meet "adequate yearly progress" that technology tends to be used in ways that support achieving higher test scores. One thing we rarely asses though, is student engagement.
In this environment, we need more scientifically-based research (SBR) on the impact of technology to support student engagement and achievement. We KNOW it works, but how can we PROVE it? The challenge with this type of SBR is that it is expensive to do, and often provides very narrow results.
What did Einstein say? "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." ISTE has put up a website on research in educational technology with studies that meet high standards: http://caret.iste.org/
I agree that the Coalition for 21st Century Skills has compiled an impressive set of competencies, and their web site provides a rich set of resources. Underlying their entire spectrum of 21st Century Skills, Tools, Content, Context and Core Subjects is Assessment. Just look at their database of assessment tools, and you will see a lot of tools that can be used for assessing ICT Literacy. Most of them are not free, or work only on Windows, including the one that ISTE developed with Microsoft (a discussion on this list from at least a year ago)! There is also a High School Survey of Student Engagement: http://ceep.indiana.edu/hssse/
-- Helen --
from (a former roommate
Jeff Johnson
Director of Technology
Greendale School District • Greendale, WIParaphrasing Bernajean Porter:
- If you don't know it's making a difference, why are you doing it (referring to spending scarce funds on technology without having assessments and reporting mechanisms in place that look at the relationship between technology use and learning)
- You get what you get because you do what you do
- Where did anyone get the idea that learning with technology was optional
Bruce hit on the key word: accountability. When a school district decides it's important enough to develop assessments for how technology impacts what happens in the classroom, and hold everyone accountable for meeting standards, change will be more likely to take place.
We've been talking about standards for years but our system of reporting academic progress to parents and to the Board is glaringly absent of references to technology as it applies to curriculum and assessment.
In 2000, Wisconsin developed a document that provides educators with two matrices for looking at how the state's information and technology literacy (ITL) standards relate to the four core content areas. In theory, once teachers see the relationship between their content area standards and the ITL standards (killing two birds with one stone), they'll be more likely to see how technology "fits" and do that. But if it's not important enough to schools to hold teachers and administrators accountable for making that happen, it probably won't.
-- Jeff --
Everybody has to be accountable...If you don’t have a goal, you will never experience success...Standards driven curriculum...Data driven decisions...
At many schools and school districts around the nation, suddenly the MIS and IT folks moved from a support and data archiving position to becoming the technology authorities. The question to consider: - is ALL technology expertise the same?
I believe we have reached a stage in the evolution of professional educators - the modern teacher - that warrants a careful examination of a new literacy: technology literacy. What part does education play in providing a new generation of successful technology users- and who will take leadership in defining what technology literacy means? And who will decide what and how technology will be used in the educational profession?