The International Society for Technology in Education represents over 100,000 educators from around the world. Their goal is to advance the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. In addition to hosting a top-notch educational technology conference they have published National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for students, teachers, and administrators.

As a classroom teacher I make every attempt to incorporate the NETS for Students in as many ways as possible. As a teacher I believe it is the responsibility of my district to provide training for all teachers so they can be proficient in the NETS for Teachers. Finally, I believe it is the responsibility of administrators to make sure they receive the training they need in order to be able to meet the standards set forth in the NETS for Administrators. To do anything else is simply unacceptable.

The first standard for administrators deals with being a Visionary Leader. Administrators are expected to inspire shared vision of purposeful change that maximizes digital resources. Along with this vision there must be a plan that integrates technology throughout the school. This means more than putting interactive white boards in each room or a laptop in the hands of each student. It requires training which requires time.

The second standard calls for educational administrators to “create, promote, and sustain a dynamic, digital-age learning culture that provides a rigorous, relevant, and engaging education for all students.” This is a huge task because it requires the administrator to fully understand not only what a learner-centered environment looks like, but they also must grasp how to integrate technology into the curriculum in an effective manner. It is no longer acceptable for administrators to claim they are not computer literate. Being proficient at checking email and surfing the internet is no longer acceptable. The bar has been raised and administrators owe it to their teachers and students to reach new heights.

Time is also the required to meet the third standard for administrators which is Excellence in Professional Practice. It is absolutely necessary for administrators to lead by example. We need to celebrate the administrators who are leading the call of change.  Administrators such as  Chris Lehmann, Patrick Larkin, George Couros, John Carver, and Eric Sheninger are all modeling effective communication and collaboration using digital tools and and they are placing an emphasis on promoting and environment of professional learning and innovation. Their schools are different because they are visionary leaders who embrace a technology-infused curriculum because they know that is the best way to prepare their students for today. Students who are attending classes in schools that have not yet moved into the 21st century are still being prepared for a future in the 20th century. In my book this is tantamount to educational malpractice.

The fourth standard, Systemic Improvement,  requires administrators to work closely with their IT department to come up with a plan to maintain the technology infrastructure. It also calls for the administrator to achieve learning goals through the “appropriate use of technology and media-rich resources.” I point to these two benchmarks because in way to many schools it is left to the IT department to determine which tools and websites will be available to students and staff. In my estimation this is one of the biggest sources of friction when it comes to the use of technology in schools. Administrators must be the ones to make the decision about these things, not the IT department.

The fifth and final standard is Digital Citizenship. As the leader of a school or district, administrators are expected to model safe, legal, and ethical ways to use digital age tools for communication and collaboration. I have heard so many times that administrators are told by legal counsel to not create a digital identity because of all of the problems it could cause. If school personnel are using social media in a responsible and transparent manner then there will not be any issues.

After reviewing the NETS for Administrators, how do you measure up? Chances are unless you are at the top of your game you have a lot of catching up to do and that is OK. If you read my post to this point then it is obvious you care about change and that is the first step. As a classroom teacher I cannot tell you exactly what you need to do next, but there are plenty of brilliant administrators out there who can help you get going in the right direction. We are lucky to live in a time when help and advice is always just a click away.

In the mean time here are some suggestions that I can provide for what you can do to start catching up with the NETS:

• Provide adequate training for your teachers to help them use and implement the technology that they already have. SIT in the training sessions with them and use some of the tools yourself. Start a blog. Join Twitter and send tweets on behalf of your school. Allow your staff access to social media sites and encourage them to visit them during the day so they can learn from some of the most amazing educators from around the world. However, if it is discovered that staff has abused their time on social networking sites deal with that person individually. Do not block it for the rest of us who are there to learn.
• Talk to your tech-savvy teachers about how they integrate technology into their lessons. See if they would be willing to provide training to teachers who are not so tech-savvy.
• Don’t pit your teachers against your tech department when it comes to filtering web content. If a site is harmful to students, violates CIPA, or has absolutely no educational value then it should be blocked. Everything else should be wide open. Administrators, teachers and students need full access to the Internet in order to meet the technology standards. Be a proactive administrator and promote the idea the teachers should be the ones making the decisions about what is and is not appropriate content for their classrooms.
• Create a digital footprint that you can show as a model for your staff and students. If you are unsure of how to do this then contact any one of the administrators I named in my post. Or contact me and I will help you out. I am @bethstill on Twitter.
• Make sure the people you have training your teachers fully comprehend why each web tool they are teaching is valuable. Training needs to go well beyond “Here’s the tool. Play with it.”  Most teachers need to see examples to understand how something can be incorporated into what they are already teaching.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. It has been my pleasure to participate in Leadership Day 2010.