NETS FOR NUTS

Since this post is for a grade, I have decided to use capital letters.

The National Educational Technology Standards are a good idea to give guidance to teachers.  With the high expectations of "no child left behind", however, I feel that most teachers will not have the time or resources to meet these standards.  I know teachers that are not even able to send an email with an attachment, for these teachers, the standards are quite unattainable.

For myself, I was encouraged to see how many standards I already follow.  I am especially good at staying abreast of current and emerging technologies.  Part of that is due to my dad.  He has worked with the technology field in Seattle, Washington for over twenty years.  I remember being on the internet in the eighties when it had not been named the world wide web, yet.  So, although, I would not call myself an expert (I actually know little about how computers actually run) I am comfortable with learning most programs and have no fear of working with new technology.

I am also good at teaching ethical practice.  In fact, as a music teacher, I am often explaining to students about copyright laws and how we should not copy music for our friends that haven't paid for a piece of music.  Just because we have the technology to do things, doesn't mean we should.  Students usually look at me with shocked faces when I tell them this.

I am very weak in the area of assessment and evaluation.  Music teachers do not usually give the types of assessments that make data analysis a simple procedure.  I also wonder if any teachers are evaluating "students' appropriate use of technology resources for learning, communication, and productivity."  It seems as if this would be something at a computer teacher would do, not a regular classroom teacher or music teacher.  The problem being that we do not have any computer teachers at the elementary level and I'm not sure about the Middle School.  The regular classroom teachers currently do not have a place on the grade card to report this information and I can't imagine them adopting this sort of thing any time soon.  Especially with all of the other things to be concerned about.

As a K-4 music teacher, I am glad to know of these standards and am happy to see that I do use technology to enhance my student's learning.  In the past I have used the smartboard, projector, computer lab and eight computers that I incorporate into learning stations.  I go to technology workshops at my annual music educators conference to stay abreast of the latest trends and I try to get students to use websites that enhance the information that we are learning in class. My current frustration is that I will have much more limited access to these tools in the new school where I will be teaching.  I am hoping to write grants to acquire some of these tools so that I can use them again.

In conclusion, I would say that the standards are a helpful guide to help educators guide their teaching.  They are good for all teachers to reflect, but will matter most to those that actually teach computers, rather than those that simply use computers to teach.