Community Buzz

SIGMS Compares the NETS and AASL Standards

by Deborah Stafford
Communications Officer, SIGMS

Standards, particularly their development and implementation, are a common focus for ISTE and its Special Interest Groups. The Special Interest Group for Media Specialists, or SIGMS, is no exception. SIGMS members look for ways to ensure that the NETS for Students are incorporated into various subject area strands, and work with classroom teachers to incorporate standards into instruction. Classroom teachers often post standards to make students and parents aware of what they are working towards in the classroom. These days, more and more media specialists will be posting standards as well; now the question might be which standards to post.

SIGMS members followed the development of the new NETS for Students and were pleased that “information literacy” was embedded in the NETS, most especially in standard 3 (Research and Information Fluency) and standard 4 (Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving & Decision-Making). Media Specialists offer expertise in these areas and collaborate with teachers to implement these standards.

In addition to the newly revised NETS for Students, the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) also recently revised their standards. In October of 2007 the new “Standards for the 21^st Century Learners” were announced (http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/learningstandards/standards.cfm) at the AASL conference in Reno, NV. Now, a question for SIGMS members is whether or not we as educators can implement both sets of standards.

The answer would definitely be yes. Focusing on the NETS or the AASL standards would not exclude the other. In a short comparison, five of the six NETS correlate to all four of the AASL skills. For each of the four AASL skills, there are four additional elements, and within these, technology tools are specifically mentioned. SIGMS members can display and focus on the NETS for Students knowing the AASL standards for information literacy will be included.

ISTE NETS for Students	AASL 21^st Century Skills
1. Creativity and Innovation Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge…	1. Inquire, think critically, gain knowledge
2. Communication and Collaboration Students use digital media.. to contribute to the learning of others…	3. Share Knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society.
3. Research and Information Fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.	1. See above 2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.
4. Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving & Decision-Making	1. See above
5. Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research…	2. See above
6. Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology…	3. See above 4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.
7. Technology Operations and Concepts

The SIGMS council has plans for discussing, and assisting with, implementation of these standards. Current Chair Peggy Milam Creighton is working on activities for NECC 2008 that will focus on both sets of standards. The SIGMS listserve and Wiki allow members to discuss these standards as we prepare for NECC 2008. To include your input, please visit the SIGMS wiki at http://sigms.wikispaces.net/ or join the SIGMS discussion listserve by managing your listserves in your Member Profile. SIGMS committees are busy planning for the SIGMS forum, business meeting, and other NECC events, and look forward to your input on both topics and speakers for these events.

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In December, ISTE launched its first ever podcasting series. The first episode featured Ferdi Serim, David Thornburg, Kathy Bailey, and SIGILT Chair Bob McLaughlin. Join these experts as they discuss the latest in innovative technologies in education. The first "ISTE Cast" can be streamed or downloaded here: www.iste.org/podcasts. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed on iTunes.

ISTE's Podcasting series will look to gather useful tips, unique viewpoints, and hot technology buzz in short audio clips. Stay tuned for our monthly episodes!

SIGTE Expands Professional Development Opportunities

Visit SIGTE's newly-launched Wikispace to see a host of new initiatives the SIGTE Officer group is taking on in this new year. Join SIGTE members to give feedback to the new NETS*T Refresh. Discuss the hot new book, Reinventing Project Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age by Suzie Boss & Jane Krauss, with your SIGTE peers. Join Hilary Goldman of ISTE Government Affairs in her lobby for the HEA bill reauthorization.

Your SIGTE Officers have been hard at work providing new opportunities for your professional development. Be sure to keep up with these events on the SIGTE Wiki!

Meet our New Social Networking Interns

Brenda Anderson

Ron Martin

If you're a MySpace or Facebook regular, you may have noticed a flurry of activity lately on ISTE's presences there. As part of ISTE's collaboration with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, ISTE has put two hard working interns to work on collecting resources to be shared through these channels. Brenda Anderson and Ron Martin, both candidates for their Administration and Supervision licenses through JHU, have been gathering, organizing, and disseminating useful links, tips, and discussion topics on a variety of Ed Tech topics. Be sure to visit our MySpace profile (http://www.myspace.com/iste_org) and Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2233200833) to engage with your ISTE peers in a more casual atmosphere.

For more information about the ISTE-JHU program, please visit the Program page.