Technology Standards

In my first review of the NETS standards for teachers and students, I found them to be quite broad and general in nature. I was expecting more specific guidance on what technology skills students and teachers should have. Maybe, it would have been more useful for NETS to focus on specific grade levels and the unique technology needs found in elementary vs. secondary education. There were also no differentiation among subject areas which would have been quite useful, expecially the technology needs of English vs. Math or Social Studies teachers is quite different. However, on further thought, it makes more sense for NETS to provide ideas and thoughts on broad topics and technology. Each school is so different and there are significant different in the resources available that it is better for national organizations to be more general than specific. Teachers also have their own ideas on how they plan on using technology in the classroom and if it makes sense for their students. As a future teacher, I do think, technology opens up new possibilites for teacher-parent communication, expecially since so many families have computers and use e-mail on a daily basis. I also like the idea of developing ways of increasing creativity through technology and allowing students to work with video, photo and music tools that allow them to have fun and be creative. Thank you NETS for providing these general and broad ideas rather than being too specific which is a problem with so many of today's educational standards.