New Literacies/NETS

New Literaces

The term "new literacies" refers to the various new types of literacy available in our world today. One category of new literacy is made possible through various digital technologies now available, including the internet, text messaging, blogging, etc.

National Educational Technology Standards

The National Educational Technology Standards can be found on the NETS website. It is a great resource for educators, parents, and students. As an educator, I will use the NETS standards for both teachers and students to guide the use of technology in the classroom. 

The NETS for students are standards that students need to meet to be successful, productive members of a digital world. These standards include: digital citizenship; creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making; and technology operations and concepts.

The NETS for teachers are standards that teachers need to meet to be productive teachers in a digital age. This can include being proficient in current technology, and using such technology throughout teaching. These standards include: digital age work; digital age learning; student learning; professional growth; and digital citizenship. 

As I was exploring the NETS website, and reflecting on the standards, I was struck by how thorough they are. Prior to reviewing the standards, I expected them to include standards on knowing how to use technology, as well as knowledge surrounding digital citizenship. However, I gained a great deal of new information reading through other standards such as creativity and innovation and communication and collaboration. It really opened my eyes to how much of a responsibility we have as educators make sure that our students are well informed and prepared in all of these areas.

 In my classroom, I am planning on beginning to develop these new literacies with my students by teaching them that the internet can be used as a research tool. We are beginning a research project for writer's workshop on animals, and I would like to show them that we can find information about our specific animals on the internet. I don't think that I will have them complete research independently yet, as I am realizing (through reading the NETS standards) that I have much to teach them about digital citizenship and responsibility. However, I think that exposing them to the internet as a research tool will begin to open their eyes to the possibility of finding important information on the internet.