Student Voice! 

Where (and how) to find it

Introduction to the ISTE Standards

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

I remember the first time I heard the phrase "student voice". I was at a little conference (they actually called it a mini-con)  that had lots of Google branding and the participants there were thrilled to get a free pen or notepad. I am often skeptical of the latest shiny buzzy things that come around in education. Just wait for it, the pendulum will swing the other way soon, am I right? 

However as I listened to the keynote speaker, who was a CPS teacher at the time, I found that the most compelling takeaways were not actually about apps or devices or technology. What I walked away with was a profound sense that empowering student voice in order to make sure that learning is a student-driven process is what will be most beneficial to our students in the future. 

We all can agree that we are preparing students for a future that we cannot predict. They will have jobs that have not yet been invented. How can we possibly teach our students so that they are well prepared for the unknown?

Fortunately, ISTE (the International Society for Technology in Education) has been thinking about this for quite a while. For over 20 years, ISTE standards have been used, researched, and updated so they reflect the latest research-based best practices. The standards give competencies for learning, teaching, and leading in the digital age. In short, the standards are designed to maximize student voice so our graduates can thrive in the constantly evolving technological landscape.

As we continue to plan, evolve, and grow our own practices, I thought this would be a good time to share the ISTE student standards with you. If you have already seen these, I urge you to take time to see how they connect to what goes on in your classes. If this is your first view of the standards, I hope you will see that these can (and should in my opinion) be applied to any content area. Incorporating these standards into your classes is a fantastic way to bring student voice to the forefront and help students be directors of their own learning, which is a skill they will use no matter what the future holds. 

There are seven standards. Each standard has a few subparts. Some may seem like very lofty goals and I think they are, but they are also very doable.  You can see them all, along with very short video examples of teachers actually doing the standards here.  

Standard 1.1 Empowered Learner

Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences. 

Standard 1.2 Digital Citizen

Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.

Standard 1.3 Knowledge Constructor

Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

Standard 1.4 Innovative Designer

Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

Standard 1.5 Computational Thinker

Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.

Standard 1.6 Creative Communicator

Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

Standard 1.7 Global Collaborator

Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

Want to learn more? ISTE has wonderful resources available here.  There are also standards for teachers, leaders, and coaches.

Our Illinois ISTE affiliate is called IDEA- Illlinois Digital Educators Alliance. Membership to IDEA is free! If you are not already a member, click here to sign up. 

Our regional chapter holds fantastic free professional development opportunities. 

For more information, please reach out!