Teachers in the 21st century need digital literacy skills to be effective, including the ability to access and evaluate information, use and manage information, and understand ethical and legal issues related to information access and use. Some challenges for teachers without digital literacy are that they may be less informed, skeptical of technology, and miss opportunities to engage with students. Standards like ISTE can help teachers develop these skills and provide expectations for how to design learning experiences and engage students using technology, while also promoting safe, legal, and ethical technology use among students. Technology should be used as a tool to advance student learning when combined with other skills, not as an end in itself.

1. Digital LiteracyNarrative
The primaryskillsateacherwill needtobe effectiveinthe 21st
Centuryare Core Subjects, Life and
Careerskills,LearningandInnovationskills,andInformation,Media,andTechnologyskills. Inrelationto
technology,afewof the primaryskillsateacherwill needtobe effective inthe 21st
Centuryare access
and evaluate informationanduse andmanage information. Teacherswillneedtouse information
accuratelyand creativelytosolve problems. Theywill needtomanage the flow of informationfroma
wide varietyof sources. Andteacherswill needanunderstanding tothe ethical andlegal issuesthat
surroundthe access anduse of information. Teacherswill be integralinusingclassroomtechnologyand
modelingthe use of technologyforstudents. We live inatechnologyrichtime withanabundance of
informationthatisconstantlychangingandupdating.
Some of the difficultiesteacherswhoare notdigitallyliterate mayencounterintoday’s
teaching/learningenvironmentsare theymaynotbe as informed. Theymayalsobe skeptical and
fearful of the technology.Theymaymissoutof the funof usingtechnologywithitsvisualandsound
embellishmentsandthe interactiveplatformitprovides. Mostof all theymay missopportunitiesfor
talkingandcommunicatingwithstudentsandpeers. Strugglingstudentsmaymissopportunitiesto
engage inthe curriculuminwaysthat reallysupporttheirlearning. Anothercautionabouttechnologyis
that teachersmaynot fullyunderstandtheirethical obligationwhenitcomestosocial media. Many
schoolsanddistrictshave policiesinplace thatpreventteachersfromcommentingonsocial media.
There have beenstoriesinthe newsaboutteacherswhohave beendisciplinedbecauseof their
comments.
The ISTE TeacherStandardsare a roadmap to developskillstoteachinthe 21st
Century. Theyare the
skillsandknowledge educatorsneed toteach,work,andlearninschoolsthat are more and more
connectedgloballyanddigitally. Itsone thingto have standardsbut it’sa whole anotherthingtoknow
howto use them. Whenbecominga teacher,one can use the standardsto designandimplement
learningexperiences,engage students,andhopefullyimprovestudentlearning. Itlendsanexpectation
for neweducatorstomeet. It’ssomethingtouse to reflectonwhatone has learnedandmaybe areas
one couldgrow.
Today,whenitcomesto teachingand learning,there issomuchemphasisputonthe accessand use of
technologybecause itisembeddedineverythingwe do. The classroomiswhere studentswill learn
safe,legal,andethical behaviorandteachers will promoteandmodel digital etiquette andresponsible
social interactionsforstudents. Itisn’talwaysa goodthing,though. We alwayswantto assume
positive intentionsbutkidswillbe kidsandchildrenmayaccessinappropriatewebsitesorsend
messagestofriendsthataren’tallowed. These momentscanbe usedas teachingmomentstoteach
studentswhathappenswhenwe use technologythe wrongway. The importantthingtorememberis
technologyisn’tan“endall – be all.” It’sa tool thatwhencombinedwiththinking,collaboration,and
creative processescanadvance studentlearninginface-to-face andvirtual environments.