Reflections on ISTE Standards for Educators

I’m really excited to move from the classroom to being Vice Principal at my elementary school next year. As I read
through the ISTE Standards for Administrators I see a lot of work ahead of me to bring together classroom teachers,
specials teachers and the technology teacher together to look at the ISTE Standards for Teachers and how we can
work collectively to implement a shared vision of technology in our school.  Currently, our school has a laptop cart in
the library for the third and fourth grade classes to use, a laptop cart in the fifth grade that all four classes must share
and a computer lab. The lower elementary grades don’t use technology outside of their weekly technology class. With
just one technology teacher for the whole elementary school, technology lessons seem haphazard and separate from
the classroom curriculum.


Not being particularly comfortable with technology myself, though fully understanding the importance of digital literacy,
the road ahead seems daunting. One way to address the big unknown would be for me to create a technology
leadership team to leverage technological passion and expertise that is currently available on staff. This will allow me
to implement Standard 1: Equity and Citizenship Advocate, Standard 2: Visionary Planner and Standard 4:
Systems Designer as we collect data on technological expertise on staff, develop school standards for digital
citizenship, and expand opportunities for students to integrate technology into their classroom learning.


A personal goal for me is to expand my online presence as outlined in Standard 5: Connected Learner. I already
participate in a variety of Facebook groups on leadership, math, reading and writing, concept-based learning, and
mindfulness in education. I would say that I am mostly in the 90% lurker category (Lindsey 2016), reading and
learning from others, though I do, at times, respond with input and sometimes post questions on issues that I would
like information on.

I really enjoyed the Lindsey article on “Attributes of a Global Educator” as it helped me better understand the
road I can take to expand my understanding and use of technology in leadership. I appreciated the author’s explanation of the difference between personal learning networks and professional learning communities and how to get involved in both of them. Her advice to contribute daily to the global dialogue on education is a goal that I will strive for as I continue my journey as an educator. Reflecting on my practice and contributing to the discussions in a global context will help me meet and implement Standard 3: Empowering Leader.

Reference

Herseim, J. (2018). Handing over the reins: Shifting from a school-centered mindset to a learner-centered one (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
ISTE Standards for Educational Leaders. Retrieved from ISTE.org

Lindsey, J. (2016). Attributes of the Global Educator. In J. Lindsey, The Global Educator: Leveraging Technology for Collaborative Learning and Teaching (Location 229 - 1365). Eugene, OR: ISTE

Bull, B. (2018). Four tools for leaning into the future in times of rapid change and innovation. Educause Review, 53(2), 12–22      

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