New Norms New Literacies

With all that is advancing in the world today in regards to technologies, I am not surprised that NETS for Students and Teachers has developed. When reading about the new literacies, I was pleasantly surprised that they are not that different from what is currently going on in my classroom today. I see the new literacies in relation to the scientific method. Students form a meaningful question and connect sub-questions to this idea. Next,  students must explore the Internet (and other resources) for related pages. Once they find these pages, they must make sure that the information presented is accurate through evaluation of the website and sources. When this is complete, students can critically analyze the information and synthesize the information given in order to relate it to the original question. Once this is complete, students must communicate when they have learned to their peers around them. In simpler terms, students must learn how to navigate the Internet in order to successfully answer posed questions.


The NETS for students' purpose is to prepare students for the technological world ahead of them. As teachers, we need to make sure that students are able to use technology to learn, explore, and analyze all that is around them. By giving them critical skills that will help them prepare to be digital citizens, these students will be much more likely to successfully work and live in the digital communities of the future.


The NETS for teachers' purpose is to assure that educators have the necessary skills and knowledge to teach, work, and learn in a society that is becoming more and more digital. It is crucial that teachers understand how to teach students to become technologically savvy adults. Not only do teachers need to teach their students technology but they also much be refining their instructional strategies through technology and being digital citizens themselves!

One example of how I incorporate the new literacies and the NETS in my classroom is through research projects. Not only are my students required to have multiple sources from the Internet, but they must also required to prove that the sites they found information on are accurate and professional. For more information regarding how to incorporate the NETS into your classroom, check out NETS for teachers.

I leave you with the following question. How can related service workers accurately be evaluated in regards to these standards when they can only take partial ownership over student learning?