With the national attention directed at cybersecurity and interoperability in building safe and resilient data ecosystems in K-12, it is important to take a moment to underscore that these efforts are well thought out and stem from fundamental digital fluency and citizenship learning standards, and many lessons learned over the pandemic years. Just another example of the daunting job of educational leaders, and begs a short peek under the hood of Professional Development and Computer Science today.
Teaching has never been an easy job no matter what anyone says. In most states in order to get a teaching degree a prospective teacher must not only be certified as an expert in a subject area, but he or she must also be certified in education. In many states, like where I live in New York, it is also a requirement to have a postgraduate degree and to obtain continuing education credits in order to retain one’s professional license. All of this is required to address and teach an approved curriculum that adheres to a set of standards to theoretically guarantee that students in any given state of the United States are being taught the same content and learning skills as any other student in that state. That is a tall order.
To complicate the issue of teaching mere content, ideally, teachers are required to teach kids not only WHAT to learn, but HOW to learn and become lifelong learners. The theory is that this is the best way for a student to become self-sufficient enough to, not just survive, but to thrive in any future endeavors. Thus, as information and technology continue to grow and evolve, our citizens would therefore be learning right alongside that evolving reality. Again, this is a lofty goal.
Taking this a step further, in order for any of this to happen in today’s technology-rich society, teachers must use the latest tools to curate, collaborate, communicate, and most importantly, create information. This adds yet one more area that a teacher must master – navigating the tools to access ever-evolving information, content and processes.
School systems usually address this via professional development plans. Although those of you who have followed my posts know that typically I have reservations about the delivery of most professional development (see my most recent post on Pedagogy vs Andragogy.) Clearly, it will be necessary to get teachers up to speed on essential skills in accessing and maximizing the use of technology.
Teachers come from different generations and various backgrounds. This has created a situation where teachers may vary greatly in their technology experience. Districts also vary in the availability of technology in each district, or even buildings in some cases. Considering all of this, it should be safe to say educators don’t always know what they don’t know. This might be the perfect time to objectively assess each teacher’s digital literacy and technology skill set to address individual needs for personalized learning. There are solutions available that can be employed to do this task, one tool, 2gno.me, is a prime example. This is more in keeping with andragogy, or adult learning.
All of this considered it should be obvious that there is a need to establish the technological skills that should be expected of all stakeholders (administrators, teachers, students, etc.) The establishment of these Technology standards must be revisited frequently to maintain relevance and continually evolve. This is underscored by the advent of Generative AI. It has been out less than a year and has had a massive effect on learning that will continue to evolve profoundly.
I found great examples of this in my own ‘backyard’ via the New York State ISTE affiliate known as NYSCATE (The New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education.) NYSCATE has been a leader nationwide for well over 3 decades, continually re-inventing itself and the rich professional development resources it provides for educators statewide. Through NYSCATE I have begun to learn about the new New York State K12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards.
The New York State K12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards were adopted by the Board of Regents in December 2020. The initial implementation is this year and the final full implementation will be next year 2024-25. The Five Standards include Impacts of Computing, Computational Thinking, Networks and System Design, Cybersecurity, and Digital Literacy.
New York State Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards
The K-12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards are available at the links below.
- New York State K-12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards (all grades)
- Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards Glossary of Terms
- Excel Version of Standards with Examples
Learning Standards by Grade Band
- Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards (K-1)
- Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards (2-3)
- Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards (4-6)
- Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards (7-8)
- Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards (9-12)
In the fast pace of change in educational technology, NYSCATE takes these standards bringing together great educators from around the state as mentors providing shoulder-to-shoulder professional development. The PD that NYSCATE offers demystifies the standards and provides practical examples of how to teach students skills that they need to be successful in an ever-changing, information and technology-immersed future.
Every teacher should be brought up to speed on Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Objectives and Standards through this process. Crossing a bridge when you come to it is a logical strategy for hiking, but not so much for the classroom. This is all in keeping with my core belief that if we are to better educate our kids, we need first to better educate their educators.
Your core premise never gets old… “if we are to better educate our kids, we need first to better educate their educators.”