NETS for Teachers

First, let me say that I find it refreshing that there are technological standards that exist for teachers, as well.

One of the sentences that stood out to me was "All candidates seeking certification or endorsements in teacher preparation should meet these educational technology standards." Sadly, this is not the case for some teachers. I agree that there should be technology requirements, perhaps more than there are now. One or two classes in technology are not going to prepare "digital immigrants" for the implementation and effective use of technology in their classrooms. "Digital natives" should also use this requirement, if it were a true requirement, to seek further enrichment in their skills and to review skills that may have waned from non-use.

For example, a pre-service (but digital native) teacher like myself would benefit from a class in HTML and web design. I have not coded HTML, except for a few lines here and there, for about five years. I used to have several personal web pages. However, now, save for the few general HTML codes that are used a lot, I have lost a lot of that knowledge.

Why are there no stringent technological requirements for teachers seeking certification, or current teachers. We are 7 years into the 21st century and I feel that many teachers lack the basic knowledge of technology needed to successfully and effectively implement it into their classes . Without this requirement, I feel we are doing a grave disservice to the students, who use technology daily.