I often watch my children (ages 3, 6, 9, and 15) interact with technology in our home in utter amazement. While sitting in my office, I happen to be be looking at the ISTE-student learning standards and made an astonishing connection. First, here are the general skills associated with the standards:
1. Creativity and innovation
2. Communication and collaboration
3. Research and information fluency
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
5. Digital citizenship
6. Technology operations and concepts
The connection I made had to do with how many of these skills my children possess and how little they are "tested" to see how much progress they have made towards achieving mastery of those skills. They don't need a test. I know they have mastered these skills by observing their interactions, watching them create in the digital world, and seeing how easily they transfer their skills from one device to the next. I see them grow each day. I see them learn by doing, by creating, by asking questions and searching for solutions. In my home, they are independent thinkers, but at the same time, without being told, they can switch to being collaborative thinkers as they help one another out in solving a wide array of problems.
My children are like many others. They have access to a world that we didn't have 20 years ago, and they are better for it. My hope is that when my 3 year old goes to kindergarten in 2 years that she is allowed to continue to learn in the ways that makes sense for her. I hope that we create classrooms that tap into the limitless potentials of our youngest generation Z students. I hope that our schools continue to evolve and that we ensure the success of our younger generations yet to be born.
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