Monday, April 4, 2016

#8-ISTE/AASL Standards

Fortunately as librarians, we have standards to help direct our teaching to better encourage student learning.  The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) both offer such standards.  While the ISTE standards are easy to follow and user-friendly, the AASL standards are quite detailed and take a little more time to study.  I find both helpful for those reasons.  

As I plan for next school year, I have set a goal to develop a makerspace area, even if I start small.  With that in mind, I have reviewed and compared the standards from both organizations.  AASL Standard 4 covers personal and aesthetic growth.  Specifically, standard 4.1.8 says, "Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning." Although this is a general statement, it definitely applies to any and all makerspace ideas, which could help to persuade my principal to support this goal.

ISTE Standard 1 covers creativity and innovation and lists four specific indicators to encourage this type of learning.  I think these indicators will be most helpful as I plan for specific spaces to begin with once I have my principal on board.  For example, ISTE Standard 1.b says, "Create original works as a means of personal or group expression."  This would directly support a Lego station, or even a foil sculpture station where students do exactly as the standard suggests, creating original works to express an idea.

As school librarians, we have a responsibility to prepare our learners for successful 21st century learning and to create lifelong learners who are purposeful users of information.  In order to make this happen, we must use appropriate guidelines, such as the AASL and ISTE standards to hone our teaching.  While the AASL standards are more generalized, they do offer very detailed indicators.  The ISTE standards are easier to read and follow, offering more specific standards and indicators.  I find both helpful at various times, depending on the purpose.

1 comment:

  1. Excellent comparison with very real world applications. AASL keeps their standards more general so that they can stand the test of time but even they are in the process of updating. ISTE is more specific so that we can be more intentional in their integration. Great use of both for makerspaces. Good luck on starting your makerspace, let me know if you want to talk or chat. I have seen many over the past few years.

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