Office of Instructional Technology

Secondary Technology Standards
 

"The invention of the computer has provided a powerful if ever-changing model of cognition and an invaluable tool in simulation, data analysis and conceptualization of the human mind."

Howard Gardner, The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach, 1993


"Today, at the dawn of a new century, in the midst of an information and communications revolution, education depends on computers. If we make an opportunity for every student a fact in the world of modems and megabytes, we can go a long way toward making the American Dream a reality for every student. Not virtual reality -- reality for every student...Technology enriches education, it teaches our children how to learn better...We must make technological literacy a standard. Preparing our children for a lifetime of computer use is now just as essential as teaching them to read, write and do math."

President Bill Clinton, Speech, 1995

The last two decades of the twentieth century can be characterized as a time of dynamic technological change. The advent of faster, more powerful and less expensive computers, the emergence of multimedia, and the explosion of telecommunications, the Internet, and social media have serious implications for education. The computer, more than any other device since the printing press, has changed how people work, learn, play, communicate, do research, and solve problems. As a multipurpose learning tool, the computing devices such as desktops, laptops, and tablets, have an intrinsic ability to be interactive, creative, motivating and thought-provoking. They can individualize instruction, provide multisensory learning experiences and simulate abstract concepts. In the Information Age, students must learn how to access and interpret information from digital encyclopedias, online databases, and Internet-based resources. They must be able to communicate via word processing, desktop publishing, multimedia presentations, and other digital tools in an increasingly connected world. It is self-evident that a serious approach to technology integration is central to the mission of today's schools.

Our Secondary Technology Standards been developed to address these issues by establishing department technology standards for students at each grade level. Computer are powerful and creative instructional tools that can enhance learning most effectively when they are integrated with the curriculum. All students must develop proficient information technology skills as a prerequisite for future academic and professional success. The technology standards in this document are department-driven and draw from recommendations made by New York State's "Long Range Plan for Technology in Elementary and Secondary Education," the Common Core Curriculum, the Next Generation Learning Standards, and Math, Science and Technology curriculum frameworks.

As we advance through the 21st century, technology enables teachers to shed their role as the sole purveyor of information and guide students towards constructing knowledge, expressing creativity, and solving problems cooperatively and collaboratively with modern technological tools. These standards are the foundation upon which the Great Neck secondary schools will move towards achieving this educational vision of the future.