NETS for Students

The 2007 revised NETS for Students is a very comprehensive document. NETS includes essential personal and career skills that students should have if they are to successfully compete in the global digital world, such as: creativity, innovation, communication, collaboration, research and information fluency skills, as well as, critical thinking, problem solving and decision making skills, digital citizenship, and technology and operations concept skills.

NETS cover major academic and career oriented areas that students will need throughout their lifetime. Students need to be able to construct their own knowledge, think critically and innovatively, and be able to apply and transfer such skills in their careers and in their daily lives to new situations. Although, no educational system can provide students with all the skills and knowledge they will need in the real world, educators can teach students how to learn and how to locate and apply new knowledge to different situations. This is what life-long learning is all about.

Good communication and collaboration skills will also be key qualities students will need in their personal and professional lives. Failure to communicate and collaborate with others efficiently and effectively can lead to job loss, missed opportunities, and lack of personal friendships. Global awareness and cultural understanding are also key components to a well rounded education. We live in a multi-cultural world and must learn to communicate and function effectively in a variety of situations and with a variety of people. Being open to new experiences and people would take students a long way in life.

I believe that the NETS are a good starting point and agree with all that is covered. However, as technology continues to expand and new innovations are created students will need to gain further skills. In the mean time, what NETS has covered would allow students to adapt well and gain whatever new technology skills are necessary in the future.

As a future School Library Media Specialist, the NETS hold a particular meaning for me because my role in the school is to teach students technology and information literacy. I will be collaborating with teachers to help integrate technology into the curriculum and improve literacy for all students. The NETS for Students and NETS for Teachers are standards that I will be working with on a daily basis.