Communication, Collaboration, and Publishing – Connection to the NETS
The connection between the NETS and student abilities in the areas of communication, collaboration and publishing are not only obvious, but natural. The 21st century demands that our students are able to do all of the standards on the NETS. But, first and foremost, students must be able to communicate, collaborate, and publish (write or produce) as they enter post-secondary education and the workforce.
Communication skills among our students are, by now, so natural and implemented almost without thought. Be it the use of email or texting our kids have fine tuned the art of instant communication. Our jobs as teachers is to not only introduce them new forms of communication that will enhance the NETS, but also to ensure that their communication is such that it develops their written and spoken language. We can introduce them to sites like elluminate, mogulus, ustream, and cover it live and encourage their communication not only with their friends and families, but across the planet as well. It is our job to teach them the function of these tools and to instill in our students quality writing and speaking skills that will last them a lifetime. We can also use sites like taking it global, iearn, and epals and encourage their written skills still further. This group of sites will allow for communication around the globe and thus collaborations as well.
Collaboration, be it through any of the applications above, or through an array of wikis, discussion boards, slideshare, diigo, google docs, and ning has become a crucial component of a child’s education in the 21st century. Creating an educational environment that embraces teamwork and cooperation serves to enhance the NETS including specifically, individual accountability and personal responsibility, information fluency, and the utilization of multiple resources. Using the applications above like taking it global, iearn, and epals can also enhance collaboration across the globe as students from all corners work together to solve problems and produce quality work. As our students move forward in the education and work world they must come to accept the ability to collaborate as easily as they now communicate with one another.
Publishing used to be an onerous task as writing a piece and being publish in a way that invites and encourages multiple readers of various backgrounds was difficult to accomplish. With advent of the incredible technology at our finger tips we can not only write, but create art, slideshows, movies, and other create outlets that are accessible to millions around the world in moments. In order to produce works that are worthy of a wide audience, however, our students must engage in thinking critically about what it is they are creating. Their work must demonstrate creativity, innovation, and be true to the body of research that they use. Students can publish anything as simple as a blog or wiki or it can be along a more creative vein through the use xtranormal, animoto, and you tube. Our students can create their own productions with or without the use of cameras and other costly equipment. The potential and ease of publication is astounding in the 21st century, but we have a responsibility to be sure our kids publish quality and legitimate works that embrace the qualities of good digital citizenship.
Communication, collaboration, and publishing have all been greatly enhance by the use of technology. All three demand that our students have fine tuned the NETS if it is to be done well. Our students must have a solid understanding of technological operations and concepts and generally must be intuitive about manipulating the various applications at their disposal. The world is at their footsteps to engage and interact with on any level they desire. Students merely need to step forward and take the leap into instant, innovative, and incredible opportunity that awaits them.
