National School Library Standards vs. ISTE Standards (Blog #1)
All things considered, the National School Library (NSL) standards and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards are quite complementary of each other. Although the ISTE standards (2016) focus specifically on technology, they can easily be used to implement the goals of the NSL standards. The foundation of the two sets of standards is similar. They both encourage educators to help students take charge of the inquiry process in an authentic way. There is a focus on both the learner and the educator in both sets of standards.
A great example of the way these standards can work together is the digital resource that Mary Lou O’Connor shared in her article, “Now Serving: An Appealing Menu of Digital Literacy Tools and Resources” (2019). The “menu” is divided by the six shared foundations of the NSL standards and consequently broken down by the four domains within each foundation. Under each domain is a list of digital resources that can be used to teach the specific standard. Using this table, in collaboration with the document compiled by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards Crosswalk Task Force (2018), is a recipe for success.
The crosswalk document is powerful because it allows the user to see how easily the NSL and ISTE standards align, but also where there may be gaps. The biggest disconnect seems to be under the NSL Shared Foundation of “Include.” Although a few ISTE standards appear, the number is jarring compared to some of the other sections. It is also worth noting due to the increasing research that there is more prejudice within technology than previously thought (Korte, 2020). Hopefully this is something that ISTE will address sooner, rather than later.
Another point of comparison for the two sets of standards is the intended audience. The NSL standards are specifically for librarians and their learners, whether that be students or teachers. However, the ISTE standards are for all educators. There are specific sets for technology coaches and administrators, but everyone else is grouped together under the umbrella of “educators.” That could refer to classroom teachers, librarians, interventionists or even therapists. For that reason, I would expect a school librarian to focus primarily on the NSL standards and view the ISTE set as a way to support the implementation of those standards. It appears Freedman and Robinson (2019) did this based on their Knowledge Quest article. The NSL standards were the focus, but they weaved in digital tools to address many of the domains.
I will be honest. I was a teacher for fifteen years and I never knew there was a set of ISTE standards. I only heard the term in reference to the annual conference. Every school I have worked in had an instructional technology coach, so I now assume they were guiding us based on these standards that I never came in contact with myself. We, of course, were heavily encouraged to use technology, I just did not know there were specific parameters that were most likely being followed.
That leads me to a lingering question—what standards are expected for librarians in the state of South Carolina? I went to the SC Department of Education website and saw nothing listed for libraries. Does each district have their own set of standards? Or have districts individually adopted the national standards? I would love to hear from anyone who is already in the library about this!
References
American Association of School Librarians Crosswalk Task Force. (2018). Standards crosswalks. https://standards.aasl.org/project/crosswalks/
Freedman, J.L., & Robinson, A. (2019). School librarians level up. Knowledge Quest, 47(5), 10-15.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2016). The ISTE standards. https://www.iste.org/iste-standards
Korte, A. (2020, September 3). Technology’s built-in machine bias reflects racism, scholar says. American Association for the Advancement of Science. https://www.aaas.org/news/technologys-built-machine-bias-reflects-racism-scholar-says
O’Connor, M.L.C. (2019). Now serving: An appealing menu of digital literacy tools & resources. Knowledge Quest, 47(5), 17-21.
O’Connor, M.L.C. (n.d.) Digital literacy tools & resources for the K-5 learner. [Google Docs]. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z6s9yD5wnoCtR7RhstCFXAZLiY3YS1RlTWsVu6cBGMQ/edit
I agree that there is great overlap between the two sets of standards, and that the NSL are fairly broad enough to incorporate technology.
ReplyDeleteAs far as your ending questions, I am currently working as a School Librarian as I become certified, and I agree- there are no specific standards for us for SC. I have been directed to use the NSL standards as I write lesson plans, which can be a bit challenging to submit to my admin team. To some degree, I have had to develop my own curriculum, which is extremely time consuming. Most of the time, I enjoy the autonomy, but there are times when I'd just like to be told more specifically what to teach.
Oh wow Mary! That's great that you can use the NSL standards, but I bet that is difficult coming up with so much on your own. Are there other librarians in your district you can work with?
DeleteThere are theoretically, but for some reason I think I"m the only one that has to turn in lesson plans.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the question you proposed as I was always curious what standards were to be followed by librarians in SC. I could assume the national standards, but at least in my discipline I follow the states current standards. I am still new to much of this and this first blog post was a great insight into the standards that librarians could use, maybe in SC, maybe not? I went and skimmed the article you read and appreciate the recipe analogy that was used. Much of what we do is a recipe, however it never seems to be the exact ingredients each time! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete"Much of what we do is a recipe, however it never seems to be the exact ingredients each time! "
DeleteYou are so right about this! Even when I was a classroom teacher, when I used a lesson from a previous year, I always had to tweak it to make sure it worked for that particular groups of students.
Tiffany, You and I seem to be on the same page when it comes to our reading this week! I also enjoyed the "Menu" article and the authors design approach to incorporating technology and library lessons.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, I had never heard of the ISTE standards as a classroom teacher either. My school also has Modern Learning Specialists (MLS) positions which are usually previous classroom teachers who now help with technology in the classroom. As far as what standards SC librarians must follow, I have no personal experience but have talked to my own school's librarian and she said she has none from the district or state so she follows the AASL standards. I would love to see SC collaborate with AASL and develop specific standards to follow for SC librarians, or for South Carolina to officially adopt the AASL standards so every librarian across the state is on the same page.
It's nice to hear that so many librarians seem to be "unofficially" using the AASL standards. I agree though that it would nice to have SC adopt them so that the expectations are the same across the state!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteEDIT - So sorry to post this twice! Apparently I was not logged in my first attempt and I want to be sure it counts. We learn as we go, LOL.
ReplyDeleteHi Tiffany,
your post raises many good points, especially the question of what standard librarians are expected to use. As a teacher I am very used to having a specific set of standards to follow for each class that I teach. If I am teaching a new class the first thing I do is to grab the standards off the SCDE website. It is interesting to me that there isn't a specifics set for librarians. I believe that the AASL standards would be my starting point if I had to choose one set over the other but I do find it odd that there are not grade level specific standards. I had heard of the ISTE standards before but I honestly believe that it is only because I teach CTE courses. Even within CTE only the computer / technology teachers seem to ever use them.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts I look forward to reading through the comments of others to see if there are any answers on your standards question. I am curious to find out myself!
-Lauren Jordan
No worries, I deleted the first comment for you :-) I like the openness of the AASL standards, but I do think it could be helpful to have more parameters for age-- maybe 4K-2, 3-5, middle, high? I think a lot of it probably depends on the learners in your school.
DeleteTiffany, you did an excellent job of comparing and contrasting the two sets of standards. It was especially helpful that you pointed out the ISTE standards target a larger range of educators, including educational leaders and coaches, and that it would be natural for a librarian to lean more towards the AASL standards. I also have the same question as if there are specific standards librarians should abide by, and where they are located.
ReplyDelete-Megan LaSane
Hopefully we will find out the answers to our standards questions by the end of the course!
DeleteHi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the biggest gap between the ISTE and AASL standards is with the Include Foundation. I think it speaks to the difference between building a technology savvy learner and a more holistic learner. I love the Include Foundation tenets of inclusion and the seeking of different perspectives to gain more knowledge and to challenge the learner's current understanding of information. You have a great citation for the implicit bias baked into technology. I agree that this issue needs to be addressed by the ISTE standards.
Great ending question. I, too hope that it becomes more clear to which standards we will be held. I work in New Hampshire as a library assistant, and the principal here has put the emphasis on Future Ready standards and has been asking the school librarian here to work to those standards. I am grateful that all these crosswalks have been created so that we can be guided by our own AASL standards as well and whatever else we may be asked to touch upon.
Thank you,
Jen
Hi Jen!
DeleteThanks for giving us a perspective from another state. What grade level is the school where you work? I wonder if that has any bearing on the standards a principal might want. The crosswalks are phenomenal! It allows for flexibility and workarounds if you have been handed something else that is "required."
To answer your main question, SC has adopted the National Library Standards published by AASL. I am not sure why they are not displayed on the SC Dept of Ed website, but those are the standards that are now embedded into the school librarian evaluation tool (ADEPT).
ReplyDeleteSCASL is still working to inform administrators (including the superintendent of education) about our standards and have been handing out the official standards books along with packets of information.
Thank you Ms. Thore! That is so helpful to know!
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