NETS

NETS (or the National Education Technology Standards) addresses the expectations of technology in the classroom. There are standards for students, teachers, administrators, and technology coordinators.

I am going to start by focusing the standards for students, which "help students prepare to work, live, and contribute to the social and civic fabric of their communities" (NETS, 2007). I wanted to explore if and how these standards related to use of technology for creating authentic audiences for student work. Remember the idea is not that the audience is passive, but rather one that interacts with the student, provides feedback, and share resources and ideas. For me, the second standard is the one that focuses on the skills and ideas related to creating these authentic audiences.

Here is the standard, taken from the NETS website:

2.	Communication and Collaboration
	Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
	a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems. (NETS, 2007)

The use of web 2.0 tools to help facilitate authentic audiences supports this communication and collaboration standards. By focusing on using the web 2.0 tools to build collaboration and communication between my students and the classroom stakeholders, other classrooms, peers, experts, and the community I am fulfilling this NETS standards (not to mention most likely fulfilling the other 5 standards).

References:
International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). NETS for Students. Retrieved March 23, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm