ISTE and Metiri Group Release Teacher Professional Learning to Support the ISTE Standards for Students

Los Angeles, CA, February 13, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Today, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) and the Metiri Group announced a new online professional learning series, the Digital Learning Pathways. The Digital Learning Pathways series is designed to help educators develop foundational understanding and readiness around the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students. The first course, which focuses on ISTE’s Empowered Learner standard, was released on January 31, 2017, with additional courses for the other student standards forthcoming in 2017.

As a result of the collaboration between the two organizations, the Digital Learning Pathways brings foundational knowledge, research-based learner characteristics, instructional strategies, assessment rubrics, and more to the integration, implementation, and adoption of the ISTE student standards.

"ISTE is committed to supporting teachers on their journey to incorporate technology in a way that deepens learning. That means focusing on an approach that serves students, provides real-world, active learning opportunities, and builds higher order thinking skills."

Carolyn Sykora, Senior Director of the ISTE Standards Program

The courses provide maximum flexibility for busy educators—learners choose their pathway through the course, while a pre-assessment suggests top areas to focus on. The platform also works on any device and allows users to choose their own pathway and learning priorities throughout the course.

The first course, designed around the Empowered Learner standard is available now. The system provides opportunities for educators to demonstrate understanding necessary to develop student skills that will lead to their achievement of the ISTE student standards. Teachers who pass the final assessment earn a certificate and badge while retaining access to the content for up to one year.

The 2016 ISTE Standards for Students are a blueprint by and for innovative educators worldwide to guide education transformation and meaningful, future-ready learning. They are not simply about devices or using technology; they are about giving voice to learners the world over and ensuring that learning is a student-driven process of creation and critical thinking.

Metiri Group CEO, Cheryl Lemke said, “Metiri Group is proud to partner with ISTE to provide professional learning that is customizable and research based. The digital content, vignettes, rubrics, materials, teacher assessments, tools, research, and resources available throughout the Digital Learning Pathways will provide the users with the knowledge and strategies they need to address the ISTE Standards for Students in any classroom, with any level of access to technology, and with any level of technology integration skill."

The Digital Learning Pathways series is constructed based off Metiri Group’s NSF-funded Learning Revolution platform. “The use of this resource is essential to really understanding what the ISTE Standards for Students are trying to achieve. Our partnership has created a great opportunity for educators to know what the ISTE Standards for Students mean for learning, teaching, classroom environment, and overall practice,” said Lemke.

For nearly 20 years both ISTE and Metiri Group have focused their work on the advancement of digital learning. The collaboration between these two organizations builds off the strengths and capacity of both organizations to bring meaningful professional learning directly related to the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students. Digital Learning Pathways is designed for individual, group, school, district, or state use. The Empowered Learner course is available with a discounted price during the initial launch. Additional courses will be forthcoming throughout 2017.

For more information please contact Jody Britten at jbritten@metiri.com or Carolyn Sykora at csykora@iste.org.

Source: Metiri Group and ISTE