Wordle Comparing NETS T Standards

Wordle is an easy to use tool used to create word association visual aide.  I did have to update my Java on Chrome tool before I was able to use Word Cloud. The create screen features a word box that you can copy/paste/create an text you'd like. From what I can tell, the more times a certain word appears in the text, the bigger the word appears in your word cloud. For example, when I created my NETS-T 2008 standards Wordle, I typed the word "global" 6 times, which created the word bigger. You can also customize your wordle by color/word choice, vertical/horizontal orientation, creative fonts...you can even eliminate words from certain languages(like Croatian?). Check out my 2008 Wordle below, which I edited with Jing.

I chose to make the word "global" the biggest in my 2008 word cloud because it was a major difference I saw between the two sets of standards. I think our increased global awareness is a huge factor into many aspects of education. We are constantly seeking out, comparing against, and competing against global products, programs, etc. I also felt the newer standards were more geared towards student engaged learning environments. By providing students with authentic learning opportunities(not talking like the teacher from Charlie Brown), we require the students to think on a higher cognitive level, go deeper into the skill set, and take responsibility for their learning. These authentic learning opportunities allow students to imagine, create, and cooperate with peers, other teachers, and even other professionals to embrace and apply their skills. These students are more equipped with problem solving skills for the 21st century.

The NETS T 2000 standards seemed to be based of the classroom scaffolding know as "I-do, We-Do, You-Do", even more heavily focused on teachers explaining, facilitating, and assessing students. The 2000 standards have some great words such as: strategies, varieties, experiences...but what sets the 2008 standards apart is the high amount of verbs used. While these 2000 standards were an excellent point to begin building our technology education programs, they seem dated (and it's ONLY 13 years ago).