Talk presented at the 2013 Foreign Language Instructional technology Conference in Nicosia, Cyprus, in December 2013; Deborah Healey and Sophie Ioannou-Georgiou

1. The TESOL Technology
Standards:
Leading the Field Forward
Deborah Healey, University of Oregon
Sophie Ioannou-Georgiou, Cyprus Ministry of Education
https://sites.google.com/site/techstandardsresources/

2. Agenda
•
•
•
•
•
•
Why standards?
What the Standards are and aren’t
Elements of the standards –overview
Sample teacher standard
Effects of the standards
Where to learn more

3. Rationale
• Improve practice – teaching and
learning
• Encourage professional
development
• Provide guidance for teacher
educators
• Provide guidance for
administrators

4. Technology Standards:
Basic premises
• Started with learner goals => teacher goals
• Single volume - teacher and learner
standards together
• Online teaching integrated
• Global outlook – “available technology”
• “Technology” defined as digital, not just
computer
• Basic and “expert” teacher level
• Sensitive to varied contexts
(EFL, ESL, child, adult, ESP, etc.)

5. Technology Standards
NOT
o US-centered => ISTE NETS
o Centralized education => NETS, UNESCO ICT-CST
o Extensive access to technology
Unique assumptions
o
o
o
o
Locally “available technology” – low, mid, high
Locally-determined “appropriate use”
Teachers acting individually
Language pedagogy at the core

6. Elements of the Standards
• Two sets of standards: language
learner and language teacher
• Goals
• Standards
• Performance indicators
• Vignettes

7. Standards for Language
Learners
• Three overarching goals
o
o
o
o
Each with two to five standards
11 standards in all
Performance indicators
Vignettes as examples
Standard 1
Standard 2
Standard 1
Standard 3
Goal
1
Standard 4
Standard 2
Goal
2
Standard
2
Standard
1
Standard
3
Goal
3
Standard
4
Standard
5

8. Standards for Language
Teachers
• Four overarching goals
o Each with three to four standards
o 14 standards in all
o Most standards with two levels of
performance indicators: basic
and expert
Standard 1
o Performance indicators
o Vignettes as examples
Standard 2
•Basic performance
indicators
•Expert performance
indicators
•Vignette
•Performance
indicators
•Vignette
Goal
2
Standard 3
•Basic performance
indicators
•Expert
performance
indicators
•Vignette

9. Sample teacher standard
• Goal 2 Standard 1
Language teachers identify and evaluate
technological resources and environments
for suitability to their teaching context.
By Filosofias filosoficas, via Wikimedia Commons

10. Goal 2 Standard 1
• Performance indicators
o Identify technological resources and limitations in
their current environment
o Identify and evaluate tech environments to meet
specific learning/teaching goals
o Evaluate technology resources for alignment with
student needs and abilities

11. Effects
• Benchmarks – syllabi and
objectives
• Sample from Goal 2 Standard 1
Ensure that available technology is used effectively
o Low resource: Download relevant online material
for class use to provide authentic material
o Mid resource: Prepare students in a whole-class
setting for use of online material independently
o High resource: Have students create material for
others to use

12. Effects
• Learner and teacher awareness
o “Digital natives” are not experts in learning with
technology
o Enable students to use technology appropriately
• Stressed in Teacher and Learner Standards

13. Effects
• Teacher development
o Pre-service – guidelines for teacher educators
o In-service – Can-Do statements help point out
areas for improvement

14. Sample Can-Do Statements
• Teacher Goal 2 Standard 1:
identifying tech resources available
and limitations in their context
o I am aware of hardware resources in and outside my
institution
o I know about different communication technologies
in and outside the institution
o I know about free and paid digital material available
online
o I am aware of courseware, including course
management systems, available to me

15. Program administrators
• Standards call for
o Training
o Tech support
o Compensation for expertise
• Standards apply broadly
o Face-to-face environments
o Online
o Hybrid environments

16. Rubric for Program
Administrators
• Goal 2 Standard 1: Teachers
identify and evaluate resources
and environments
o Teachers are part of decision-making about
technology purchases and use.
o If students in online courses have poor
connectivity, the teacher adapts the material
used (e.g., video may not be usable in lowbandwidth areas)

17. Final comments
• Bad teaching will not disappear with
the addition of technology, no matter
how advanced
• Good teaching will benefit from
appropriate use of technology to
help learners achieve their goals.
• Ultimate interpretation of the
standards needs to be
pedagogical, not technical.

18. Where to learn more
• Tech Standards Resources:
sites.google.com/site/techstandardsresources
• TESOL Technology Standards Framework
Document (2009) (free download):
www.tesol.org/docs/books/
bk_technologystandards_framework_721.pdf
• TESOL Technology Standards: Description,
Implementation, Integration (2012):
www.tesol.org/BookLanding?productID=721
• Email us:
dhealey@uoregon.edu, sophiecy@yahoo.com

19. TESOL Technology Standards Framework
document (2009) (free download):
http://www.tesol.org/BookLanding?productID=721

20. TESOL Technology Standards:
Description, Implementation, Integration (2012)
http://www.tesol.org/BookLanding?productID=721