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ISTE Standards: For Students

Today’s students must be prepared to thrive in an evolving technological landscape. The student section of the ISTE Standards is designed to empower student voice and ensure that learning is a student-driven process. Discover ways to use the standards in the classroom with the ISTE Standards for Students online course.

Cite open-access research about the ISTE Standards for Students.

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1.1 Empowered Learner

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Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.

1.1a Learning Goals

Students set learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process to improve learning outcomes.

1.1b Customized Learning Environments

Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process.

1.1c Feedback to Improve Practice

Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

1.1d Technology Fundamentals

Students understand fundamental concepts of how technology works, demonstrate the ability to choose and use current technologies effectively, and are adept at thoughtfully exploring emerging technologies.

1.2 Digital Citizen

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Students recognize the responsibilities and opportunities for contributing to their digital communities.

1.2.a Digital Footprint

Students manage their digital identity and understand the lasting impact of their online behaviors on themselves and others and make safe, legal and ethical decisions in the digital world.

1.2.b Online Interactions

Students demonstrate empathetic, inclusive interactions online and use technology to responsibly contribute to their communities.

1.2.c Safeguard Well-being

Students safeguard their well-being by being intentional about what they do online and how much time they spend online.

1.2.d Digital Privacy

Students take action to protect their digital privacy on devices and manage their personal data and security while online.

1.3 Knowledge Constructor

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Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

1.3.a Effective Research Strategies

Students use effective research strategies to find resources that support their learning needs, personal interests and creative pursuits.

1.3.b Evaluate Information

Students evaluate the accuracy, validity, bias, origin, and relevance of digital content.

1.3.c Curate Information

Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.

1.3.d Explore Real-World Issues

Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories, and pursuing answers and solutions.

1.4 Innovative Designer

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Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

1.4.a Design Process

Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.

1.4.b Design Constraints

Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.

1.4.c Prototypes

Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.

1.4.d Open-Ended Problems

Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems

1.5 Computational Thinker

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Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.

1.5.a Problem Definitions

Students formulate problem definitions suited for technology-assisted methods such as data analysis, abstract models and algorithmic thinking in exploring and finding solutions.

1.5.b Data Sets

Students collect data or identify relevant data sets, use digital tools to analyze them and represent data in various ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making.

1.5.c Decompose Problems

Students break problems into component parts, extract key information and develop descriptive models to understand complex systems or facilitate problem-solving.

1.5.d Algorithmic Thinking

Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.

1.6 Creative Communicator

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Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

1.6.a Choose Platforms or Tools

Students choose the appropriate platforms and digital tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.

1.6.b Original and Remixed Works

Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.

1.6.c Communicate Complex Ideas

Students use digital tools to visually communicate complex ideas to others.

1.6.d Customize the Message

Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

1.7 Global Collaborator

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Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

1.7.a Global Connections

Students use digital tools to connect with peers from a variety of backgrounds recognizing diverse viewpoints and broadening mutual understanding.

1.7.b Multiple Viewpoints

Students use collaborative technologies to work with others, including peers, experts and community members, to examine issues and problems from multiple viewpoints.

1.7.c Project Teams

Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.

1.7.d Local and Global Issues

Students explore local and global issues, and use collaborative technologies to work with others to investigate solutions.

Citation and Copyright

Crompton, H., Burke, D. The Nexus of ISTE Standards and Academic Progress: A Mapping Analysis of Empirical Studies. TechTrends (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-024-00973-y

ISTE Standards © 2024 4.01, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), iste.org. All rights reserved.

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