Michigan Educational Technology Standards (METS) Page 1 of 3

Michigan Educational Technology Standards = 250 – due Feb 19 by 11:59pm

Michigan has technology standards for students, and they are divided into four grade ranges:  PK-
2nd grade, 3rd-5th grade, 6th-8th grade, and 9th-12th grade. The standards themselves are
available at  MDE - Michigan K-12 Computer Science (CS) Standards
Click https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/
CompSci_Standards_Accessible_Final_655284_7.pdf

MITECS - Michigan Educational Technology Competencies for Students

The Michigan Educational Technology Competencies for Students (MITECS) focus on technology
enhanced learning rather than on the use of technology tools. These MITECS encompass what are
often referred to as “Next Generation Skills” or “21st Century Skills."
https://goopenmichigan.org/hubs/mitecs

1) Choose one of the grade levels and read the standards carefully so you understand what the
students should be able to do. What surprises you about these standards? If nothing surprises you,
what do you think might be difficult to teach from them?
a) I think the thing that most surprised me about the standards was the wording used in the
standards; they are all written about very technical skills using technical language so trying to
interpret how those standards apply to my concentration area is a little more difficult than the
regular ELA standards.
2) In the info about the standards, there are important concepts for you to understand. Why
is technology literacy so important for educators to work on at all grade levels?
a) Technology literacy is important for countless reasons! For one, students will be expected to
have certain levels of technology literacy in order to succeed in many different career options as
well as in higher education. Students are also required to take a good number of standardized
tests and assessments that require technology literacy in order , so their scores can be
misrepresented if they are not up to a certain level with their technology literacy. Technology
can also be a great learning tool once students reach proficient levels of technology literacy.
3) Now read the standards for a grade range either above or below the one you chose. How do you see
the standards building upon themselves from one grade range to the next? Give a specific example.
a) The standards seem to get a bit more in-depth as the grade range increases; for example, one
standard from the first grade set I picked has students explaining a technology concept whereas
the grade up takes two of those concepts and asks students to be able to compare and apply
them.
4) Compare what Michigan is doing to what Ontario is doing for ed tech standards for students by
examining the tech standards for either elementary
(http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/index.html) or secondary
(http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/index.html). Describe some similarities
and/or differences.

EDUC 350 Integrating Technology into 21st Century Learning Environments

“One key ingredient to successful technology integration is not forgetting the autonomy and the fun.” 
~  Mark Barnes.
Teaching the iStudent: A Quick Guide to Using Mobile Devices and Social Media in the K-12 Classroom
 Michigan Educational Technology Standards (METS) Page 2 of 3
a) The first difference I noticed is in how the standards are written; in comparison, the Ontario
standards are written in a more readable way (to me, at least). It feels like it gets to the core of
the standard without being too bogged down with jargon. I feel like content-wise, the standards
are actually fairly similar with the overall goals being building student literacy with technology
and the innerworkings of different technology.
5) Now, take a look at The ISTE Standards - https://www.iste.org/iste-standards The ISTE Standards
are a framework for students, educators, administrators, coaches and computer science educators
to rethink education and create innovative learning environments. The standards are helping re-
engineer schools and classrooms worldwide for digital age learning. Does anything surprise you
about these? Describe one way that you have seen a teacher (in your own classes or in a field
classroom) showcase one of these standards. Viewing the indicators will help you understand what
each standard entails.
a) I think the thing that surprised me about the standards is how they are organized so that each
standard seems to progress upward on a scale of proficiency. I think the standard that I have
seen incorporated into a class many times is the ability to use technology to creatively produce
some sort of artifact. For example, that is what we are doing in this class with creating the
eportfolio is a creative production of an online artifact. Another example I have seen is having
students create a blog from the perspective of a character from a class reading or having
students use online art/photo editor programs to create fictional advertisements.

Upload your answers in APA format in Moodle. I recommend that you save your work to your
workspace before you submit it on Moodle. Sometime Moodle can have issues.

Grading Rubric:

1. Completeness (50 points)

Do your responses directly answer each part of the assignment questions?

Excellent Very Good Good Need Improvement

5 4-3 2 0 -1

2. Knowledge (100 points)

Do your response clearly show you have read and understand the content?

Excellent Very Good Good Need Improvement

10-9 8-7 7-6 0-5

EDUC 350 Integrating Technology into 21st Century Learning Environments

“One key ingredient to successful technology integration is not forgetting the autonomy and the fun.” 
~  Mark Barnes.
Teaching the iStudent: A Quick Guide to Using Mobile Devices and Social Media in the K-12 Classroom
 Michigan Educational Technology Standards (METS) Page 3 of 3
3. Analysis (50 points)

Have you clearly stated analysis and given examples to back them up? Do your responses
provide analysis to the larger concepts?

Excellent Very Good Good Need Improvement

5 4-3 2 0-1

4. Writing Skills (50 points)

Do you write clearly, in complete sentences, with minimal errors in grammar and spelling?
Did you use the APA format?

Excellent Very Good Good Need Improvement

5 4-3 2 0-1

EDUC 350 Integrating Technology into 21st Century Learning Environments

“One key ingredient to successful technology integration is not forgetting the autonomy and the fun.” 
~  Mark Barnes.
Teaching the iStudent: A Quick Guide to Using Mobile Devices and Social Media in the K-12 Classroom