What is ISTE Certification?

Earlier today, I learned that I successfully completed the requirements to be named an ISTE certified educator.  ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, is the premiere organization supporting educators in using technology and digital learning to transform education.  With strong roots in curriculum, instruction, and pedagogy, ISTE forms a global network of educators who seek to make learning more relevant, accessible, and purposeful for students.

ISTE certification requires commitment, effort, and a willingness to reflect and evaluate your instruction practices and their alignment with technology and digital tools.  The ISTE certified educator program is centered on the ISTE Educator Standards.  These standards include:

1). “The Learner - Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others, and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to boost student learning.

2).  The Leader - Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success to improve teaching and learning.

3).  The Citizen - Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and reasonably participate in the digital world. 

4).  The Collaborator - Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practices, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems.  

5). The Designer - Educators design authentic, learner-driver activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability.

6).  The Facilitator - Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students.

7).  The Analyst - Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals.”

​The ISTE certified educator program involves two components:  

1) A classwork component that takes 5-8 weeks, requiring both synchronous class meeting and asynchronous work. 
2) the submission of a portfolio showcasing the applicant’s work and its connection to each of the ISTE Educator Standards. 

My experience, like many of my cohort members' experience, involves a time commitment, lots of thought and reflection, and intentionally planning for ways to demonstrate competence in each of the standards.  There are a total of 25 individual criteria that require evidence such as images, student work, and narrative explanations.  The evidence submitted demonstrates the candidate’s ability to meet the criteria.  Of the many things that I have done in my career, I will say that this ISTE certification process was one of the most rigorous and challenging growth opportunities that I have experienced.

After completing this process, I now think and approach the work that I do to support educators and students with a very different lens - that of the ISTE Educators Standards.  Earlier this week,  I was in a high school  statistics class and instantly started connecting what the teacher was doing with several of the ISTE Educators Standards.  I clearly saw the teacher had created authentic, learner-drive activities supported by technology (Designer) and the teacher using technology to analyze student learning (analyst) in less than 5 minutes.  

The ISTE certification process is very rigorous and requires time and intentionality.  I had to spend time reviewing and digesting the standards and its related indicators and consider how my practices demonstrated competence in the various standards.  In many cases, I simply had to consider what evidence that I had available to show that competence.  In other cases, I had to design new learning experiences with learners to help demonstrate that competency. 

This process was at times frustrating, exhilarating, exhausting, and rewarding.  On the day when I submitted my final portfolio, I immediately felt relief but then realized how much I had learned and grown as a result of this experience.  It took me almost a year to complete the entire process but it was so transformative in helping me grow.  As I begin to construct professional learning for adults, I now think about how I can help those educators to create their own learning goals, support their learning through digital tools, and how to help them grow and reflect on their learning. 

Additionally, I also think about what skills and experiences that our students need to be prepared for a world that is ever changing and evolving.  I also think about how we can better harness the power of technology and digital tools to better support and scaffold the learning of our students.   Additionally, we must also couple this with the need to ensure that we model and mentor others in being digital citizens who contribute to make our world a better place for everyone.  

ISTE certification is, indeed, rigorous and challenging but the transformative opportunities it offers for growth as an educator are truly infinite.  It will change how you approach and use technology and digital tools in the best possible way.  The end result is that we are better able to support the learners with which we work to create revolutionary opportunities and experiences to learn that are truly transformative. 

​Also I would like to express my appreciation to the North Carolina Digital Learning Initiative Fund supported by the NC General Assembly for supporting public school educators across North Carolina in obtaining their ISTE certification.  


Revised original written blog with feedback from Chat GPT on January 12, 2024