The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that focuses on accelerating innovation in education through the smart use of technology in education. ISTE provides a variety of services to support professional learning for educators and education leaders, including ''ISTELive''—an ed tech event, the '' ISTE Standards for learning, teaching and leading with technology'', and ISTE Certification. ISTE also provides a suite of professional learning resources, including webinars, online courses, consulting services, books, and peer-reviewed journals and publications. In 2019, ISTE acquired

EdSurge EdSurge is an education journalism initiative provided by the International Society for Technology in Education. EdSurge publishes newsletters and operates databases used by venture capitalists, teachers, school administrators and others. In May ...

, a for-profit news company, which focuses on technology and education, and converted it to a non-profit.

History

The International Council for Computers in Education (ICCE) was founded in 1979, with

David Moursund David Garvin Moursund (November 3, 1936 – September 1, 2021) was an American mathematician, computer scientist, author and educator. From 2002 until his death, he was a Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at the University of Ore ...

as executive officer and editor-in-chief of the organization's organ ''The Computing Teacher''. In 1989 ICCE changed its name to the present name, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Shortly after, in 1990, The ''Computing Teacher'' was retitled ''Learning and Leading with Technology''.

Conferences and events

ISTE is known for hosting a variety of events related to innovation in elementary, secondary, and higher education.

ISTELive

ISTELive is ISTE's flagship conference for exploring and exchanging approaches for innovation in education with educators from around the world. The event attracts more than 24,000 educators and education leaders. Recent conferences have been held in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

(2019),

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

(2018),

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Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

(2017), and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

(2016). In 2020, the ISTE Conference was scheduled to be held in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

but was instead held virtually due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

; the 2021 Conference was also fully virtual. ISTELive 22 will be the first ISTE event since 2019 to be held in-person in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. though it will also have an virtual component.

Other events

In addition to ISTELive, ISTE hosts a variety of smaller events around specific topics. Beginning in 2018 ISTE began hosting Creative Constructor Lab, a virtual event which focuses on using technology to support design and creative thinking. ISTE also hosts the Leadership Exchange (Lx) for education leaders and the EdTech Industry Summit for product developers. In 2022 ISTE began a new event, Make the Future Summit, for education leaders in the UK.

ISTE Standards

The ISTE Standards (formerly "

National Educational Technology Standards The ISTE Standards, formerly known as the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), are standards for the use of technology in teaching and learning (technology integration).Stager, Gary"Refreshing the ISTE Technology Standards,"District ...

", NETS) are a framework for implementing digital strategies in education to positively impact learning, teaching and leading. Along with the standards themselves, ISTE offers information and resources to support understanding and implementation of the standards at a variety of levels.

Publications

EdSurge

In November 2019, ISTE announced the acquisition of

in a pairing of events and news-focused education technology organizations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but ISTE

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Richard Culatta stated that its investors will not receive a return on their investment. EdSurge continues to operate as an independent news organization focusing on reporting around innovation in elementary/secondary education, higher education, and the education industry.

Print publications

ISTE also publishes books focused on innovation in education, with titles on topics such as sketchnoting, blended learning, artificial intelligence, and augmented and virtual realities. In addition ISTE publishes two peer-reviewed journals: 1) the Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE), and the 2) Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education (JDLTE). Both JRTE and JDLTE are currently published by Taylor & Francis. In 2018, JRTE published its 50th volume. JRTE is published quarterly with an acceptance rate at approximately 17%.

Professional Learning

ISTE provides professional development opportunities on a range of educational topics, including digital citizenship, computational thinking, artificial intelligence, and online teaching. The organization offers professional learning for a wide variety of educator roles, including ed tech coaches, library media specialists, and classroom educators and school leaders. In June 2020, ISTE launched a Summer Learning Academy to prepare teachers to be effective at teaching online as many districts canceled face to face instruction as a result of COVID-19. The ISTE Certification for Educators credential is a competency-based, vendor-neutral teacher certification based on the ISTE Standards for Educators. It recognizes educators who use ed tech for learning effectively. The process to obtain this credential has three parts: a two-day, in-person training workshop, a five- to eight-week online course (led by a professional development facilitator and with a cohort), and a final submission of a portfolio of artifacts to ISTE for review and evaluation. The certification program is delivered through ISTE-selected Certification Authorized Providers across the world. In 2022 ISTE announced that, pending a vote by the ASCD members, the two organizations wold merge to form a new organization that had expanded professional learning reach and options.

Grant Work

ISTE collaborates with education organizations in several ways, including grants. ISTE's grant work includes developing professional learning programs that incorporate educational technology best practices across various topics. Current ISTE grant programs include a learning science initiative (2018–2019) funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation, an artificial intelligence explorations program (2018–2019) funded by GM, an educational technology initiative focused on retail and workforce development funded by Walmart, a 2018 open education resources initiative funded by Hewlett Foundation, and a collaboration on future-ready librarianship funded by Follet.

Membership

ISTE membership is extended to individuals, affiliates (organizations, like school districts and state technology organizations), and corporate members interested in the use and application of technology in Education. ISTE has members in over 100 countries with concentrations in the US, Canada, Latin America, and Australia. ISTE also maintains a corporate membership program to support companies in developing high quality ed tech products.

References

{{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in Arlington, Virginia Educational organizations based in the United States Technology organizations