WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE(R)) launched the next generation of standards for administrators' use of technology at a celebration on Monday during the 30th annual National Educational Computing Conference (NECC). Administrators, ISTE staff and participating sponsors gathered to share the key features of the refreshed National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A) and to honor the work of the numerous people who committed their time to developing them.

"Effective leaders of digital age schools are being challenged now more than ever to move away from models of teaching, learning and administration as isolated endeavors and to provide the vision for systemic growth and change," says Don Knezek, ISTE CEO. "We're very excited to launch and celebrate the refresh of NETS-A with the educators who worked toward these consensus standards."

Originally released in 2001, the NETS-A followed on the success of the NETS for Students (NETS-S) and NETS for Teachers (NETS-T), defining the responsibilities of district and school leaders in the effective use of technology.

Thousands of educators from all 50 states and more than 37 countries have provided expertise and guidance on the standards through forums and surveys, both face-to-face and online.

The new NETS-A emphasizes educational administrators' abilities to facilitate systematic growth in the following categories:

• Visionary leadership
• Digital-age learning culture
• Excellence in professional practice
• Systemic improvement
• Digital citizenship

ISTE extends its thanks to the sponsors of the NETS-A refresh process, including Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Intel Education, Pearson Education, Promethean, SMART Technologies and Turnitin.

About ISTE

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education.

SOURCE International Society for Technology in Education