These standards can be used to guide technology integration across the K-12 curriculum. None of these has ever been so available as they are today in the classroom. How students process these inputs into meaningful units is, in part, what these standards are designed to assess. Swan's new standards draw on numerous sources, in particular the work of national professional organizations that featured extended, open processes of review and revision that included parents, teachers, administrators, software developers, and media specialists. Basic skills refer to competencies related to accessing, decoding, encoding, and locating.
Critical literacies involve interpreting, critiquing, evaluating, and synthesizing.
Construction skills include composing, developing, integrating, and presenting. The articulation of basic skills, critical literacies, and construction skills serves many purposes. In addition, these standards can be used to document and qualify technology integration in classrooms. Because the standards can flexibly be applied across lessons, curricula, classrooms, schools, or districts, they may serve as helpful, accessible comparison criteria. Professional development can also be driven by these standards.