ISTE CERTIFICATION

Criteria Guidelines
UPDATED APRIL 2021
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines

Introduction
The ISTE Standards for Educators provide a framework for rethinking education,
adapting to a constantly changing technological landscape in education and preparing
students to enter an interconnected global economy. ISTE Certification recognizes and
celebrates educators who demonstrate competency with the standards.

This criteria guidebook is intended for educators currently enrolled in the ISTE
Certification Program. The criteria guidebook can be used by educators for preparing for
their portfolio creation while they are curating artifacts, writing contextualizations, and as
a review before portfolio submission. The guidebook includes specific information about
the criteria required for portfolio submission used in the review process. This criteria
guidebook is not to be downloaded or saved as it is a living document and changes will
be made, when necessary. Please contact Carmalita Seitz at cseitz@iste.org if you
need special requirements made for viewing.

The Criteria Guidelines Document was refreshed in April 2021 for branding and
accessibility. The guidelines and requirements for the portfolio evaluations did not
change.

Table of Contents
1. Learner Standard Criteria
2. Leader Standard Criteria
3. Citizen Standard Criteria
4. Collaborator Standard Criteria
5. Designer Standard Criteria
6. Facilitator Standard Criteria
7. Analyst Standard Criteria
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
LEARNER STANDARD
Criteria
2. Set professional learning
goals.
3. Actively participate in a local
or global digital network.
Criteria Focus
As educators, we must set
learning goals for our
professional growth. This
criteria is focused on the
professional learning goals for
yourself and how you plan to
meet and learn to meet those
goals.
What are at least two
professional learning goals for
effectively using technology
have you set for yourself
regarding the use of
technology? Have you met
these goals? If so, share the
learning that happened to meet
the goals. If your learning goals
are not met, share how you will
continue to learn to meet those
goals.
Virtual networks can deepen
your professional learning and
connect you with peers,
experts, resources, and new
ideas. To make the most of
professional learning networks,
we can consume but must also
be active contributors. What
digital networks are you part of,
and how have they contributed
to your professional growth?
Provide evidence of your active
participation in creating new
discussions/posts on learning
and engaging with your
network(s) by replying to
others.
Criteria Checklist
Statements
❏ I have identified more
than one professional
learning goal and my
learning goals focus on
the use of educational
technology.
❏ My professional
learning goals outline
the learning I will
participate in to
strengthen my practice
in educational
technology.
❏ My artifact outlines the
learning steps I will
take to achieve/meet
my professional
learning goals.
❏ My artifact provides
direct evidence of my
active participation,
creating discussions,
and contributing to
discussions, in the
digital networks I am
involved in.
❏ Discussions I have
created are to request
support in my learning
from my network.
❏ Discussions I have
replied to are to
support others, in my
network, for their
learning.
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
4. Report changes made to
teaching practice based on
timely, research-based best
practices.
Criteria
5. Promote a shared vision.
Staying connected to research
is essential as an ISTE Certified
Educator; this research should
always guide our instruction
and allow for us to make
changes to our current
practices as validated research
emerges.
There is a difference between
research (studies that can be
cited) and reviews (thoughts,
opinions, and ideas). Reflect on
research that has impacted
your instruction and assisted
you with the most effective
ways to use technology.
Think about this statement
when you are creating your
submission for this criteria:
"I used to do __, but then I
read/learned ___, so now I
do ___."
LEADER STANDARD
Criteria Focus
As a leader, you will seek out
ways to promote the vision and
policies of a group,
organization, or school that you
are part of. This vision should
guide you in how you evaluate
and adopt new instructional
strategies for learning with
technology.
A shared vision is one you have
with others, not just your own
personal vision that you have
❏ My artifact or my
contextualization
directly identifies the
peer research that I
read/investigated.
❏ I included a link or
screenshot of the
research in my
contextualization or
artifact.
❏ The research I read is
peer-evaluated and not
just a blog, website, or
general book reference.
❏ I provide evidence of
my practice before I
read/learned about this
new research.
❏ I provide evidence on
how I changed my
practice based on the
research using
educational technology.
Criteria Checklist
Statements
❏ I directly state the
shared vision for
learning with
technology in my
contextualization and
my artifact.
❏ The shared vision in my
artifact was supported
by multiple
stakeholders, including
myself. (I may have
been part of the
creation but not
required)
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
shared with others. How, as a
leader, how are you promoting
this vision to a larger audience
than your own learners?
This criteria is about leveling
the playing field or providing
opportunities where none
existed for an underserved or
unserved population of
learners.
All learners have a right to
have access to educational
technology and digital
resources needed for learning
regardless of race, ethnicity,
socio-economic status, gender
identity, sexuality, ability,
primary language, or other
6. Advocate for equitable specific learning factors.
access.
As a leader in education, how
do you or have you encouraged
equitable access and
opportunity for a group of
disadvantaged learners? How
have you participated in or
influenced decision-making for
access to a specific technology
or digital resources that were
previously not available to
them?
*Your evidence must extend
beyond just having access to
devices at school (1:1
initiatives).
Exploring, testing, and
7. Model new resources or evaluating new tools or digital
tools. resources builds your skills to
match the tool to the task and
helps to design learning
❏ The artifact shows how
I promoted this vision
beyond my own
learners.
❏ The artifact shows how
I led the promotion of
the shared vision to a
larger audience.
❏ I identified in my
artifact the group of
learners with an unfair
disadvantage to
learning.
❏ My artifact provides
evidence of how I
advocated for access to
support the identified
learner(s) to
educational technology
they did not currently
have access to.
❏ My artifact provides
evidence of how I
encouraged leveling the
playing field and
providing opportunities
where none existed for
an unserved or
underserved population
of learners.
❏ My contextualization
and artifact directly
show the new digital
tool or resource that I
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
activities that use technology
purposefully. Sharing newfound
resources with colleagues can
be the most influential
endorsement and help increase
the adoption of digital tools and
resources for instruction.
This criteria focuses on your
process to find, evaluate and
model with your colleagues new
tools and resources for
instruction.
This criteria moves away from
the how-to-use the tool to the
pedagogical practices this tool
supports.
CITIZEN STANDARD
Criteria Criteria Focus
There needs to be ongoing
opportunities for learners to
practice to contribute positively
to online interactions and
discussions.
Many of us use protocols with
learners that build practice in
8. Implement learning
empathy and socially
experiences for students to be
responsible online discussions.
empathetic and socially
responsible.
This criteria focuses on the
learning and practice around a
set of protocols introduced to
learners and opportunities to
experience, in a safe
environment, the
implementation of this learning.
introduced to
colleagues.
❏ My artifact goes beyond
just how to use tools to
the tool’s instructional
use.
❏ I provided evidence in
my artifact of how I
modeled for colleagues
the use of the tool in
instruction.
❏ My artifact directly
shows the instruction,
to my colleagues, on
this tool.
Criteria Checklist
Statements
❏ My artifact directly
shows my instruction
on how my learners are
instructed and guided
to be empathetic and
socially responsible
when contributing to
online discussions and
interactions.
❏ I provide framework(s),
protocols, or guidelines
for learners to use in
online interactions and
discussions.
❏ I give direct evidence in
my artifact of how my
learners put these
guidelines into practice.
❏ If I am using a 3rd
party lesson, I showed
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
9. Promote student behaviors
that encourage curiosity as
they critically identify/examine
online resources.
10. Mentor students in safe,
ethical and legal use, including
intellectual property.
We are inundated with an
overabundance of information
on a daily basis. How do we
learn to decipher if that
information is valid, accurate,
and relevant?
Under the Citizen Standard,
this criteria focuses on how you
guide your learners to
understand digital literacy as a
guiding principle when
researching and reading
information online.
Under the Citizen Standard,
this criteria focuses on how you
guide and mentor your learners
on the proper use of intellectual
property. All learners should
understand the importance and
regulations for using others’
work and understand
Copyright, Fair Use, and
Creative Commons.
For this criteria we are looking
for specific learning about these
concepts in instruction.
Mentoring: is ongoing
instruction over a period of
time that encourages learners
to manage their own learning
beyond the provided
instruction.
how I customized
and/or adapted it.
❏ My artifact shows
evidence of the
guidelines learners
used to evaluate online
resources and
information critically
❏ I provide examples of
how I guided my
learners to evaluate
online information and
resources for the
author's biases,
information accuracy,
and relevancy when
researching information
found online.
❏ If I am using a 3rd
party lesson, I show
how I customized
and/or adapted it.
❏ My artifact provides
examples of direct
instruction, examples,
and activities learners
participate in to
understand the proper
and ethical use of
intellectual property.
❏ My artifact provides a
clear picture of how I
mentor my own
learners regarding their
use of intellectual
property.
❏ If I am using a 3rd
party lesson, I show
how I customized
and/or adapted it.
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
11. Model responsible use,
including protection of digital
identity and personal data.
COLLABORATOR STANDARD
Criteria
12. Collaborate with another
educator.
13. Co-learn with students
about a new digital tool.
This criteria focuses on
instructing learners to protect
their personal data and manage
their digital identity when
online.
Model: Being transparent with
how you protect your own
digital identity and personal
data.
Criteria Focus
Collaboration is a vital practice
for innovating instruction,
learning from each other, and
continual improvement. It is
particularly powerful for
learning design that leverages
technology. When we
collaborate with other
educators we need to establish
roles and responsibilities for
the design and implementation
of the project.
It is important to reflect on how
we intentionally collaborate
with our colleagues to mutually
improve the use of technology
in teaching.
Think of a time when you
learned a brand new digital tool
or resource with a group you
were instructing; what
happened during this learning
experience?
❏ My artifact specifically
showcases the learning
experiences I provide
to learners on how to
keep their digital
identity and their
personal data safe.
❏ I show how I model this
in my own practice.
❏ If I am using a 3rd
party lesson, I show
how I customized
and/or adapted it.
Criteria Checklist
Statements
❏ My artifact and
contextualization
specifically show and
outline how I worked
with other colleagues to
design learning
experiences using
educational technology.
❏ I provide clear evidence
of each educator's role
in the development of
the activity and how
each educator
contributed to the
design and/or execution
of this learning
experience.
❏ I identify the tool that I
co learned with my
learners.
❏ The digital tool was
brand new to my
learners and me.
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
14. Facilitate students’ virtual
meetings with experts or
students.
15. Demonstrate effective
communication with all
students’ supporters.
Learning is a process; sharing
how we learn is a process.
Learning with our own learners
is an important part of the
learning journey; failing
forward, working out solutions,
and finding new ways to utilize
tools.
Technology allows educators to
bring experts in synchronously
and virtually to deepen the
learning experience.
For this criteria, we want you to
think of a time where you
provided this experience or
take the time to schedule and
implement this experience for
your learners. An expert can be
another adult or even a k-12
student.
Remember, this is the
Collaborator Standard; how do
you collaborate with other
experts to bring that
experience and learning
opportunity to your learners.
For this criteria, identify who
your learners are and who their
supporters may be (e.g., for
K-12 students, they may be
guardians or counselors, with
adult learners, they may be
their supervisors).
Effective communication: is
an ongoing process in
producing a desired or intended
result.
❏ I provide clear evidence
in my artifact of the
learning process
between my learners
and myself.
❏ I highlight my success
and challenges as well
as my learners’
successes and
challenges while
co-learning.
❏ My artifact provides
specific evidence of my
active role in a meeting
or meetings with an
outside expert,
synchronously and
virtually, that they do
not have normal access
to.
❏ I have identified how
this experience
enhanced learning.
❏ My artifact provides
evidence of how I
effectively
communicate with my
learners’ supporters
around their learning
goals and use of
educational technology.
❏ My artifact provides
multiple examples of
my effective
communication.
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
DESIGNER STANDARD
Criteria Criteria Focus
When designing learning
activities, educators specify
targets and standards to
measure learning. In addition
to the ISTE Standards, this
criteria focuses on using
content/subject area standards
16. Align to content area in your instruction.
standards.
Educators design learning
activities to address various
learner needs for active
learning. When designing your
learning activities you want to
focus on multimodal content
delivery using educational
technology so that you can
17. Accommodate learner
personalize their learning
differences.
experience.
Focus on the UDL Principle of
Representation for this
Criteria; visit this website for a
deeper understanding of this
criteria.
http://udlguidelines.cast.org/re
presentation
Criteria Checklist
Statements
❏ I outline the specific
content/subject area
standards that the
learning experience is
aligned to.
❏ My artifact drills down
to the specific standard
objective and not the
high-level standard
name.
❏ The learning activity
the content/subject
area standards are
aligned to is with the
use of educational
technology.
❏ My artifact directly
showcases how I am
designing learning,
using technology to
access content in
various ways that fit
individual consumption.
❏ My learning activities
include pictures, audio,
video, contrasting
colors, graphics, and
clarifying vocabulary.
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
18. Design digital learning
environment.
FACILITATOR STANDARD
Criteria
19. Facilitate and guide learning
as students take ownership of
their learning goals.
20. Manage the use of
technology for learning in a
A digital learning environment
can be used wholly or in part to
support learning. Educators
can utilize a learning
management system or design
an interactive learning
experience using digital tools
and apps that focus on how you
engage the
student-to-teacher
student-to-self and
student-to-student
experience
Criteria Focus
Learner agency is a vital skill
that, as educators or leaders
working with K-12 or adult
learners, we can build in those
with whom we work.
The ISTE Standards for
Educators require us to
effectively become facilitators
of agency, including having
learners take ownership of their
learning goals.
Learning goals are goals
referring to the higher-order
ambitions you have for your
learners while learning
objectives are specific,
measurable competencies. The
ownership of these goals must
be highlighted along with how
you guided and facilitated your
learners to achieve those goals.
The use of technology for
learning-- in classroom,
❏ My provided artifact
showcases the various
activities that I have
created in a digital
learning environment.
❏ I show evidence of how
learners receive
feedback, access
resources, and interact
with other learners in a
digital learning
environment.
Criteria Checklist
Statements
❏ My artifact outlines how
my learners are setting
and working to achieve
their learning goals.
❏ I provide evidence of
ways I support my
learners in meeting
their learning goals.
❏ I provide evidence that
the learning goals and
outcomes are with the
use of educational
technology.
❏ My artifact shows how I
keep learners engaged
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
nontraditional classroom
setting.
21. Create opportunities for
students to use a design
process and/or computational
thinking.
22. Model and nurture
creativity.
blended, hybrid, or online
learning environments--
requires a combination of skill
sets.
From keeping learners engaged
and on task and optimizing
space, time, applications, and
devices, this criteria focuses on
strategies for managing the use
of technology in a way that
enhances learning.
Design and computational
thinking are powerful
competencies for
problem-solving. Building
those skills requires designing
and implementing activities
opportunities for learners to
gain practice.
This criteria focuses on how
you design for and implement
on a regular basis, including
using technology to do so.
Creativity and creative thinking
are part personal expression
and critical for communication
of ideas and knowledge and
making meaningful connections
between ideas.
This criteria focuses on how
educators provide opportunities
for their learners, including
modeling it in our own practice.
This includes instructional
strategies and technologies that
can support strategies.
and on task when they
are learning in a
non-traditional way.
❏ I outlined the rules,
guidelines, and
parameters, regarding
the use of technology I
use with my learners in
a non-traditional
learning environment.
❏ I provide evidence of
the design and
implementation of a
recognized
design-thinking or
computational thinking
process in my
instruction.
❏ My artifact outlines
each of the steps of
either the design
thinking process or
computational thinking
process.
❏ Each step explains the
learning activities and
process for learners to
complete.
❏ My artifact
demonstrates my own
creativity in designing
opportunities for my
learners to be creative
with digital tools and
technology.
❏ My artifact provides
evidence of nurturing
creativity for my
learners with either the
opportunity of peer
feedback or
opportunities to
showcase the final
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines
Criteria
23. Provide alternative ways for
students to show competency.
24. Use assessment data to
inform and guide instruction
based on individual student
needs.
25. Provide opportunities for
students to reflect on their own
learning data.
ANALYST STANDARD
Criteria Focus
Technology affords learners to
showcase knowledge and skills
that can be a powerful way to
engage deeper learning when
combined with learner choice.
This criteria focuses on how
educators design and
implement projects or learning
experiences that allow learners
to choose how they want to
demonstrate their learning. It
also requires educators to
evaluate learner work in
meeting objectives or
standards.
As educators, we have to draw
on our experience and data to
ensure that our learners are
progressing in their
understanding.
This criteria focuses on how
you gather and analyze data
and how you use the findings to
adjust instruction.
Reflection is a key part of
learning. Allowing time for our
learners to have access to and
understand their own learning
data is an essential ingredient
to empowering learners.
product to an authentic
audience.
Criteria Checklist
Statements
❏ My artifact provides
evidence that my
learners were provided
voice and choice in the
technology for their
final project and how
they showcase the
development of their
final product.
❏ I identify the choices
my learners had for
their final product,
using educational
technology.
❏ My artifact showcases
the data that I used to
analyze learning and
inform a change in my
instruction.
❏ I show and explain the
process that I use to
collect and analyze data
using technology.
❏ I show and explain the
adjustments I made to
my instruction based on
the data that I collected
and analyzed.
❏ I show and explain how
I provide opportunities
for my learners to
reflect on their own
learning data using
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ISTE Certification Portfolio Criteria Guidelines

digital tools and

This criteria focuses on how
technology-powered
assessments can provide
immediate feedback and data
to the learner and educator. It
also focuses on how technology
tools allow for learner reflection
to adjust their own work.
technology.
❏ My artifact shows the
learning data used for
reflection and the
reflection on that data.