National Educational Technology Plan

I have been inspired.  I love the idea outlined in this plan, whereby education is always on any time day or night anywhere/everywhere in the world.  I love how fluid the process of teaching and learning would become if this can be achieved.  I have always been a night person by nature and some of my best ideas have come to me in the silent, solitude of the night.   Then to take those ideas to another level by being able to go online to discuss and collaborate with maybe just one but possibly others at the time an idea occurs is a priceless opportunity in learning.  As is being able to learn in one’s own time and way.

As I was reading I began to envision opportunities with my own students that brought me back to my teaching roots and the very reasons I became a teacher in the first place.  After teaching for 12 years I have reached the threshold of becoming jaded.  I have not crossed the line but certainly I have reached it.  I realized that when I was at the NAEA conference last week.

I have been reborn as an educator because there is hope for the American Education System.  That hope exists within the pages of the National Education Technology Plan.  I am shocked because I thought I was going to be bored by this document.  I was dreading reading it.  I only hope that its ideas do not get lost in translation and interpretation, relegating it to just another ineffectual document.  You know how it goes.  It was a nice idea but…….

National Educational Technology Plan Goals

“1.0 Learning: Engage and Empower
All learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and out of
school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in
our globally networked society.”  ( Executive Summary, p 14)

“2.0 Assessment: Measure What Matters
Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what
matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.” ( Executive Summary, p 15)

“3.0 Teaching: Prepare and Connect
Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that
connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable
and inspire more effective teaching for all learners.” ( Executive Summary, p 16)

“4.0 Infrastructure: Access and Enable
All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning
when and where they need it.”  (Executive Summary, p 17)

“5.0 Productivity: Redesign and Transform
Our education system at all levels will redesign processes and structures to take advantage
of the power of technology to improve learning outcomes while making more efficient use of
time, money, and staff.” ( Executive Summary, p 18)

Basically professional development for teachers will be handled in much the same way as the teaching and learning environment for students.

“Support the development of an open architecture mapping and navigation platform that will
enable the visual depiction of learning progressions across all content areas and reflect
21st-century expertise. Accessible online, these learning progressions can be used to
reenvision content, resources, assessments, curricula, and professional learning for teachers
and encourage the sharing of best practices and new approaches to improve teaching and
learning. This platform would encourage a variety of mashups and spur innovation.”  ( Executive Summary, p 20)

Resource: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology – Executive Summary, 2010