The NETP has presented five goals that address learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. The five goals are 1) all learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society, 2) our educational system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement, 3) 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, 4) all students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it, and 5) 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. The NETP believes that time is of the essence in addressing these goals.
President Obama also has his own goals for education which include raising our proportion of college graduates to 60% and closing the achievment gap so that all students regardless of circumstances can graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers. Some of the areas where it is believed that we can have the biggest impact are adopting standards and assessments that prepare our students for college and the workforce, building data systems that measure student growth and success, recruiting and rewarding effective educators, and turning around our lowest achieving schools.
The plan calls for learning that is powered by technology. Teaching strategies will be different than traditional styles and students will be given more flexibility in the learning process. There will be a lot of group learning that occurs in engaging environments that is more learner-centered. Students may also take ownership of their own learning through the use of electronic portfolios. As we have learned more about how our students learn we must make sure that we implement this knowledge in our schools to improve student learning. Research and data does us no good if we do not use this knowledge to help our students.
Teachers should have access to student data 24hrs. a day to help them address the weaknesses that are revealed from student assessments. Teachers must be given the tools and resources that are needed to address areas of concern. The plan also calls for the building of online learning communities where stakeholders can interact with each other in group settings. These online learning communities allow us to have access to a vast knowledge base that we would otherwise be unable to take advantage of.
Teaches also need to have the training necessary to take advantage of the technology that is at our disposal. Many of our teachers know how to use technology but not how to implement it in the classroom to improve student learning. We must make sure that we take the time to train our teachers in the use of hardware and software in the classroom. Our leaders are going to have to allow teachers to have the time necessary for professional growth if we want to achieve the goals that we have set for our schools.
When studying the plan one of the things that comes to mind is that I believe that in order for us to achieve the goals that we are setting we are going to have to be willing to put the needed financial resources into teacher professional development. I believe that many times there is an unwillingness to spend money on teacher training, yet research shows that this is one of the most important elements to improving student learning. The professional development should be high quality and relevant to our educational goals. Teachers are also going to have to be willing to make changes in their teachings styles to move toward more learner-centered instruction. It will take a total effort of all stakeholders if we are going to reach the goals that the technology plan sets for our schools.
Another challenge that we are going to have to face is the situation that many of our schools are in financially. This is a time when we are facing major financial cutbacks in most states and finding the needed resources to meet our goals may not be easy. We are going to have to do a good job of managing our money and making sure that our allottment of resources is aligned with our stated objectives and goals. We are going to have to make tough decisions concerning school programs and what our priorities are going to be in our individual schools.
Overall I believe that the National Technology Plan addresses most of the major needs that we have in our schools and sets some important goals for us to strive to meet. There are major obstacles that must be overcome but I believe that we making strides toward the objectives and goals that we have set. We must continue to use research and data to push toward changing the learning climate in our schools.
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