National Education Technology Plan: Transforming American Education

The Office of Educational Technology a part of the U.S. Department of Education came up with a draft plan to change education. The title is: “Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology.” In this paper, they have five areas that they established goals for: Learning, Assessment, Teaching, Infrastructure, and Productivity. Education is in dire straights and is in need of a change. America is falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to education. The apparent fix is to move education towards a 21^st century learning model with the increased use of technology where students can become 24/7 learners.

Concerning learning the panel discusses how learning should be differentiated to fit the needs of the different learners. Schools should differentiate the pace of teaching and the instructional practices to best fit the learner. Students should collaborate with different learners all over the world and learn from all the different educators. The opportunities that educators can give students are limitless and can be instantaneous. Teachers need to create lessons that are engaging, relevant, and personalized for the learners. The learning should mirror the students’ daily lives and their futures in the business world. “21^st century learning” can be incorporated into any discipline and allows for more learning resources than a traditional classroom. Students need to learn how to think critically, problem solve, collaborate, and communicate using multimedia presentations. In doing these things schools will be preparing students to be life-long-learners.

Effective Teachers are the critical aspect in the formula of transforming the education system. Teachers need to be connected not isolated and part of online learning communities. Teaching will be a team activity where they access to resources to improve their instructional practices. The professional development that the teachers receive will need to be continuous, coherent, collaborative, and they will need more time for professional development through out the school week. Teachers will have to experience connected teaching to learn how to use it. Right now teachers have a gap in understanding technology that prevents them from using it in the classroom.

There were a couple of recommendations that stood out. The use of simulations and virtual world technology to assess students is an excellent idea. Most students love to play video games and they would enjoy taking assessments in a virtual world with an avatar. One phrase that makes me wonder is the K-16 phrase that is used through out the paper. I understand the push for students to go to college; however, I do not feel that it should be a requirement. The way some of the sentences were worded made me feel as if that will be a requirement in the future.