National Educational Technology Plan

The overall goals and objectives of the National Educational Technology Plan is to be clear about the outcomes we seek, collaborate to redesign structures and processes for effectiveness, efficiency, and flexibility, continually monitor and measure our performance and hold ourselves accountable for progress and results every step of the way. What a massive undertaking this is but what wonderful outcomes could be obtained if it works! The plan outlines technology as the basis of most every aspect of our personal and business lives and we must provide engaging and meaningful learning experiences for our students and to help improve collaborative efforts for teachers. The plan model outlines goals, objectives and recommendations in five key areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure and productivity.

The first essential area in the plan is learning. Students should be afforded engaging and empowering learning experiences. We should strive to create technology instruction that mirrors their everyday lives.  We should empower them to take control of their own learning by providing them with flexibility in instruction and opportunities, to prepare them for a future that will expect them to be able to research, collaborate and collect information using various forms of technology daily.

The second area is assessment. Assessment requires gathering technology-based information in order to drive decisions on what is best for each and every student. The statement that caught my eye was doing this while still having time to improve student performance. So many times assessment takes so much time that the students who are affected are long gone and graduated. Although the information gathered can still be used for current student learning, it is so much better to be able to assess and apply the improvements in a timely manner.

The next area outlined in the plan is teaching. The plan calls for collective teaching, in which educators can learn and collaborate with other teachers in preparing engaging and relevant learning experiences for our students. Technology tools should be used by teachers to create, manage and assess learning objectives for our students on an ongoing basis. One point mentioned was that “connection replaces isolation.” ("Transforming american education:," 2010)

This brought to mind the Facebook page that our class has developed to help us connect and collaborate as we become more effective professional educators.

The fourth area of the plan model is infrastructure. This embraces all resources, including equipment, people, policies and management and systems tools. What struck me most in this section was the frequent use of the word, comprehensive. This requires all stakeholders to be clear and collaborative in all areas to processing and facilitating this component. Another element is online learning communities. We are beginning to utilize some of these capabilities in our school to facilitate students in making up failed classes, working ahead toward graduation or just taking classes that they cannot fit into their schedules. It has them working independently, using their critical thinking skills in an online setting to tailor their educational requirements to their individual needs.

The final area is productivity. I believe this area will be one of the most difficult to attain, as it will require a completely new way of viewing educational processes and procedures. In order for students, especially some who are at risk, to be successful we must measure, assess and facilitate learning to fit the needs of our students rather than what is most convenient or comfortable for educational institutions. Furthering online structures and other innovative solutions where students can learn on their own time frames as well as pace is the model for future educational practices.

Although many of my concerns and observations were stated above within the context of the essential components, one element that stands out is inclusion of the immediate need to act on these issues now, to have any hope of affecting change to improve outcomes in our educational system. This is mentioned several times throughout the draft plan and it is so true if we are to have “revolutionary transformation rather than evolutionary tinkering.” ("Transforming american education:," 2010)

U. S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2010). Transforming american education: learning powered by technology. draft national educational technology plan 2010