Blog #3 National Education Technology Plan

The National Education Technology Plan was created in 2010 by our nation's governors and state education chiefs to ensure that our nation's education system is striving to keep up with the technology that is now constantly amongst us. To successfully teach these 21st Century learners, our eduction system must take on a whole new approach. Students need to be participating in projects based on real world problems. Using blogs, wikis, podcasts to collaborate and communicate are necessary. Relevancy is the key word--what will they need in the real world?

Goals have been put in place to address needs of the "universal learner" using various lessons, goals and improving access for learners. This encompasses more students than just the learner that is normally thought of; senior citizens, people with disabilities, the adult workforce and all learners from impoverished areas.

Varied assessment is also a goal for the National Education Technology Plan. Often times, assessments are used after the lesson has been completed. It would be much more effective to be used throughout the lessons using various methods such as response devices, group scribbles in science and online system tracking devices.

Professional development is a necessity also. Teaching is often an isolated profession in which teachers must rely on their own lessons, experiences and ideas. Using resources online such as Teachers.tv or PBS lessons could help teachers use multimedia resources that are ready to be integrated into their curriculum. Connecting with other professionals and networking are also goals for professional development.

I believe that these are all good goals to pursue. Time to learn new software and prepare lessons would be a problem as well as money required to implement new technology. Slowly we are getting to a point where these goals don't seem as lofty as they once would have. With continued support from the state and national level, we should be able to achieve these goals in the future.