"National and State Technology Standards"
As you read the Introduction to the National Education Technology Plan,
what did you determine to be the purpose of the National Education Technology
Plan? How does it affect teachers and students, people like you and me? (feel
free to be critical if you like).
After reading the Introduction to the National
Educational Technology Plan, I believe the purpose of the plan is to reinforce
the Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974 by adding a technology plan to
the Equal Education Opportunity to all students regardless of race, demographic
area, disability, or age.
It affects teachers when schools do not have updated
Wi-Fi or technology in their building or classroom. Students already use their
smart phones at school so we might as well embrace the technology use. It also
affects teachers when their students’ knowledge surpasses their knowledge.
School districts must provide additional learning opportunities for their staff
as well. School directs usually have a limited funding so money can have a huge
impact on the amount of technology a school can provide.
As you read the Introduction to the National Education Technology Plan
(NETP), what were the main assumptions under which the plan was developed? (you may copy and paste the main assumptions,
and then answer the question below in your own words). Many of the failings of
our education system stem from our failure to engage the hearts and minds of
students.
“MAIN ASSUMPTIONS:
·
What students need to learn and what we
know about how they learn have changed, and therefore the learning experiences
we provide should change.
·
How we assess learning focuses too much on
what has been learned after the fact and not enough on improving learning in
the moment.
·
We miss a huge opportunity to improve our
entire education system when we gather student-learning data in silos and fail
to integrate the information and make it broadly available to decision-makers
at all levels of our education system—individual educators, schools, districts,
states, and the federal government.
·
Learning depends on effective teaching,
and we need to focus on extended teams of connected educators with different
roles who collaborate within schools and across time and distance and who use
technology resources and tools to augment human talent.
·
Effective teaching is an outcome of
preparing and continually training teachers and leaders to guide the type of
learning we want in our schools.
·
Making engaging learning experiences and
resources available to all learners anytime and anywhere requires state-of-the-art
infrastructure, which includes technology, people, and processes that ensure
continuous access.
·
Education can learn much from such
industries as business and entertainment about leveraging technology to
continuously improve learning outcomes while increasing the productivity of our
education system at all levels.
·
Just as in health, energy, and defense,
the federal government has an important role to play in funding and
coordinating some of the R&D challenges associated with leveraging
technology to ensure the maximum opportunity to learn.”
What are some concerns administrators, educators, or even students
might have with these assumptions?
As
I mentioned earlier money would be the largest concern. Our economy is still
recovering and tax payers are not as willing to give school districts more
funding. Some districts have older buildings and the Wi-Fi is not up to date so
that would be an additional cost. It is a wonderful idea that every school in
America had updated technology in their building but I am afraid that it is not
possible without funding.
As you read the Executive Summary, the NETP presents a model of
learning powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five
essential areas. ( You may copy and paste the areas directly from the document
and then answer the question below in your own words).
“GOALSs and RECOMMENDATIONS: learning, assessment,
teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.”
What are the “21st century competencies” - see the section titled “what
and how people need to learn”- listed in the summary? How will technology
support the growth of these competencies?
“Our schools are directed at teaching the “21st
century competencies” which are:
·
Cognitive skills: critical thinking,
problem-solving and knowledge application, creativity
·
Interpersonal skills: communication and
collaboration, leadership, global and cross-cultural awareness
·
Intrapersonal skills: self-direction,
motivation, learning how to learn”
Let’s look at how technology can support cognitive
skill, collaboration, and motivation: It gives teachers the recourses to share
ideas and information, for example, lesson plan, blogs, and You-Tube videos are
just a few ways to share the information with other teachers around the
country. It also provides another dimension to classroom learning by creating
an exciting classroom environment. It grabs student’s attention.
As you read The State of Ohio's Educational Technology Plan's
"purpose and mission" (page 6), how do you believe it aligns with the
National Education Technology Plan? In which respects are the two plans perhaps
not aligned? Why?
After reading both plans; The State of Ohio’s
Educational Technology Plan and The National Education Technology Plan are very
similar. They both believe we need to use technology now rather than later. The
Ohio plan seems to concentrate on grades PreK-12 whereas the national plan
focuses on everyone. Again both plans think that technology should be
implemented in the classroom as soon as possible.
As you read Ohio’ s State Educational Technology Plan outlined on page
8, how do you believe this outline aligns with the "model of learning
powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five essential
areas" proposed by the National Education Technology Plan? In which areas are the two plans perhaps not
aligned? Why?
Ohio’s plan wants to educate more people through
virtual learning to all Ohio learners, develop curriculum for advanced learners
and for foreign languages. Plus provide state of the art professional
development for teachers. The national plan focuses on improved learning
through advanced technology for everyone, not just the state of Ohio. Both
plans would not require any cost to the student.
As you read Ohio’s State Educational Technology Plan's
"measurements of success" (page 16), what barriers do you see to
fulfilling this plan? Provide four reasons why it may not be possible to reach
these "measurements of success" in the state of Ohio.
I believe there are many barriers with both plans;
first, it takes time and money to provide every school with the proper Wi-Fi along
with the additional money for computer and other things needed. Secondly, the
added funds needed to maintain the equipment and training for the staff. Thirdly, having staff that are qualified to
teach dual credit courses could be limited and will take time to train and
qualify. I personally am not convinced that online is the future of educating
grades PreK-12. Students still need interaction to survive in real life.
