National Educational Technology Plan 2010 - DRAFT

Reflections

From the cover and title selection the National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) for 2010 leaves a comforting feeling in my mind. Transforming American Education: Learning Powered By Technology, starts the draft off right. Transformation and change is what we need to step up to the future’s challenges and life styles. The model presented by the NETP clearly defines goals and recommendations for five different areas, all geared towards implementing technology to empower content-based knowledge.

It proposes a new research and development organization to meet the needs and requirements of the ever changing society, having the objective of designing and implementing a more efficient and effective education system.  

With the priority in mind of transforming the educational system in America, the NETP proposes the recommendations and goals for the following areas:

• ·         Learning - 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.
•       Assessment - Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.
•       Teaching  - 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. 
•       Infrastructure - All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.
•        Productivity - 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.

One of the areas that stroke a cord was a proposition to reorganize teaching and learning. Moving from the 1800’s and 1900’s model of teaching where transitions and use of time were structured towards standardizing instruction and allowing for a general learning pace, the plan describes an ideal change to meet the learning styles and needs of individual students. Much like a college structure where students have electives and mandatory classes, I envision the school system allowing for personal growth depending on each students’ interests and natural skills.

For the past months I have been reading a book that explains this phenomenon quite simply:

Human beings and human communities are the same. We need the right conditions for growth, in our schools, businesses and communities, and in our individual lives. If the conditions are right, people grow in synergy with the people around them and the environments they create. … some of the elements of our own growth are inside us. They include the need to develop our unique natural aptitudes and personal passions. Finding and nurturing them is the surest way to ensure our growth and fulfillment as individuals.”

“If we discover the Element in ourselves and encourage others to find theirs, the opportunities of growth are infinite.” Robinson, K, & Aronica, L. (2009). The element: how finding your passion changes everything. Penguin Publishing. eBook Version.

Another interesting topic mentioned in the NETP is how technology can empower learners by extending the learning time and allowing them to reach the resources needed for their academic achievement.

“As we seek ways to extend learning time, in addition to considering the amount of time students spend in school, we should also look at whether we can provide engaging and powerful learning experiences through other means.”  U.S. Department of Education. (2010). Office of Educational Technology. National Educational Technology Plan, Draft. 85. Retrieved from: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf

Besides a change in the teaching and learning structure and style the plan projects the need to move from isolation to connection. In the years I’ve been teaching I have been in contact and worked with teachers with many varied personalities. One thing I noticed in the past years is how teachers that have a more open-style tend to thrive in the new educational system, while teachers that are more “self-contained” struggle to fit in and open to change. The NETP focuses the need for a better professional development in the connection, personal and digital, among teachers and trainers. Interactions, connections, collaborations are the base for an improvement of staff knowledge and skills.

Globalization is the key!