National Educational Technology Plan

The National Educational Technology Plan has two specific goals.  The first goal is to raise the number of college graduates who hold either a two year or four year degree, and the second is to close our achievement gap so that all of our high school graduates are prepared for college and future careers. 

Five strategies have been identified to help reach these goals.  The first strategy is learning.  We must give our students the power and flexibility to take control of their own learning.  This means making a huge change from our traditional classroom and how we are used to instructing.   Instead, students should be given options and different opportunities for learning, such as allowing them to work in small groups, tailoring the work to their own unique learning style, and using each student's prior experience to engage them in the process. We also need to realize the impact our community can have as a learning resource and use them as a tool.

The second strategy is assessment.  We need to utilize technology based assessments that give us a true measure of student knowledge, and our assessments should involve higher level thinking skills.  The third strategy is teaching. Teaching should be a team activity, not individual.  Professional development should be a collaborative effort between teams, and also immediate and convenient. Online learning and 24/7 access will be used to provide learning opportunities for teachers.  Strategy number four is Infrastructure.  Every student and teacher should be provided with the resources they need, when and where they need them.  Infrastructure is vital in allowing us to leave the traditional model of teaching behind and move forward into the future.  The last strategy is productivity.  We need to ensure that our students are making progress, and group them according to ability and skill level. We need to change and adjust our classrooms to reflect the world that we live in today.

It will take work and dedication to make this plan work. It's success will depend on everyone working together. 

Melanie Starnes
EDLD 5306/ET8038