Week 2/EDLD 5306 Post #3

National Education Technology Plan: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology.

President Obama has a vision for America's Education. "By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world" is what the President stated in his Address to Congress in February 2009. He wants to state education chiefs and govenors to develop standards and assessments that measure 21st century competencies. In order to accomplish his goals we need to move from the traditional classroom to a technologically equipped environment, both in and out of school. Schools don't just need to be educational facilities, they should be vessels of exploration and invention.

The NETP addresses the needs of our American students. In the report it mentioned that education has been an issue but it was basically put on the back burner. The NETP addresses five essential areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.

We need to move away from the idea of one size fits all. We need to provide more personalized learning. The challenge is to make it even across the board, so that all learners, from all different backgrounds will have the tools and knowledge to succeed. Creating engaging and personalized learning experiences for all students is where we need to start. When children can connect their learning to the real world, it makes it more personalized and adds relevance, creating higher levels of motivation and success.

Assessments need to be used to measure the use of technology as well as their knowledge and problem solving skills. Student learning data can be collected and used to continually improve learning outcomes and productivity.

They discuss connected teaching replacing isolation teaching. Connected teaching seems to be of grave importance when it comes to moving into the 21st century. Teachers need to be using technology in the classroom in order for their students to be fully prepared for the global future. Staying connected with each other will produce higher level thinking and collaboration. Professional development needs to be engaging and relevant to today's digital and technological society.

I enjoyed reading this, I didn't realize that President Obama had addressed these isssues. It's a long time coming. This should have been addressed many years ago.