Executive Summary of the National Educational Technology Plan Summary
By: Valerie Phillips
The National Educational Technology Plan was created as a 5-year plan to integrate technology into education. The NEPT has a goal of raising success levels when it comes to high school graduation as well as decreasing the achievement gap among students of different races and financial status. This is a huge goal that we are taking on so we need to have clear objectives as well as consistency with redesign, collaboration, data collections, and accountability. Technology can help us do this as long as we actually use it. The 21st Century is being driven by technology so we, as teachers, need to use it in our education infrastructure to provide thinking skills that will prepare our students for the future. This plan is broken into five major areas of learning that need to be addressed: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.
Learning needs to become an experience for our students that will be guided by technology to help engaged them and allow them to think critically. Traditional classrooms provide learning without the spark of technology. Our goal is to integrate technology into our curriculums and content areas. By doing this we will create learning that is related to every day life experiences, as well as engaging students to work to their highest potential. Technology also will allow teachers and students to learn 24/7 and in a “technology atmosphere” that this generation is being brought up on in their daily lives and will need for their future jobs. NEPT recommends that we revise and create standards to address the technology and 21st century skills in all content areas, develop and adopt resources to be used inside and outside of school by all types of learning, and use the technological advances we have to engage students in learning of science, technology, math, and engineering.
Wherever there is learning, there needs to be assessment. Technology-based assessments will provide students will continuous feedback, teachers with data, and accountability for all schools. These types of assessments can connect the students’ technology skills with cognitive thinking processes. With technology as the heart of the assessments, students can create a representation of their proof of learning and teachers can watch the process as well as the final product. Technology-based assessments need to be used correctly and efficiently, matching the technology learning process, in order to create meaningful measurements. NETP recommends that we create technology based assessments to provide feedback in a timely manner, improve the use of summative and formative data, research how technology can be worked into the standards to engage and assess student larding, as well as revise assessments as needed to allow for continuous assessments of performance and improvement.
Before we can measure these skills we need to teach them. Technology will allow us to stay connected throughout the learning process to our students, fellow teachers, and other professionals. Through technology, teachers can shift to a model of connected teaching, meaning building learning communities with fellow educators to share recourses and strategies to create a sense of participation in the students’ learning. Technology will help teachers gain professional development with the click of a button and students the access to resources at any given time. Closing the gap between technology and learning will improved learning outcomes and practices. NEPT recommends that teachers develop and design the technology resources to encourage teachers to continue learning ways to teach to best fit our students’ needs. We also need to be provided with training in order to improve out teaching and implement this technology into our classrooms so we can use it to effectively engage our students in the classroom and in online classroom settings.
In order to put this all in place, we need to rebuild our current educational infrastructure. Technology can be used in the educational settings we have had in the past but infusion of technology will take some adaptations. We need to take in to account the people, processes, resources, and policies when thinking about broadband availability. Are the resources available and is the technology user-friendly? When technology is available learning is always available, inside or outside of the school setting. Our infrastructure needs to connect the learning and access to the networks and tools that we have so we can manage this plan or technology infusion. NEPT recommends that we make access to resources and the Internet available to all learners. We also need to adopt new tools that support and build our technology-based learning infrastructure.
What is the point of all this? Productivity. As we redesign education practices, as we know them, we will improve the amount of productivity we get out of our students. Technology will enhance the learning and performance we get back. We need to rethink how the teaching will be set up. Classroom time, grade levels by age, and scheduling need to be revamped. We can focus on achievement levels rather than numbers and quality versus quantity. Online learning has allowed more time for learning and more freedom to create. In order to make this work, we need support and input from the entire country to create and implement these plans. NEPT recommends that we making the learning meaningful and cost efficient while creating an education that improves learning and digital citizenship as a preparation for the future.
The NEPT is encouraging the change to start now. We need to address equal access, national broadband. We need to address those of different financial status and learning abilities. We need to break down the barriers that are preventing students from graduating high school and moving on to higher educations. We need to rebuild our education system to meet the goals and create a country of well-rounded thinkers.
Individual technology initiatives are being created and put into place all over the country to meet the goals and challenges created by the NEPT. Personally I am working to integrate flip cameras into our school’s learning process. These cameras are real-life tools that student scan use inside and outside of the classroom. This allows students to create and think critically while I assess their understanding in a project-based assessment. Projects created with these cameras can be posted online and shared with others as a resource or form of digital communication. The process the students will go through will be engaging and students driven giving the students a sense of accountability and accomplishment, which will hopefully lead to self-pride and continued motivation to learn. By working these technology tools into our classrooms, students will be better prepared for the skills they need for their future. Here’s to making technology a strong, permanent part of our students’ education.
By: Valerie Phillips
The National Educational Technology Plan was created as a 5-year plan to integrate technology into education. The NEPT has a goal of raising success levels when it comes to high school graduation as well as decreasing the achievement gap among students of different races and financial status. This is a huge goal that we are taking on so we need to have clear objectives as well as consistency with redesign, collaboration, data collections, and accountability. Technology can help us do this as long as we actually use it. The 21st Century is being driven by technology so we, as teachers, need to use it in our education infrastructure to provide thinking skills that will prepare our students for the future. This plan is broken into five major areas of learning that need to be addressed: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.
Learning needs to become an experience for our students that will be guided by technology to help engaged them and allow them to think critically. Traditional classrooms provide learning without the spark of technology. Our goal is to integrate technology into our curriculums and content areas. By doing this we will create learning that is related to every day life experiences, as well as engaging students to work to their highest potential. Technology also will allow teachers and students to learn 24/7 and in a “technology atmosphere” that this generation is being brought up on in their daily lives and will need for their future jobs. NEPT recommends that we revise and create standards to address the technology and 21st century skills in all content areas, develop and adopt resources to be used inside and outside of school by all types of learning, and use the technological advances we have to engage students in learning of science, technology, math, and engineering.
Wherever there is learning, there needs to be assessment. Technology-based assessments will provide students will continuous feedback, teachers with data, and accountability for all schools. These types of assessments can connect the students’ technology skills with cognitive thinking processes. With technology as the heart of the assessments, students can create a representation of their proof of learning and teachers can watch the process as well as the final product. Technology-based assessments need to be used correctly and efficiently, matching the technology learning process, in order to create meaningful measurements. NETP recommends that we create technology based assessments to provide feedback in a timely manner, improve the use of summative and formative data, research how technology can be worked into the standards to engage and assess student larding, as well as revise assessments as needed to allow for continuous assessments of performance and improvement.
Before we can measure these skills we need to teach them. Technology will allow us to stay connected throughout the learning process to our students, fellow teachers, and other professionals. Through technology, teachers can shift to a model of connected teaching, meaning building learning communities with fellow educators to share recourses and strategies to create a sense of participation in the students’ learning. Technology will help teachers gain professional development with the click of a button and students the access to resources at any given time. Closing the gap between technology and learning will improved learning outcomes and practices. NEPT recommends that teachers develop and design the technology resources to encourage teachers to continue learning ways to teach to best fit our students’ needs. We also need to be provided with training in order to improve out teaching and implement this technology into our classrooms so we can use it to effectively engage our students in the classroom and in online classroom settings.
In order to put this all in place, we need to rebuild our current educational infrastructure. Technology can be used in the educational settings we have had in the past but infusion of technology will take some adaptations. We need to take in to account the people, processes, resources, and policies when thinking about broadband availability. Are the resources available and is the technology user-friendly? When technology is available learning is always available, inside or outside of the school setting. Our infrastructure needs to connect the learning and access to the networks and tools that we have so we can manage this plan or technology infusion. NEPT recommends that we make access to resources and the Internet available to all learners. We also need to adopt new tools that support and build our technology-based learning infrastructure.
What is the point of all this? Productivity. As we redesign education practices, as we know them, we will improve the amount of productivity we get out of our students. Technology will enhance the learning and performance we get back. We need to rethink how the teaching will be set up. Classroom time, grade levels by age, and scheduling need to be revamped. We can focus on achievement levels rather than numbers and quality versus quantity. Online learning has allowed more time for learning and more freedom to create. In order to make this work, we need support and input from the entire country to create and implement these plans. NEPT recommends that we making the learning meaningful and cost efficient while creating an education that improves learning and digital citizenship as a preparation for the future.
The NEPT is encouraging the change to start now. We need to address equal access, national broadband. We need to address those of different financial status and learning abilities. We need to break down the barriers that are preventing students from graduating high school and moving on to higher educations. We need to rebuild our education system to meet the goals and create a country of well-rounded thinkers.
Individual technology initiatives are being created and put into place all over the country to meet the goals and challenges created by the NEPT. Personally I am working to integrate flip cameras into our school’s learning process. These cameras are real-life tools that student scan use inside and outside of the classroom. This allows students to create and think critically while I assess their understanding in a project-based assessment. Projects created with these cameras can be posted online and shared with others as a resource or form of digital communication. The process the students will go through will be engaging and students driven giving the students a sense of accountability and accomplishment, which will hopefully lead to self-pride and continued motivation to learn. By working these technology tools into our classrooms, students will be better prepared for the skills they need for their future. Here’s to making technology a strong, permanent part of our students’ education.