EDLD 5352 Blog Posting #3: National Educational Technology Plan (NETP-2010) Summary and Reflection

As part of the transformation of education, being deemed an urgent priority, in working to meet the goal (s) of increasing college graduates from 39%-60%, along with closing the achievement gaps, the National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) was drafted as a model of education that is powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five essential areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure and productivity. As it relates to using technology to develop educators capacity to meet the needs of 21st Century learners, it call for teachers to shift to a connected teaching model, whereas they can connect technologically to resources, which empower them to create, manage and assess engaging and relevant learning experiences, with students, teachers, as well as parents who desire to have an active role in their child’s education. In respect to learning, engaging and empowering experiences will occur in and outside of school, which will prepare all learners to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society. As it relates to professional development , in supporting the teachers in the educational technology transformation, the plan calls for education preparation programs to be powered by technology in order to close the achievement gap between students, along with promoting and enabling technology use in ways that improve learning, assessment, and instructional practices. Although the plan describes the benefits of technology innovations, I do have a concern as it relates to the plan’s assumptions of:
• Much of the failure of our education system stems from a failure to engage students.
• What students need to learn and what we know about how they learn have changed and therefore the learning experiences we provide should change.
My concern is not one of disagreement, but agreement with the plan’s based assumptions. However, with the massive budget cuts to public education, along with the elimination of technology grants here in Texas, I don’t quite see how public schools within Texas, will reach the goals of this plan, without the funding to provide educator preparation programs, technology support staff, and the infrastructure to support and provide appropriate technology for every student.