I am a big fan of the National Educational Technology Plan. The plan sets out to achieve the following two overarching goals:
• We will raise the proportion of college graduates from where it now stands [39%] so that 60% of our population holds a 2-year or 4-year degree.
• We will close the achievement gap so that all students – regardless of race, income, or neighborhood – graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers.
The plan calls for the utilization of technology as a means to achieve such ambitious goals. The plan also acknowledges states the urgency of transforming and redesigning the current education system. I really loves that this plan acknowledges the necessity of a “revolutionary transformation rather than evolutionary thinking” as it relates to our current education system and practices. It does not take much time to see that other countries are surpassing us when it comes to technology and education. The goal of the plan seeks to implement state of the art technology in learning to enable, motivate, and inspire students, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. As a part of this, the plan seeks to utilize technology to provide engaging and powerful lessons. In addition the plan also seeks to equip educators by training them to implement new technology and strategies in order to increase student achievement. The plan takes into account that 21st century learners must know how to use the latest technology.
As good as the plan is, I have a couple of concerns. The first concern is our current economic status and while that is out of our control, it does determine the amount of funding available for such initiatives. The government at both the state and federal levels has experienced decreased revenues which in turn will lead to spending cutbacks. The other concern I have is the reality that until we can get parents caught up on technology, their children will always be behind. It is important that the plan focus in on training and equipping parents as well. This plan has a good foundation, and if the dollars are there to fund and support it, it should keep our education system and its product competitive.
