1. As you read the Introduction to the National Education Technology Plan, what did you determine to be the purpose of the National Education Technology Plan? How does it affect teachers and students, people like you and me? (feel free to be critical if you like).
I believe that the purpose of the NETP is to meet the learning needs of all students from all backgrounds. It is trying to be flexible and adaptable for all learners, from English Language Learners to gifted and talented learners. In the introduction it stated, “Educators must be more than information experts; they must be collaborators in learning, seeking new knowledge and constantly acquiring new skills alongside their students” (NETP). I think this is a great quote because it reiterates to educators that it is important to continue learning along with their students. Some educators may have a harder time adapting to their students teaching them about technology and other “21st century” skills. However, their may be some educators who are encouraging their students to step up and become leaders in this scenario. I am the type of educator that learns best from my students. I give them information that they need, then I let them research and find information they believe to be important to their topic, then they are responsible for teaching their classmates and myself about their topic. Project-based learning is something I have used frequently with my 4th grade students in an inclusion setting. All of them enjoyed these projects because they got to learn and teach in a very “hands on” manner. It kept my students engaged socially, intellectually and emotionally (NETP) because they had to learn to work with peers and they also had to learn how to find important information on the internet and in text books.
This introduction also gives good informational insight on data for different racial groups and ELLs in The United States. This data will be very useful for people like myself, because it gives me a real idea of how many students, of all types, need to be engaged in the classroom. These numbers show me how important technology and other hands-on projects are because the more engaged in learning a student is, the more they enjoy and have a lesser chance of dropping out. It also helps me as an educator to know what I need to be teaching my students, depending on the grade level I choose. If I want to teach high school, I need to make sure I am preparing my students for postsecondary education, or helping them find the right “fit” for their learning needs. If I choose to teach elementary or middle school, I need to make sure I am instilling self-confidence and independence in my students, helping them realize anything is possible if they want it to be. Also, I think it is important for educators to remind students we are teaching for their benefit. We need to help them learn how to ask questions, and how to become problem solvers independently. Students need to be taught at a young age how to use resources that are available to them, instead of relying on someone to do the work for them. Therefore, I believe the purpose of this plan is to help build our students into the best learners and teachers possible, making learning a fun and engaging thing to do.
2. As you read the Introduction to the National Education Technology Plan (NETP), what were the main assumptions under which the plan was developed? (you may copy and paste the main assumptions, and then answer the question below in your own words).
What are some concerns administrators, educators, or even students might have with these assumptions?
Many concerns have arisen with these assumptions. An assumption that I agree with from these educators, students and administrators is, “Many of the failings of our education system stem from our failure to engage the hearts and minds of students” (NETP). Aristotle has been quoted saying, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” I think this quote is extremely important for all to remember because compassion, care, loyalty, honesty and many other heartfelt things are skills that need to be taught in all academic classes by modeling through the teacher. If you are not showing, as an educator, that you care about the students’ success, life, learning and the subject you are teaching them, they pick up on those ques very easily and base their work efforts on what they see and feel within the classrooms and school systems. If they do not feel like they are cared about beyond just “teaching” them, then they are less likely to show initiative to want to learn and continue to further their education.
Another concern is, “Learning depends on effective teaching, and we need to focus on extended teams of connected educators with different roles who collaborate within schools and across time and distance and who use technology resources and tools to augment human talent” (NETP). I believe collaboration throughout a school and an entire district will help model to students how important it is to continue learning and implementing technology in their daily lives. When teachers can collectively team teach students, it helps engage students and teachers on all levels of their learning needs. Teachers are being taught by the students, while students are still being taught by teachers, but, also by themselves and peers. Combining in human talent is also a very important role in daily learning because most students are kinesthetic learners, bodily movement learners, visual learners or auditory learner. Arts and physical education are important things that all students benefit from. Not all students can sit in a classroom, take notes, and learn what a teacher is trying to teach. When learning is combined with rhythm or movement, it helps activate the working memory to transition into the long term memory and rote memory, helping the students to continue to learn through technology and other collaborating roles throughout the school systems.
3. As you read the Executive Summary, the NETP presents a model of learning powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five essential areas. ( You may copy and paste the areas directly from the document and then answer the question below in your own words).
What are the “21st century competencies” - see the section titled “what and how people need to learn”- listed in the summary? How will technology support the growth of these competencies?
The 21st century competencies that are listed in the NETP are: “critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration, and multimedia communication.” Technology can help these areas grow in many ways, when they are included in all academic courses. When a problem has arisen for students, they need to know how to come up with a proper solution. This correlates with collaboration. Understanding how to collaborate online and in person is a skill that can be taught and implemented in any grade and any subject. This is also combining multimedia communication because they are learning proper etiquette for many different types of scenarios. Technology can help this from having students watch basic social skill videos, to skyping a group of people and communicating with them in a formal way. They also can use technology to create blogs or webpages that people all around the world can follow and keep up-to-date tabs on them. However, if technology is not taught how to be used appropriately, students can abuse their rights of technology. Students need to be taught that once something is said on the internet, it never goes away, even if they may think it has been deleted. This can help them with critical thinking because it will help them think deeply before they type or post any information or pictures. Critical thinking is a skill that is addressed at a young age, and needs to be used daily in all situations. Everyone can benefit from critical thinking and thinking beyond the text because it helps to build opinions and helps the students really look into finding important details or information to support their thoughts.
4. As you read The State of Ohio's Educational Technology Plan's "purpose and mission" (page 6), how do you believe it aligns with the National Education Technology Plan? In which respects are the two plans perhaps not aligned? Why?
I believe that The State of Ohio’s Educational Technology Plans aligns with the National Education Plan in many ways. They both help technology become more integrated in every day living situations for students, creating and engaging them in powerful learning environments (NETP). They have both agreed that technology is the core of our daily lives and they are trying to suit those needs of everyone as best as they can, while taking additional comments from students, administrators and staff.
Although both plans are beneficial to get technology into the daily lives of students and educators, the OETP plan works more closely with Ohioans, whereas the NETP works with the State of Ohio to make sure they are following the basic procedures. OETP works with state, local and regional areas to help with technology integration and NETP helps to create a model for the state to follow. This shows where the two plans are not aligned because NETP is an overview and OETP is detailed and can be made personal.
5. As you read Ohio’s State Educational Technology Plan outlined on page 8, how do you believe this outline aligns with the "model of learning powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five essential areas" proposed by the National Education Technology Plan? In which areas are the two plans perhaps not aligned? Why?
OETP has six areas that it is continuing to work on and grow, whereas NETP has five areas. NETPs five areas are: “learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity” (NETP). Ohio’s six areas are: “Expand and Integrate P-20 Longitudinal Data System, Provide Virtual Learning Content and Opportunities to All Ohio Learners, Develop Advanced Student Service Systems, Deliver High Quality Professional Development, Support Public Broadcasting and Media Delivery, and Continue to Support the Implementation of Federal Programs” (OETP). NETP reaches a larger group of students and administration, making sure it can be aligned with the entire country, and Ohio goes into greater detail about different ways they are going to continue to grow and advance in technology.
The overview of assessment, learning, teaching, infrastructure and productivity is a great baseline of where to start for each state, Ohio went beyond that and added detail to those areas, while adding in the public broadcasting and media delivery and professional development. I think professional development, if it is benefical for technology and teaching more about technology, is a great thing and needs to be used in more districts. I have been in some districts where technology isn’t used as often and as well as it should be, and I think professional development in this area needs to be the same throughout the state, to make sure all districts are learning how to involve and implement technology that each district can afford and use.
6. As you read Ohio’s State Educational Technology Plan's "measurements of success" (page 16), what barriers do you see to fulfilling this plan? Provide four reasons why it may not be possible to reach these "measurements of success" in the state of Ohio.
I think the “measurements of success” plan is a great goal for all districts, students and educators to use to encourage their students to want to learn and continue to learn after high school. Some barriers I see with fulfilling this plan are districts that are too small and can’t accommodate because of budgeting issues, and school districts that are too large and cross-categorical in educational settings where levy’s cannot get passed to receive proper funding for this plan. I also see a problem with districts hiring higher education faculty to teaching distance learning courses. Most districts would want to teach their teachers how to become DL, but may not want to pay them extra for it, which some teachers may not wish to do. Lastly, not all students benefit from online DL. If districts want students to start taking online dual credit classes, or AP classes, I think students should be taught how to effectively learn from online classes. Learning from online classes can be difficult because of many factors. Motivation, skimming for important information, and using reliable online sources are just a few areas where students will need to be taught to become successful in DL classes. They will also have to learn to become independent learners and to teach themselves, because DL does not have a teacher to “check up” on you daily.
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