Blog
Feedback on
National Education Technology Plan |
A Message from Susan Patrick, Director of the
Office of Educational Technology
Welcome to our blog on the National
Education Technology Plan 2004, "Toward A New
Golden Age in American Education: How the
Internet, the Law and Today's Students Are
Revolutionizing Expectations."
Blogs are cool! We want to encourage and
stimulate thoughtful discussion from students,
educators, administrators, technology experts and
people across the nation. We want to continue
listening to you for ideas and learn from your
innovative approaches. We are already seeing some
remarkable results through better use of existing
technology. We've only just begun.
When we began developing the Plan and listening
to the input, the general goal was clear – improve
student achievement. Questions were asked such as,
"Are our schools ready for today's students?" The
point is that we need to rethink "what education
should look like" based on the world around us.
Students experience modern learning environments
when they go home, but what about in school? This
is an information society and our modern education
system needs to transform and align learning
environments to reflect the digital world.
Without technology, personalizing instruction
to every student's unique needs is nearly
impossible. With technology, it happens daily
across America. Technology-based assessments,
online resources and tutoring enable
personalization and differentiation of instruction
for each student's individual needs, learning
styles, levels and abilities. Technology also
allows faster and better communication, as well as
increased access to resources, highly qualified
teachers, and outside experts. Technology should
be valued not for what it is, but for what it
does.
Thank you for sharing your great ideas and
providing additional dialog on the Plan. Your
ongoing creativity, energy and vision will indeed
usher in a new golden age for American
education.
Susan Patrick
Director, Office of
Educational Technology
U.S. Department of
Education
January 6, 2005
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
- What is the most compelling point or
information in the Plan?
- How can students become more involved in the
planning process in schools?
- What action steps are you taking in your
school, district or state?
Respond to these questions by clicking the
Share Your Thoughts button at either the top or
bottom of this page. If you are not yet
registered, you will be prompted to do
so. |
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2/8/2006 11:42:59 AM (David
Anderson)
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Relevance of the Stellar Schools
Effort
to the National Education Technology
Plan
by
David V.
Anderson
February 8, 2006
Salient
Content from the NETP (National Education
Technology Plan):
Leaders at the US Department
of Education and many others, recruited from
around the nation, produced the National Education
Technology Plan and published it in 2004. At the
same time, the Stellar Schools Franchising Project
was formulating plans to create systems of schools
that would employ many of the same technological
features as recommended in the NETP.
Among
the items for new instructional infrastructure
included in the NETP report are recommendations
to:
• Encourage the development of virtual
schools in the public education sector.
•
Provide each student a wireless laptop for use at
school and at home.
• Provide online
classes.
• Provide access to online
tutoring.
• Encourage partnerships with the
business community.
• Improve the preparation
of teachers in the use of the
technology.
The report, without making a
recommendation, also favorably commented on other
developments such as:
• The elimination of
grade levels in favor of a mastery based
system.
• A learning environment wherein
students advance at their own pace.
•
Encouraging schools to offer their own courses
over the Internet.
The report also
mentioned the typical uses of technology in
instruction:
• Online courses tend to be
outside the core curriculum
• Online courses
tend to be a minority fraction of the courses
taken.
Little to nothing is said in the
NETP report about the establishment of schools in
the private sector that would employ the many
methods and technologies they advocated. The
Stellar Schools Company is an example of a private
sector effort in this direction.
Stellar
Schools Include the NETP
Recommendations:
The Stellar Schools effort
has plans that include all of the NETP
recommendations. Additional features of Stellar
Schools, not mentioned in the NETP report,
include:
• The provision of all core
curriculum courses through online
instruction.
• The Stellar Schools' novel
definition of curriculum.
• The Stellar Schools
assessment system with its mastery requirement of
95%.
• Video lectures available on demand from
the system's Web server.
• Dual requirement
that primary texts be digitized and in
hardcopy.
• Central services provided by a
franchisor in a franchising network.
•
Reduction in labor costs by increasing the student
/teacher ratio.
• Further labor cost reductions
by utilization of student tutors.
A
considerable amount of information about Stellar
Schools is available on our Website at:
http://stellarschools.com We also have a detailed
business plan that can be provided on a
case-by-case basis.
Possible Collaboration
Between Stellar Schools and other Organizations
It is not yet clear whether Stellar
Schools as a company will be able to raise startup
capital. Thus we are also open to other formats.
We could operate as a non-profit and then seek
grants. Or we could join an existing effort that
would want to incorporate key aspects of the
Stellar Schools plan.
Our main motivation
for providing this short report is informational.
We want the other players to know of our effort.
We welcome questions, requests, and comments from
those who review our plans. We look forward to
working with others either informally or in more
formal collaborations.
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1/19/2006 10:50:31 AM (David
Barron)
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Students must be part of any education
plan that is developed to aid in there education.
It seems simple but finding the right student can
be a challenge on any campus. According to the
National Plans statistics most students learn how
to use technology at home. That means unrestricted
access to technology. At school for various
reasons students access is restricted to keep
students from site deemed unnecessary to there
educational needs. This becomes a delicate balance
finding a filtering system that works to help
students learn but also keeps students safe and
out of the 'wrong sites'. Finding the right
student to work with your campus requires either
finding or education a student who can help set
standards that work to benefit students and
provide a safety.
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11/23/2005 11:57:10 AM (Don
Hutchinson)
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It is interesting (and painful) to
observe a huge gap between educators who
understand the process of learning and the
technologists who are experts inn the use of
computers.
The latter emerged along with
the internet bubble where their only concern was
to use the internet to distribute text and
graphics. They left the provision of text to the
professors and teachers,
A similar
"mistake" was evident with the so called "Business
to Business" on the web where similar tech experts
assumed that merely linking one business to
another for purchasing and selling was all that
was needed. That over simplification was quickly
disabused. Unfortunately there was no similar
debunking with online learning.
As a result
many assume that online learning is an
oxymoron
The computer can, and should be,
be a source of highly interactive personalized
learning that engages each individual student,
constructs learning strategies to meet individual
needs, monitors the progress of individual
studentd, adapts the course material, provides a
rich source of media and simulation, and delivers
a range of reports and feedback to students and
professors.
Nishikant Sonwalkar, Principal
Education Architect at MIT spent 5 years studying
how students learn and then created computer
software to deliver such personalized learning.
This is slowly gaining acceptance but is fighting
an uphill battle against preconceived
notions.
Consider a basic course in
computer skills for adult learners. The standard
course takes ten weeks and has a 40% completion
rate The Sonwalkar approach combined two weeks of
online instruction with one week of on the
classroom
Not only reduced time but resulted in
a 91% completion rate with a proctored exam by
Certiport.
There are tools out thee. Time
to reject out of date
assumptions.
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9/2/2005 8:48:43 PM (Larry
Tinnerman)
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I would like to suggest that before of
focusing on technology that is very expensive,
schools must first ask two basic questions: "Why
do we need this technology?" and "How are we and
who is going to use it?" If these questions cannot
be adequately answered, then the money would
probably be better spent attracting and retaining
high quality classroom teachers. Remember,
technology is a tool, not a means unto itself.
Teachers are the catalyst of change in the
classroom. I would choose a great teacher with a
great rapport with their students and community
over an unqualified teacher with a great computer
system. It must always be remembered that teachers
teach students, and good teachers will succeed
regardless of the technology provided. Granted,
great teachers with proper technical training can
be highly effective with computers, but until
schools can assure the public that such proficient
teachers are in place, I feel that the money may
be better spent on quality teachers and not on the
fanciest technology. Train and hire first, buy
second.
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7/29/2005 9:54:19 PM (Jennifer
)
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"What action steps are you taking in
your school, district or state?"
I just
got school supported email in October of 2004.
Crazy, I know. Internet was available in my
classroom on my single teacher computer in fall of
2003. Our school doesn't have a computer lab for
which teachers can sign up to take their classes.
HOWEVER, I didn't let any of this stop me. I have
had a computer at home since 1989 and have been on
the Internet since 1992, so I just decided to do
it all from home. I began offering a class website
in 1998, seven years ago, and now every teacher in
my school has one because I offered workshop after
workshop until they did. Ninty+ percent of our
students have access to a computer and the
Internet at home, so it only made sense to put
class information on the web. In 1999 I began
using an online grading program that made
assignment performance and averages available to
parents from home. As of last year, every teacher
in my school was using it. Parents have been
leaving our middle school to go to high school
only to find themselves in the dark- no websites,
no grades, etc - so they asked and asked and
asked. THIS year our district (nearly 20,000
students) is providing it for EVERY teacher. In
2000 I began using on-line testing so that my kids
could have immediate feedback and to inform my
instruction. The instant item analysis helps me to
see what direction I move in next. In my
instruction I use WebQuests, on-line bulletin
boards, digital labs, and anything engaging I can
get my hands on. This is a "video" generation and
it is what feeds them and gets them excited. I
fear my locale will never get caught up to places
like the first person who posted mentioned. I
couldn't BELIEVE what those students have access
too. The plan speaks of a digital divide between
the kids who use it and the kids who don't. I
think there is a digital divide between regions of
our country. I worry about the future
marketability of my students as employees; we are
doing such a poor job of providing them access to
the very tools they will be expected to use in the
workplace. I and other teachers like me are TRYING
to cause change, but it takes a financially
committed community to make changes like the ones
the plan suggests.
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7/27/2005 9:49:53 PM (Margaret
Morgan)
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I believe that the best part of the
National Education Technology Plan is the part
about student achievement. I believe that
technology should be put in place to work towards
student achievement. Students should have an input
in the placement of technology. After all they are
the future, and they should have a say in the
future.
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7/26/2005 7:17:38 PM (Cynthia
McBride)
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I am the curriculum facilitator at our
school. While visiting the classrooms, I have
found that the younger teachers are using
technology the most. The are comfortable with
power point, online lessons, smart boards and
computer programs, to name a few. Our district
requires certified teachers to pass a technology
proficient test or take a course to show
proficiency.
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7/25/2005 12:48:25 PM (Shalah
Sweeney)
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Through teamwork, continuos training,
staying focused, and hard work the ultimate goals
can be reached. We must all work together to
achieve the goals listed. The teachers and other
staff members cannot do it by themselves. The
community as a whole must work together. Training
must be ongoing. Things change dramatically fast.
Therefore, we must keep up with the latest
technology. We also need to stay on the goals we
are trying to achieve. It is so easy to get off
the path. However, staying focus is a vital
component. Lastly, we must work hard and be
consistent. Remember the children today are our
future leaders. It is up to us to prepare them for
tomorrow.
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7/24/2005 9:09:27 AM (
Cooper)
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I feel that the most compelling
point of the National Education Technology Plan is
that strengthen leadership is the first step in
the plan. Our schools could have all the tools
necessary to implement the plan, but without
strong leadership the plan will not be carried out
successfully. Students need to have more input in
the planning process of how to integrate
technology with today's classroom instruction.
Adults tend to be skeptical about technology
changes, but most children are motivated by the
technological advances of today.
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7/22/2005 12:12:10 PM (Danyell
Flowers)
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As I was reading the National
Education Technology Plan I ran across a really
good action step that stated that states and
districts need to "ensure that every teacher knows
how to use data to personalize instruction. This
is marked by the ability to interpret data to
understand student progress and challenges, drive
daily decisions and design instructional
interventions to customize instruction for every
student's unique needs." I completely agree with
this statement. At my present school we do MAP
testing three times a year to see students growth.
This test is performed by students in a computer
lab. After the students have tested on reading,
writing, and mathematics teachers can go onto a
website and use their I.D. and password to see
their students scores on the test. The information
is broken down so that teachers can see what
skills and areas their students are struggling
with and where they need to begin their
instruction or what they need to review. This will
be the second year that I have worked with MAP
testing and it seems to be really great. A lot
more attention is going to be focused on the
results, interpreting it, and helping educators
design their instruction around what the results
of the testing demonstrated. I think that the
National Education Technology Plan is a good idea,
but I think that it is going to take a lot of time
and energy to get it up to where everyone is on
the same page. Their will be a lot of people for
and against the idea. We just all have to work
together for the benefit of the children and to
make sure that "no child is left
behind."
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7/20/2005 7:08:46 PM (
Prescott)
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I believe the most compelling point in
the National Education Technology Plan is the
focus on providing teachers, administrators, and
students with the necessary tools to be successful
with technology today. As leaders of our schools,
we realize that in order create change in our
schools, we need to have the materials available
to our students. The most important change that
our schools require today, is the goal towards
meeting all of our students' needs. Teachers,
administrators, and community members know that
this is necessary to support our children as
learners. Technology offers our students endless
opportunities to grow and communicate with others.
Leaders of our schools today need to work towards
providing our students with these tools in order
to transorm schools and meet the needs of
everyone.
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4/8/2005 1:53:08 PM (Kristin
)
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I agree with Gordon's notes. And it is
promising to see that students can raise math and
science scores by using other tools like online
learning. I am most definitely a visual learner. A
photo, diagram, chart, map, timeline or any other
visual is what lets me understand material to the
fullest. Which in the past has not been the main
focus of many math, history or science classes.
But as a person involved with graphic design and
technology today, I see how we now have the
opportunities to delve into a graphically rich
learning environment for all students. I believe
strongly in the use of visuals to enrich learning.
And with use of the internet, visuals are more
readily available. Not only visuals, but
interactive learning tools as well. Thus, I would
encourage teachers and administrators to not only
look towards making schools operate easier with
technology (which is needed), but also to look at
ways in which diverse learners can improve with
the help of new technology. For instance, I've
learned that many times visual learners lag behind
on tests because of their different learning
style. An aural learner may exceed when a teacher
lectures, but the visual learner finds it
difficult to hear and then comprehend. Surely I
recognize that all topics cannot be put into a
visual context, but there are certainly ways we
can go about teaching so that all types of
learners can be successful. I think integrating
technology is a start, but schools also need to
make teachers aware of what can be done with
computers. Even though it seems counterintuitive
to this growing need for higher test scores,
stopping to learn more efficient teaching methods
with technology might just be the key to
permanently higher test scores.
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2/24/2005 8:44:20 AM (Gordon
)
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The seven steps listed seem to dance
around the issue of how technology is going to be
used. Teacher training and administrative support
is important but if that training is aligned with
how education has been offered in the past we will
just continue down the same old road with new
tools. The key piece I see missing from the tech
plan is what this new vision for education will
look like. Is it going to be active/project based
learning or drill and practice, which is just
putting ditto/Xerox papers into the computer thus
making grading easier for teachers. Many teachers
will be thrilled when the electronic test are
automatically graded and imported into their
electronic grade book. We need education to become
more engaging for the student and I don't mean
engaging in more ditto papers. Suggested types of
projects are like ThinkQuest, Web Quest, and using
the digital tools to explore our world through
authentic learning.
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2/3/2005 3:28:23 PM (Michael
Goldstein)
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I am currently taking two FLVS classes
and waitin for a third i think this is great i
think we should all just do virtual classes and
abolish standardized tests like the evil
fcat!!!!!!!!!!!
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2/3/2005 9:15:01 AM (Kelsey
Long)
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Hullo,
I have taken two FLVS
courses, World Geography and U.S. History, which I
am currently taking right now. I'm home schooled
and I am relying more and more on technology
because recently, my mom has gotten a job as a
subsitute teacher. I can do online courses by
myself pretty much, but sometimes I have a little
trouble. And when I have that trouble, I go to my
teacher for help. I just wish that my teacher
would actually be HELPFUL, instead of telling me
what I already know. She could give me a clue to
help me find the answers I am looking for, instead
of telling me to go look under "How you will be
graded on this assignment" And to help prevent
student confusion, I believe that FLVS staff
should actually check their links, to see if they
have answers in them. I have had several links in
U.S. History, that do not have any answers at all.
I had to go find the answers
myself!!!
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2/1/2005 7:29:25 PM (Nichole
)
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I agree with Kevin. I am also taking
two courses online at Florida Virtual School and
they are great. I have always had difficulties in
math, and when I took it online I recieved an A. I
went from a D last year in math to an A this year.
I also agree that there will be more and more
courses offered online in the future, and
technology in the schools should be more
elaborate. I only have one class that I am on a
computer and it's Journalism because we have to
type out articles for the newspaper. In seventh
grade I was in a science class that was all on
computers it was great! Student's now days live on
computers and anything they do is on computers, if
technology would be more greater in my school I
would take my classes online at school instead of
at my house.
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1/12/2005 12:53:29 PM (Kevin
S.)
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Hi,
My name is Kevin Sylvia,
and i am a student taking online courses through
the Florida Virtual School. This alone proves how
far technology has evolved int he past years, and
I expect within 10 years most schooling will be
done through computers. My current focus is on web
design, and I have taken two classes. I recieved
A's in both, and was told I was the second best
student in the more advanced class. The overall
best student was somebody who just took the course
as a refresher. Since and before then i have sold
and designed many websites, even building my own
at www.webfuziondesign.com, version 4.2 coming
soon. I do think, however, that the schools should
offer more technology related classes. Currently
the school gives out free copies of great programs
to students. Just last week for another web design
course I am taking I recieved the entire lineup of
Macromedia products which came with a 1 year user
license. I also got a free copy of Paint Shop Pro
and other great programs.
I love using
these programs and they have helped to further my
career in web design, in which i have mastered
HTML, CSS, some PHP, and all of the programs I
have used. I plan on taking a C++ course, and
after that a computer programming course after
completing the two web desing courses. Overall,
technology in the classroom is great and I don't
see any reason why people should ask for more of
it.
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1/10/2005 5:24:51 PM (James
Brady)
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I am a student at a school that used
to be at the peak of technology for schools, i
mean we had laptops when i started sixth grade
that was seven years ago. so we were pretty high
up there. now i am in high school and have taken
A+ Certification, C++ Programming, CCNA Semesters
1,2,3,and 4, Keyboarding, Computer Graphics, and
Comp. Apps. I took all of those classes in high
school, as well as a couple others at a local
community college, so i would reason that i know a
few things about how networks and stuff are
supposed to work. recently, at my school we have
gotten a new Admin, who, in my opinion is alright,
but she takes her job WAY too far. we have a grant
that pays for our dual T1 connection, this grant
requires that we have some sort of content filter.
so we have one. i dont know how to stress the
stupidity or the extremes to which our admins have
taken the whole restriction thing. it has gone so
far that it is almost pointless to even have a
network or all of the computers that we do. we do
not have access to anything on any of the
computers let alone to anything on the internet.
we dont use the sevices for classes, tutoring, or
teaching. occasionally we use it for research for
a paper or project that is all.
so i guess
what i am trying to say, is having a network and a
bunch of computers is useless when they are so
restricted that they become, ... useless. so one
thing for you to think about is to demand that
they allow students to have control over the
network, or that they be a lot more relaxed about
it. yes, in the beginning students are going to
nothing but damage to computers and invite virii
and stuff like that, so i am not saying it will be
easy, but it will benefit the students in the end,
because for some of them the school is the only
computer they get to use. the only way to really
learn about computers is for students to be able
to do what they want and explore on them. that is
how todays generation got so smart with computers.
but if it keeps going like it is, the admins of
today will stunt that growth in tech intelligence
by being so strict.
if you go onto a student
account at my school, you would see that it is
useless to have the network. i agree that there
needs to be restrictions and content filtering,
but definitely not to the extent that they have
taken it here.
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1/6/2005 5:12:03 PM (Susan
Patrick)
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Welcome to our blog on the National
Education Technology Plan 2004, "Toward A New
Golden Age in American Education: How the
Internet, the Law and Today's Students Are
Revolutionizing Expectations."
Blogs are
cool! We want to encourage and stimulate
thoughtful discussion from students, educators,
administrators, technology experts and people
across the nation. We want to continue listening
to you for ideas and learn from your innovative
approaches. We are already seeing some remarkable
results through better use of existing technology.
We've only just begun.
When we began
developing the Plan and listening to the input,
the general goal was clear – improve student
achievement. Questions were asked such as, "Are
our schools ready for today's students?" The point
is that we need to rethink "what education should
look like" based on the world around us. Students
experience modern learning environments when they
go home, but what about in school? This is an
information society and our modern education
system needs to transform and align learning
environments to reflect the digital
world.
Without technology, personalizing
instruction to every student's unique needs is
nearly impossible. With technology, it happens
daily across America. Technology-based
assessments, online resources and tutoring enable
personalization and differentiation of instruction
for each student's individual needs, learning
styles, levels and abilities. Technology also
allows faster and better communication, as well as
increased access to resources, highly qualified
teachers, and outside experts. Technology should
be valued not for what it is, but for what it
does.
Thank you for sharing your great
ideas and providing additional dialog on the Plan.
Your ongoing creativity, energy and vision will
indeed usher in a new golden age for American
education.
Susan Patrick
Director,
Office of Educational Technology
January 6,
2005
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