Post your reactions to the action steps and recommendations outlined in the National Education Technology Plan. How parallel are the major stories from 2010 and the federal government’s position on the future of technology in schools? Looking to the future, the 2011 Horizon Report identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative inquiry within the next five years. How does it compare with the NETP?
Looking at the major stories from 2010 and the federal government’s position on technology and its future, there appear to be many similarities in what is in store of schools of America. Some of the top ten ed-tech stories were centered around STEM, smart phones, assessments, and broadband access. These ideas were also explicitly mentioned in the NETP reading. Some of the government’s plans include reaching out and being sure 100% of students have access to an “internet device,” and this is definitely becoming a reality with the use of smart phones and the easier access to broadband internet. Another main issue mentioned in the NETP is the area of assessments of students in the classroom and how educators can easily and effectively assess their students based on individual progress and tailored learning. Recently, the Education Department has issued a host of grants totaling $330 million to help create new ways to assess students in a more effective manner.
The emerging technologies listed in the 2011 Horizon Report are specific elements that can be used to implement the NETP in school across the United States. Some of the goals listed in the NETP include adapting the classroom to better prepare students for a more technological world, expanding the access of resources to students across the spectrum of socioeconomic status, creating an environment more conducive to collaboration, and overall increasing efficiency and ease in the school setting. While some of the newer technologies listed in the Horizon Report are more helpful in providing different methods in which children can interact and discover within learning, other things such as the use of mobiles addresses the growth in access to internet among school-aged children. Learning analytics are a promising tool that can help making taking inventory of students’ progress easier to collect and analyze.
After reading the aforementioned articles and comparing the texts, I find that the NETP is a realistic and promising approach for the schools of today. I feel that in order for there to be complete success with implementing technology more in classrooms, there needs to be full participation and support from all sides in order to fulfill this vision with a successful outcome. Something I am not sure I agree with is the use of more serious technology in younger classrooms. I do not see younger children using such technologies as e-books, mobiles, and other online resources and being able to reach their full potential. Overall, this is a great outlook for our schools and there would be a definite increase in ease in teaching, assessing, learning, and accessing resources.