National Education Technology Plan Review
After watching the one-minute YouTube video of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discussing the National Education Technology Plan (NETP) I felt drained. How was I going to comment on such a vast plan. So I clicked on the PDF file and did a little digging to understand the NETP a bit more. I think I can now make a few observations.
The writers of this technology plan take on no small endeavor. Quite plainly, the NETP calls for “revolutionary transformation rather than evolutionary tinkering” of the educational system And that is an understatement. Education, as we know it would no longer exist. Students would be assessed using technology, a curriculum would be developed for that student, and through technological resources, students would became a self-driven, self-guided student reaching his/her full potential.
Okay, maybe I have pushed the argument a bit too far, but I am not too sure. This document makes a very open claim that students will become online learners. Does this mean that the teacher is not there to guide and channel research and discovery? And I mean, really there. Physically, and emotionally, is there a teacher in the room. I have given violin lessons to my niece through SKYPE and it is exhilarating to reach her 2000 miles away. However, I cannot reach here physically, to shape her hand the way it needs to be molded, to hold her form to establish and maintain proper playing posture. It really limits the spontaneity of my instruction. However, I accept these limitations as all teachers do, and strive to create an environment that allows a student to learn. I love the idea of using this technology but I am not sure this is the best situation to use it.
After reading the PDF and watching the video clip I scrolled down to the comments that had been left. One caught my eye and sums up my concerns and cautious opinion of the NETP: Stephen Lien,
Math Teacher & Technology Coordinator
of the Laporte School District, Laporte, MN concludes “Technology is only as smart as the programmer who designs it, and it's only as effective as the teacher who wields it. If a piece of technology is effective at improving instruction and enhancing the classroom setting, it's not the technology we should thank, but rather those that know how to use it.” This technology plan will never be successful if all teachers are not given an opportunity to engage in, be motivated and learn the valuable ways technology can and should be used in the classroom. The educational system needs to start will providing teachers with skills and equipment to educate students. Or teachers will be playing catch up and trying to keep up with their students who are embracing technology faster than I can log on to the Internet.
Bibliography:
Lien, Stephen, Math Teacher & Technology Coordinator of the Laporte School District, Laporte, MN. Retrieved September 13, 2010 from The National Education Technology Plan 2010 and comments. http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010
Anne! I just finished my own (more cynical) review of the NETP, but I must say, I found your take on it and the way you are personally using engaging technology (giving your niece violin lessons via Skype) inspiring. Likewise, I could not agree more about the point that the comment you quoted makes as well as the way in which the plan did not perhaps clearly articulate the role of the physically present classroom instructor... if there is a classroom. I might take your perspective a step further as all teachers should be given the opportunity but must also be very fully willing to engage in that opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI was overwhelmed when reading the NETP and from what I gather on your blog, you were too? I am all for technology and using it inside the classroom, but when is it too much? I agree with Jeremy's comment-teachers need to take advantage of the opportunity to learn the technology.
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