T.H.E. Journal: National Ed Tech Plan Puts Technology at the Heart of Education Reform

This article summarized the key points of the recent technology educational reform plan. This new plan is intended to overhaul national schools by focusing on incorporating technology heavily on a broad basis. Overall I agree with what the plan is putting forth; I do believe that there is a need to "..focus what and how we teach to match what people need to know and how they learn." and in a growling technologically dependent world students should know how to and be comfortable using these technologies. The purpose of school is to do more than teach children how to read and write. School teaches students how to become productive members of society, and as our society becomes more technological, so must their learning. To be clear, I don't believe that their learning should be focused or centered around technology. I do, however think it should be used to facilitate their learning to the point where they are comfortable using it as a tool.

One thing specifically I like about this plan, is it focus on the teachers, because after all, how can students learn at their highest potential if they do not have the highest quality instructors guiding them? The plan calls for "ensuring that our professional educators are well connected to the content and resources, data and information, and peers and experts they need to be highly effective. And it calls for leveraging the power of technology to support continuous and lifelong learning." I think that by making sure that our teachers are properly prepared and outfitted on its own can have a huge effect on student learning. Teachers should be constantly looking for ways to engage their students, and these days that means incorporating more technology, therefore the teachers need to be given said technology.

Another point I agreed with was that of assessment, something that I feel will always be a point of debate. Technology has that instant gratification that can help teachers and students keep track of learning and comprehension so the chances of students falling behind can be significantly lowered.

Like I stated earlier, I agree with the majority of this plan. I think that they have the right idea on how technology should be integrated into the schools, and a realistic outlook on its potential impact. What concerns me however is what individual states and school districts will do with this. Putting up SmartBoards and handing out iPads wont't improve test scores overnight. This is a progression and therefore the implementing of technology needs to be as well.