National Education Technology Plan

The National Educational Technology Plan builds on the foundation of using technology in order to compete in the global economy.  The plan has calls for a transformation of our use of technology. There are five areas of the plan that are targeted:  Learning, Assessment, Teaching, Infrastructure and Productivity.  In respect to learning, the plan calls for us to teach not only what the student needs to learn but also how we can use technology to match what they learn.  Learning needs to be a continuous and lifelong process.  Students have access to technology daily and we must use this technology in their learning process.  We must have a universal design for learning and provide multiple methods of opportunity and means of engagement.  The model of learning supports student centered learning with the use of technology tools.  These tools give the students’ greater flexibility and more access to resources to make better connections to learning.  Learning with technology allows students to go beyond the traditional classroom setting where the teacher would provide what the student needed to learn.  In respect to teaching, the plan calls for all educators to use technology to connect teaching.  Educators must have the proper training and skills set into place in order to be able to communicate with their students.  A problem that is occurring today is that not all educators are comfortable with technology and do not know how to use it.  Many school districts do not have the adequate technology for budgetary reasons, and therefore the teachers do not receive the proper training.