A draft of the National Educational Technology Plan

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Education released a draft of the National Educational Technology Plan: "Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology." This plan describes how information and communication technologies can help transform American education.

In it's opening paragraphs, the report illustrates the need to match our teaching strategies to the way people in the 21st century learn. A model of learning powered by technology is suggested as a way to "enable, motivate and inspire all students".

At it's conclusion, the plan describes goals for the various areas of concern in modern educational settings. These goals are:

1. Learning
All learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society.

2. Assessment
Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.

3. Teaching
Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all learners.

4. Infrastructure
All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.

5. Productivity
Our education system at all levels will redesign processes and structures to take advantage of the power of technology to improve learning outcomes while making more efficient use of time, money, and staff.

Each goal is accompanied by many suggestions which will help reach the goal. While these are noble goals, and I believe that this is the direction of education in the 21st century, nowhere does the plan mention where the funds to implement these lofty goals will come from. It is my opinion that education is at a crossroads. Technology has obviously changed the way we do education, and yet we are faced with one of the worse funding crises this nation has seen in education. It is vital that we educate our children, yet in order to do that we must invest in the technologies that will "enable, motivate and inspire" them.

Just a thought, but what if we take some of the money we are spending to produce expensive drafts and government reports stating what most already know and divert it to the actual costs associated with education? Perhaps then we will come closer to achieving these lofty goals. Mandates without funding have a history of not reaching the original goal of the mandate.