This web conference was my first to attend. The software was
very easy to understand and I had no problem logging into the system. It took
nothing more than a click of a button to get my webcam working for the
conference. One of the things I learned from this conference when the
microphones were muted was that I did not want to rely on my built in microphone
and speakers next time. I ordered and received a headset so I would not be one
of the people adding background noise. The interaction was very good
and everyone got their chance to ask questions. I like that the system shows
documents on the screen to add to the learning experience. I learned quite a
bit about the Internship and Field-based Activities and feel a lot better about
it now that I am more informed. I am so glad to have this system for support in
the program and look forward to future web conferences.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
National Educational Technology Plan
After reviewing the National Educational Technology Plan I
now realize this is the base information that nationwide technology plans are
based on. This is a powerful plan that
seeks to transform the education system.
The plan is based around learning with technology and centers around
five areas. These areas include: learning, assessment, teaching, productivity,
and infrastructure. The learning structure will change to one of personalized
learning used to engage and empower the learner. This will happen through the
use of new technologies. Assessment will
be an ongoing model to use technology data to diagnose and change instruction
to improve student learning. The area of teaching will be a model to fully
connect teachers to new technology systems. The teachers will build online
learning communities where teaching will become a team activity. The system for teachers is to evolve to have
more advanced technology resources for the educator including professional learning
environments. Productivity will be
improved by making fundamental structural changes to technology. This
improvement in productivity will require all levels of institutions across the
nation to work together to provide equitable access to learning experiences. Finally, the last area of focus is on the
infrastructure. A comprehensive
infrastructure is required to achieve the goals of the technology based
learning model. The development of
online learning communities and content will be important to achieving these
goals. Infrastructure will need to be available both in school and out of the
classroom. This will include infrastructure that will integrate computer
hardware, networks, data, software, connections, support, and maintenance to
transform teaching. All of these areas improving together will work towards
transforming the education system to educate the new 21st century
learners.
References:
U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Educational Technology, Transforming American Education: Learning
Powered by Technology, Washington, D.C., 2010.
Riverside Unified School District Technology Plan
The Riverside Unified School District Technology Plan’s vision was
designed on the goals of the 2010 National Technology Plan. The vision includes
that all students have learning experiences inside and outside of the school
that prepares them to be knowledgeable, active, creative and ethical
participants in the globally networked society. The vision also includes that
the education system use the power of technology to measure and use assessment
data for the purpose of continuous improvement. Also, professional educators
will be have support from both individually and in teams by technology to give
them access to learning experiences, expertise, data, content, and resources
that will enable effective teaching for students. Another part of the vision is
for all students and educators to have access to a comprehensive infrastructure
at all times, when and where it is needed. The last part of the vision is to
revamp the processes and structures to use the power of technology to improve
learning outcomes while making efficient use of money, time, and staff. These
goals make a shift of the role of teacher from the lead facilitator of learning
to the role of educated lead learners. This
plan provides learning for educators to be almost exclusively online but also
utilizes teacher preparation programs for technology. Professional development
will be overseen by the RUSD Staff Development Committee which will provide
ongoing development and to identify future development needs. The telecommunication, hardware, software,
and other needs are overseen by the District Technology Committee. This
committee will also be who oversees the budget of the program. The budget will be funded by many resources
including grants, state funding, donations, and business partnerships. It is
mentioned that the district is in a budget crisis that may prevent effective
implementation of some things in the program which will require the budget to
be amended. The evaluation processes are
monitored by the District Technology Committee. The committee meets twice a
year to review the progress of the plan and make corrections if needed. They
also use several communication avenues that include the use of blogs to keep up
with the evaluation processes.
References:
Riverside Unified School District. (2010, August 31). Final
Draft Riverside Unified School District Technology Plan. Retrieved January
28, 2012, from
http://api.ning.com/files/xJUUf8NODXGIlelxHxyd8fqLUnOWFyVwC4TJRnkvlnWwuiVpRekDcaFJBRjdXWF2NjvCpcTtvfyn76QxZho12V6OqQxRj2pg/FinalDraftRiversideUnifiedSchoolDistrictTechnologyPlan20122016.pdf
Technology Assessments
In my opinion assessing both educators’ and the knowledge
and skills of students is invaluable. It is the job of the educator to prepare
students for life after graduation. Technology skills are now becoming one of
the most important skills students will need to know. Without properly trained
educators no one will be there to teach technology to theses students and they
will lack the education and skills they will require in the new 21st
century marketplace.
Assessment of students is also an invaluable necessity. The
assessment of students provides a measure of both skill level and lack thereof.
It is also necessary to establish the students perceived needs, as technology
evolves the needs of the student evolves as well. An ongoing process of
assessing perceived needs is the only way to be sure students are receiving all
of the technological skills that will be needed in the future.
There are issues when it comes to technology assessment that
should be noted. How these assessments are given can have positive or negative
results on the data gained from them.
“The two places where technological issues arise are in assessing
whether the technology is providing an effective medium for the transfer of
knowledge and whether the details of the use of the particular technology are
being mastered.” (Martin) It is very important that steps are taken to
ensure that assessments are done properly with careful attention to the
accuracy of the information gained.
Despite the flaws that can come into assessment, it is
important to assess both the teacher and the student to ensure the school
system is fully benefiting students. It
is the only way to be sure that students will not be left behind in the
emerging technological world.
References
Martin, M. B. (n.d.). Classroom Assessment
Techniques Designed for Technology. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from Middle
Tennessee State University:
http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed99/Martin.htm#Use
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)