The National Education Technology Plan

The National Education Technology Plan 2010 (NETP) was written to help transform American education. The NETP is a great resource to see what is expected of us educators at the campus, district, and even state levels. The first transformation must happen with the way we teach. The plan states that teaching must happen in such a way to be diversified for all learners. As the 21st Century changes, so do our students’ learning styles. This encompasses how students will learn and where and when students will learn. If this plan is going to be effective, the technology being taught must be motivating, enabling, and captivating. Twenty-first Century learners are networking through social media and have access to such technology 24/7. Therefore, their attention span for sitting in a seat with a textbook open is not going to be great. This is why student learning needs to be technology driven. These students already know how to network, they just need to be given the go-ahead to do it academically.
The NETP also address professional development and training for educators. The plan states all teachers must be fully engaged in their own professional technology research as well as take an active role in what their campus/district is offering. Teaching should be a team activity. Gone are the days where teachers worked alone, didn’t communicate with parents, and tried to create every lesson with pencil and paper. In the technology plan, teachers will work with students to create lessons, help communicate with peers, and also to reach out to the ‘hard-to-reach’ parents. Professional development should no longer be a sit-down and take notes type of presentation. All educators should have hands-on learning experiences, continuous support, and easy to access online environments.