Edtech 541: Vision Statement

The National Technology Plan (NETP), wants to create “lifelong learners” “calling for a revolutionary transformation” “powered by technology” “by bringing state-of-the art technology into learning to enable, motivate, and inspire all students.” The NETP recognizes the need to bring collaboration and practical life skill applications into our classrooms. We live in a world where technology continues to expand and evolve beyond anyone's imaginations. As educators, we must be prepared and willing to adapt and instruct our students to grow with the constant changes. As stated in USA Today, half of the fastest growing jobs in America are in Computer Science. The New York Times supports this in their article A Surge in Learning the Language of the Internet.  Introducing technology in the classroom opens doors and worlds students and teachers never had access to before. According to Roblyer & Doering, "In today's technology-driven society, new technology tools and new versions of older tools are emerging at a dizzying rate." Classrooms can now Skype or have Google Hangouts with other classrooms, authors, or artists via a connected computer. Students can take Virtual Tours of Art Museums using the Google Art Project or Virtual Tours of historical places using Google Maps. Students can collaborate while creating Presentations and Documents within Google Drive or other Web 2.0 tools likePrezi or Padlet. Technology offers endless opportunities for our students to become critical thinkers and life long learners. We are now teaching in a digital world and with that comes new expectations for educators and parents. As well as guiding our students imaginations and facilitating their learning, we are giving them skills they will need beyond the classroom walls. We are giving our students direction beyond the drill and kill, and the worksheet world, and offering them more project and problem based real world applications for learning. References Roblyer, M.D. & Doering, A. H. (2013). Chapter 1. Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (6th ed., pp. 2-29). Boston, MA: Pearson. U.S. Department of Education, The Office of Educational Technology (2010). The National Technology Plan 2010.