The National Education Technology Plan is a plan for transforming American education rather than reforming American education. It calls for a bold new way of thinking that empowers students to be part of the creative and collaborative learning process. The model calls for communities of learners that have access to not just information, but to other learners 24/7. The NETP has two goals: to raise the existing proportion of college graduates from approximately 40% to a goal of 60%; and to close the high school achievement gap so that all high school graduates are prepared and able to be successful in careers or college. The Obama administration has made education a priority, as it is believed that education is necessary for democracy and to stay competitive in the global sense. The plan includes goals for learning powered by technology in five areas. These areas are learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. In respect to the learners, we must allow the students to contribute to their own learning by enabling them through the use continuous availability of technology. Real world information gathering methods and learning opportunities must be provided to cultivate thinkers in this modern age. Continuous assessment is required for monitoring and measuring performance. The plan calls for replacing “episodic and ineffective” professional development for teachers with collaborative and continuous learning. The plan also states the infrastructure should allow for “always on” learning. Students should have access to not just information from multiple sources, but also to online communities and each other so that learning is intertwined rather than transferred from one to another. This access must be not just within the confines of a classroom, but anywhere at any time from a variety of devices. The NETP is an ambitious plan to move us forward into the 21st century and enable our greatest natural resource, our children, to remain competitive in this global economy.
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