The State of New Jersey Has An Updated Educational Technology Plan? (please see update at bottom of page)
Where have I been?
The document, “Preparing Today for Tomorrow” was approved by the State Board in December, 2007. The history of the document states that there have been several versions written before, and that the state has reached the previous goals which warranted this new educational technology document. Honestly, it was more exciting to read than I thought it would be.
The document is comprised of a vision statement, 4 goals and indicators on state an local levels that “enhance the achievement” of the goals. I was pleased to read this: (I changed key words to red font)
Vision Statement
All students will be prepared to meet the challenge of a dynamic global society in which they participate, contribute, achieve, and flourish through universal access to people, information and ideas.
Goal 1: All students will be prepared to excel in the community, work place and in our global society using 21st century skills.
GOAL 2: All educators, including administrators, will attain the 21st century skills and knowledge necessary to effectively integrate educational technology in order to enable students to achieve the goals of the core curriculum content standards and experience success in a global society.
GOAL 3: Educational technology will be accessible by students, teachers and administrators and utilized for instructional and administrative purposes in all learning environments, including classrooms, library media centers, and other educational settings such as community centers and libraries.
GOAL 4: New Jersey school districts will establish and maintain the technology infrastructure necessary for all students, administrators and staff to safely access digital information on demand and to communicate virtually.
It sounds like NJ is on the right track. I was a little disappointed as I read further. There was emphasis put on assessment of students and local districts concerning how well these goals were being met. However, there was no plan on how to reach these goals. I did not find elaboration of ideas such as, participating and contributing as a member of a global society. Professional development is mentioned, but without details of how the in-service should take place, and what tools/equipment should be highlighted.
I understand the benefits of creating a document that says, “Hey, this is a list of goals that will help students. We’re not going to dictate how you reach them..but we expect you to meet the goals.” Our other Core Curriculum Content Standards are written basically the same way. When a district is updating their math curriculum, this poses less of a problem. The text book company can create a scope and sequence based on the state’s standards. Better yet, some text books are written to specifically meet a certain state’s standards. Technology is so different. There is no text book company to help. Technology is a collection of tools, not a subject area. The tools should be used to enhance learning, but administrators, educators and students first need to learn how to select an appropriate tool for the task. I believe districts need guidance on how to create and implement a comprehensive and effective technology plan.
Without a feasible and executable technology plan, districts (like mine) may not progress further towards the goals in the New Jersey Educational Technology Plan. Technology is a complicated tool and we should approach it in a comprehensive manner.
Is technology seen as a tool:
Photo by: sypix
When it should be a TOOL:
- Photo By: Shirley Two Feathers
2 responses so far ↓
Maureen Schoenberger // January 1, 2009 at 10:01 pm |
Christy– I too think the document is a bit general and not very specific on how we go about making our students and teachers prepared for 21st century skills. At first i thought it was a bad thing, but then i thought it was good. First, if we have a set way of what is considered 21st century skills and a set way of delivering them then the document will quickly become outdated. However this does make it difficult when having to deliver the info and teach the skills because we all have different ideas about what the 21st century skills are or will be. What i think is needed is a scope and sequence for grade levels. What we think each grade level should be able to master. However, as i write that every year students are coming to us more and more computer literate. So what was good for 3rd grade now is sometimes appropriate for 2nd. I guess that is the fun and (sometimes frustrating) part of our job—constantly evolving curriculum.
Christy Tvarok Green // January 1, 2009 at 10:06 pm |
Thanks for the comment, Maureen. As this post suggests, I went back and forth myself. I had a difficult time pinpointing a “main idea” for this post. I’m glad someone understood! lol