To the Future Mr./Mrs. President of the United States of America, Members of Congress and The House of Representatives:
Let’s cut to the chase: No Child Left Behind scares me. I’m frightened not only by what’s included in the policy (high-stakes standardized testing, and unrealistic and underfunded goals) but also by what’s been left out: the use of terms such as social networking, Web 2.0, blogs, wikis, online collaboration, etc.
Thanks to the Internet, I was able to research the leading presidential candidates’ education platforms and was saddened; Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hilary Clinton, and Senator John McCain, you each addressed the need for educational reform, but didn’t include any plans for Internet-based learning.
While I was conducting my research, I came across some amazing documents on the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology website. One, Visions 2020.2: Student Views on Transforming Education and Training Through Advanced Technologies seems to break the mold of government documents. Not only is it forward thinking, but real students were interviewed and their desires and needs were published. Among these wishes were “anytime, anywhere learning”, “online classes”, “working digitally-using email and chat for collaborating on homework and schoolwork”. Great news, right?
Well, the document was released in August 2005; the survey of students had been conducted in 2004. So it’s a few years old. Then I pulled up the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Summary for Elementary and Secondary Education on the Department of Education website. Surely, the use of social networking tools in education would be addressed. However, I didn’t even see technology mentioned. If the Office of Educational Technology is aware of these trends, why isn’t educational policy keeping up?
Good news: It’s not too late to learn about the power of these tools and how they could/will/have revamp(ed) the way in which our children learn. I’ve learned quite a bit about this buzz in the last month. I plan to continue learning because I’m becoming a better teacher. I’m asking you to learn with me….so you become better leaders.
Living Example
Ed. Tech’ers, Web 2.0′ers, Tweeters, 21st Century Learners and Teachers: I’m proposing that we take this opportunity to show our future leaders and lawmakers how social networking can help learners grow. Please comment on this post…leave your hopes/wishes/desires/needs/demands concerning the future of educational technology. If you wish, post links to your blogs, wikis, videos, examples of educational Web2.0 tools, whatever. I’m sending this post to the presidential candidates, members of Congress and the House of Representatives: not because I believe they’ll listen to me, but I believe they’ll understand the power of this living document and listen to us.
Please pass this on to anyone else who is “here for the learning revolution“. Wouldn’t it be great if Metcalfe’s law led to a change of our laws!
Thank you!
