Week 3 EQs

EQ 1: In what ways can I influence and support the implementation the National Education Technology Plan?

Wow! So much to take in and process! I am excited to see a national plan that provides clear and concise goals and incorporates accountability and reflection. After reading the Executive Summary and listening to the presentations, I am overwhelmed with information. However, I am confident that this plan will truly help students, parents, teachers, and administrators get the most out of learning and technology. The National Education Technology Plan (NETP) lays out five core areas (goals) that must be addressed to effectively administer the technology plan. In order to answer this question, I feel it is necessary to address each core area and how I can support the NETP in each area.

The first goal is learning. In order to move forward, students must be engaged in their learning. Technology plays a big part in engaging students and providing them with accessible options with great content is important in giving students a quality education. Students have access to a variety of technological resources. Providing students with relevant and engaging content may be a challenge, but it is important that teachers collaborate with everyone involved in a student's life in order to provide students with life-long and life-wide learning and life skills. As a teacher, I must empower students to take control of their learning. I must also accept the idea of creating a standards-based classroom that incorporates purposeful curriculum design, student engagement, reflection, and collaboration. It is crucial that I reflect and collaborate with colleagues in order to figure out what is working and what is not, and how I can improve my practice.

The second goal is assessment. The idea of technology-based assessment can be scary because it involves restructuring the current method of paper-based testing. The incorporation of technology-based assessments can be crucial in determining students' abilities over time. While it was mentioned that high-stakes standardized testing is important in determining the levels a student performs at, giving students a variety of assessments that are technology-based will open up the door for new discoveries. I think this category needs more work in order to be successful, but I believe that incorporating multiple assessment types online will save teachers time and help students ease into the transition of online assessments.

Teaching is the third goal. Connected teaching is an integral part of the NETP; furthermore, providing personalized learning with 24/7 teacher support is crucial for effective instruction and student performance. As I mentioned in my discussion of the first goal, collaboration is a major component of teaching. Teaching is slowly starting to move away from being a "lonely" profession and is starting to gain momentum when it comes to the integration of collaboration. Discussion and feedback is crucial to the NETP's successful implementation. If I want to influence and support the NETP, I need to understand the importance of providing personalized learning to every student. Furthermore, it is critical that I collaborate with colleagues and constantly reflect on what we can do better. It is going to take some time and patience to implement the goals of the NETP so that they are effective in my classroom. This may require professional development courses or seminars and the participation in learning community groups or discussion forums.

The fourth goal is infrastructure. This involves the funding and personnel involved in creating, maintaining, and sustaining the NETP. While there is not a lot that I can personally do to support this goal, it would be beneficial for me to be aware of the various grants available. Also, maintaining a positive attitude toward the implementation and major changes that would take place under the NETP, might encourage others to do the same.

The last goal is productivity. This involves the use of technology under the National Education Technology Plan. The best thing I can do to influence and show support for the NETP is to positively promote the use of technology in the classroom. If students and other teachers see the benefits of using technology, it is my hope that they will turn to technology to better themselves and/or their teaching practices.



EQ 2: What are the advantages of Backward Design? How can I use its principles to guide the learning design process?

One of the advantages of using Backward Design is that it gives students clear goals and objectives to work toward during the unit. When students know what they are working for, it may give them more initiative to take control of their learning. Backward Design is a way to make sure that the teacher is assessing what the standards expect them to learn. Also, explaining the standards to students in their own language will give them direction.

On the educator side, it will help me create engaging, effective, standards-based lessons that allow me to assess students correctly. To me, the Backward Design principle seems like an obvious approach to curriculum design; however, I know that it goes against the grain. Creating assessments based on the standards that students are required to learn is clearly the best way to provide purposeful instruction. Furthermore, incorporating projects, activities, and tasks that parallel the essential questions and assessment will give students practice with material they need to know in order to do well on the assessment. Also, it will help me and the students understand the essential questions that need to be answered during the lesson or unit.