National Educational Technology Plan

The purpose of the National Educational Plan is to address the challenge technology poses to education and how it has become an urgent priority. The plan has two clear targets: by 2020 the proportion a 2 year or 4 year degree college graduates will rise from 39% to 60%, and the achievement gap will be reduced so that all students, regardless of race, income, or neighborhood will graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers.



In order to achieve these goals, the National Educational Technology Plan calls for radical transformation which pushes for our education system at all levels to be clear about the outcomes that must be sought. "Collaboration to redesign structures and processes for effectiveness, efficiency, and flexibility; continually monitor and measure our performance; and to hold ourselves accountable for progress and results every step of the way." The NETP presents five goals with recommendations for states, districts, the federal government, and other stakeholders in our education system that address learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.

The NETP's learning goal states that, "All learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society." To meet this goal, one of NETP's recommendations is to revise, create, and adopt standards and learning objectives for all content areas that reflect 21st century expertise and the power of technology to improve learning.

The purpose of the NETP's teaching goal is to support educators with technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences so they are enabled and inspire more effective teaching for all learners. To meet this goal, the NETP gives the following recommendations: to design, develop, and adopt technology-based content, resources, and online learning communities that create opportunities for educators to collaborate for more effective teaching, inspire and attract new people into the profession, and encourage our best educators to continue teaching.

In its teaching and assessment goals, NETP addresses two of education's professional development areas: it defines the need to transform the preparation and professional learning of educators and educational leaders by leveraging technology to create career-long personal learning networks within and across schools, pre-service preparation and in-service educational institutions, and professional organizations; and the need to build the capacity of educators and educational institutions to use technology to improve assessment materials and processes for both formative and summative uses.