Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology

The document “Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology” cites two abitious goals for American students to reach by the year 2020. These are to first, raise the proportion of college graduates from 39% to 60%. Next, the Obama administration intends to close the achievement gap so that all students graduate from high school. The report then goes on to break down these goals into five essential areas. These are learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. The goals in each of these areas address the needs and expectations of our 21st century learners.

The idea that “much of the failure of our education system stems from a failure to engage students” really resonated with me. (U.S. Department of, 2010) I absolutely agree that many of the students in our classrooms across the country are bored. They live in 21st century America but are being educated in a 20th century school system. Many teachers cling tightly to what has always worked and are completely oblivious to the fact that their students live in a world that hardly resembles the environment in which their teachers were raised and educated.

The plan also addresses the fact that we must utilize data to guide our instruction. If we collect the data and never use it to make decisions about what is best for our students, it is worthless. Data must drive us to make changes. Furthermore, we are now more aware of the way students learn and the fact that they each learn differently. Our instruction must mirror this assessment, and we need to formulate activities to meet the needs of our individual learners. We now have access to a global classroom where resources are endless. We must tap into this and engage our learners by utilizing a wide range of activities that address a number of learning styles and interests.

The transformation of our school system is a paradigm shift where the learner, not the teacher, is the focus. We must address what students need to know and determine how best we can help them to know it. This will involve advancements in and access to techology as well as a completely different approach to education. The 21st century learner will be expected to take responsibility and ownership for his or her education. The rigidness of the 20th century classroom will be replaced with a flexible curriculum where students can access information from a variety of resources and individuals. The 21st century classroom will be a place where educators focus on teaching students how to think rather than what to think.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2010). Transforming
american education: learning powered by technology Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files
/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf

(The last lines of my citation are indented on my editing page but are not showing up as such on the actual post.)