This plan requires the entire education system to apply the advanced technologies to the system that we use daily in our personal and professional lives. What we use on a daily basis will be incorporated into the technology used in schools systems nationwide.
This is in hopes to improve student learning while speeding up the adoption of effective practices. The plan will use acquired data and information for continuous progress in our educational system.
It offers an outline of five separate goals, each of which addresses how technology can power learning. These five components are: Learning, Assessment, Teaching, Infrastructure, and Productivity.
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This plan was announced during the second week in November 2010. It was quickly reported on by various online sources subjected in education. These sources include Newsvine.com; UD-I Teach; Education Week; and Dr. Steve Yuen’s blog, a professor at The University of Southern Mississippi, just to name a few.
The Education Week article starts with a short overview of the purpose of the plan then goes on to quote Arne Duncan on his thoughts. The author Ian Quillen goes on to add his opinion, stating that one of the policies, he thinks, might be the most significant addition to the document since it’s first draft.
Quillen then goes on to explain in laymen’s terms what each section of the proposal really means. He uses common vernacular so the general public can better understand, rather than reading the politically infused dialogue of the original document.
Quillen uses positive quotes to support the legitimacy of the plan. However, he maintains objectivity by providing information that explains that not everyone feels as optimistic about the plan as some are saying. He mentions that advocates have doubted the timeframe and expected funding of the goals, thinking it will take more money than predicted or outlined in the document.
This is important because the author, although using a positive tone, also allows readers the differing opinion, which allows readers to be exposed to both, which helps individuals formulate their own opinions.
On a similar basis of objectivity, Newsvine is a website that offers more of a forum based platform for discussion on topics. It explains the website as “an instant reflection of what the world is talking about at any given moment.”
For this particular subject, Newsvine offers a link to the Department of Education website where the original document is located, and then asks readers to give their opinion regarding the course of technology in education. A few have commented saying they are happy to see technology being incorporated into the learning system. Another reader offers a slightly different position; one with more skepticism about the effectiveness of Washington meetings by men who hardly know what children need in say, Arizona.
This is a beneficial source because it provides readers and viewers with a channel to express their thoughts and ideas about Congressional legislation. Before the advent of the Internet, such feedback was hardly possible.
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