Today’s students graduate from high school and college facing a multitude of challenges. Increasingly, the progression and use of technology has resulted in a fluid and interconnected world, one in which new careers emerge overnight. While students entering the workforce ten years ago were accustomed to the idea of working multiple jobs in their lifetime, today’s graduates may have multiple careers. The focus of learning has shifted from basic skills and vocational training to something broader: students must learn how to learn.
Tomorrow’s graduates are growing up in a world where technology dominates various aspects of daily life, from social interaction to data analysis to professional advancement. Their education should reflect this reality, by better equipping them to interact with a digital world, and by using technology to drive student achievement, measure student progress, and create an individualized approach to learning that instills students with invaluable critical thinking skills.
In the spirit of these objectives, the US Department of Education’s Office of Education Technology (OET) is looking ahead to the launch of the 2010 National Education Technology Plan 1.0. This version will incorporate feedback from the draft released in March. This plan will provide a broad vision of learning powered by technology and outline critical actions to getting us there. In addition to the release of the NETP 1.0, expect to see biweekly blog posts on ed.gov related to the plan, the recommendations and the actions.
Also, you are encouraged to follow our postings on Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s Facebook page, as well as OET’s Twitter. We look forward to sharing our information and ideas with you and hearing what you think as well!
Karen Cator
Director of the Office of Education Technology
US Department of Education
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