The five areas of learning covered by the National Education Technology Plan (NETP) are learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure and productivity.
The report highlights the many benefits of online testing such as speed of testing, availability of an expert in the field being tested to “grade” the student’s work, and the fact that online records will be available to the student his entire lifetime.
There are a few downsides associated with online retention of records and sharing of information. Privacy issues arise when certain data is shared. Additionally, there may be compatibility issues among various systems.
Employing technology into education to perform currently existing functions does not increase learning if the existing functions themselves were, themselves, in need of revamping.
The report concludes with recommendations for all five areas of learning covered by the NETP. Some of these recommendations include bringing learning standards current with the 21st century, assessing what really matters in education, and not just what a student has “learned,” using assessment data to improve instructional practices, supporting teachers with relevant technology, providing internet, adequate bandwidth, and open educational resources, all while managing spending and complying with the guidelines of many federal programs (E-Rate, for example).
The NETP raises a valid point that most data regarding how well an educational system is performing is gathered after the fact, after a particular program or set of standards is set into place, and after there is time to make changes in the program. If the government and the private sector could pool their resources and attempt to redesign our education system before rolling out a new product or standard, America might truly become a leader in revamping the way students of the 21st century learn.
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