A Vision of Technology for the 21st Century

In the 21st century technology needs to become a transparent tool which enhances the teaching and learning environment and all of its support systems. Technology has the potential to be a very powerful teaching and learning tool. It has to ability to provide students, teachers, and community an untold wealth of resources. Technology can assist us in making data driven decisions. It has the ability to streamline many tasks in the day to day routine of all levels of the educational system. Below  are several areas in which I believe technology can make a difference.

Teaching & learning

• Learning can take place anywhere and at any time.  We no longer have to be constrained by school buildings, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., nine months per year.

• Students will increasingly take more responsibility for their own education, using the instructional staff to guide their inquiries.

• Technology can lead to more opportunities for individualizing instruction, especially for those on the edges of traditional schooling such as the physically handicapped, the gifted, and those with learning disabilities.

Curriculum

•  Interdisciplinary curriculum adds meaning to the disconnected subjects we teach today.

•  New ways to evaluate learning will begin to replace traditional tests.

•  Language instruction will become increasingly important for both students and teachers.

•  The educational community knows how to redesign schooling environments and to effect a climate for learning assuring success for every student and greater satisfaction and professional growth for every teacher.

System

•  The change process and the vision which drives it must be based on research about learning, teaching and future demands, rather than on personal beliefs and biases.

• School leaders need to create--and update year to year--a written plan for technology use that is an outgrowth of more comprehensive education plans.

Professional Development

• Staff development should strive to enhance teaching skills, developing teachers’ ability to match technology to curriculum rather than merely training teachers to operate machines.

•  Today, the best staff development programs focus on curriculum goals and teaching skills rather than machines and software.

•  Professional development needs to move from tool-centered to student-centered.