The draft of a new federal plan focuses on improving digital learning at the elementary- and secondary-school level, but it calls for changes in higher education as well.
“Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology,” released this month by the Department of Education, is a draft of the National Educational Technology Plan 2010. It calls for an increased role for online learning in kindergarten through 12th grade and says colleges of education must include online learning in their curricula as well.
Susan Patrick, president of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, said students today have grown up with the Internet and are more comfortable with technology, but also have higher expectations for the online learning experience. Ms. Patrick cited Boise State and Michigan State Universities as two institutions whose colleges of education emphasize online learning. But she said most higher-education institutions haven’t yet added sufficient resources dedicated to that method of instruction.
“It’s incredibly important that our colleges of education, training tomorrow’s teachers, are teaching these skills,” said Ms. Patrick, who worked on the National Education Technology Plan 2004.
The new report is part of a push by the Obama administration to improve elementary and secondary education. The president has called for an overhaul of the No Child Left Behind Act signed into law by President George W. Bush. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will defend an overhaul to Congress on Wednesday, NPR reported. Obama wants to raise the proportion of college graduates in the country from 40 percent to 60 percent by 2020.
Other proposals to expand digital learning are in the first national broadband plan, released by the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday. In its news release previewing the document, the FCC said it wants to give “anchor institutions” such as schools and hospitals affordable access to ultra-high-speed broadband.
Ms. Patrick said her colleagues are excited about the Department of Education report and its potential implications. But she cautioned that financing will be essential for any new policy involving educational technology.
Tracy Mitrano, director of information-technology policy at Cornell University, said she sees the plan as fitting in with the administration’s goals and the need for an educational system that uses technology well. Any improvement to elementary and secondary education will have an impact on higher education, too, she said.
Ms. Mitrano noted the plan’s emphasis on using technology to support different models of learning for elementary and secondary education.
“I think what this report is saying is that we now have a generation of digital natives and we must embrace their interests in technology, their use of it, and their needs to use it in ways that will be generally productive for them as citizens, as workers, and as people with a global Internet identity,” she said.
11 Responses to Colleges of Education Are Urged to Focus More on Online Learning
radiosaturday - March 16, 2010 at 6:12 pm
As a graduate of an online high school, I can say with some confidence that this is definitely something that’s needed. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to cover a vast portion of the people teaching online at the primary and secondary levels — retired or nearly retired teachers, who still want to be active in conveying knowledge to young people, but don’t necessarily want to actually go to school and teach in conventional classrooms all day. While many of these people are incredible teachers, a large percentage of them are not technologically literate enough to do the jobs required — I spent many class periods explaining to my teachers how to use the software the school had chosen. I would love to know if this situation has been provided for in this plan.
arrive2__net - March 16, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Keeping the US educational system up-to-date in using technology has got to pay benefits both in terms of effectiveness and cost savings. By using the technology to max effect, I think the educational establishment will learn how of optimize and institutionalize using it. With most advancing technologies, you have to go with the technology or be steamrollered by it, so it is good news that the US strives to be among those who keep up. Bernard SchusterArrive2.net
saurilio - March 16, 2010 at 7:39 pm
I hope we don’t see a spray-paint approach to policy and curricular redesign that fails to take into account the many, many hurdles and disadvantages to online learning. I’ll name three for students: 1) They’ll have fewer opportunities to socialize and be socialized. 2)Those from lower SES backgrounds do not have learning environments at home. 3)There is now enough data suggesting that there are no universal characteristics of “digital natives” See http://www.netgenskeptic.com/ and that older students (upwards of 25yrs) are more successful and satisfied with distance learning than younger ones.I hope and expect there to be push-back for colleges of education. The underbelly of the push to online learning is economic–do more with less. Period. I’m one of the peddlers of the coolaid; so yes I can say confidently that we’re trying to maintain quality…trying. A colleague of mine, a “digital native”, and a student of educational technology had to take courses online although she was on campus. She didn’t like them at all, and felt jipped.I finished my undergraduate degree online, while living abroad. It was a total of almost 2 years of distance education. I’d had enough after that. The choice was driven by a)living abroad and b)being a returning student and finding no value in the f2f of undergraduate education.
chamblan - March 17, 2010 at 8:22 am
It is very difficulty for CoE faculty (and their admins) to promote using technology if they rarely ever use it or are completely resistant to using it. For many colleges of education, technology innovation stopped at PowerPoint on a projector. Unfortunately, “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality prevails when it comes to teaching pre-service educators. I fear major technology change will only come to colleges of education through a top-down mandate.
jamccain - March 17, 2010 at 10:18 am
I understand that each individual has their own way of learning that works best for them. My experience with online learning was great! An online education offers flexibility for busy professionals, as well as students seeking to earn a degree, and accelerate their entrance into successful careers, etc. It offers the convenience of learning without the limitations of time and location. I appreciate the fact that you can “attend” classes and complete your coursework from virtually anywhere with a computer and an Internet connection. When I was taking my online classes all I had to do is simply log in to my virtual campus using a predetermined username and password. My virtual campus had helpful links, phone numbers and chat capabilities so I could communicate with various departments such as financial aid, academic advising and student support services. Once I was in my virtual campus environment, I then accessed my course listing and enter the virtual classroom. It was so convenient for me to access course information and academic materials, as well as communicate with faculty and other students. My syllabus and calendar of assignments was always in one centralized place and very self-explanatory. You can post assignments within your classroom and access your grades when posted. Since I was a shy type of student, traditional classroom was very uncomfortable for me but I was able to open up and actively participate in my online classses. I was able to express myself freely. I found that, when compared to a traditional classroom environment, online learning offered the opportunity to ask questions with less inhibition and more time to research answers. This also allowed me to learn at my own pace according to my own learning style. My learning experience was just as valuable and fulfilling and more compared to my experience in the traditional classroom. The differences between online and campus-based are few, but the advantages of online learning are increasingly more beneficial. I am speaking in terms of higher learning though.As far as K-12 Online Learning is concerned, I am not sure that I would agree with that concept. I agree with saurilio about some disadvantages of online learning for some students in that interpersonal skills would suffer, and yes “those from lower SES backgrounds do not have learning environments at home”, and children do not have that self-discipline needed to participate successfully in online learning. So I think that the traditional classroom setting would be more appropriate for primary and secondary students. That’s just my opinion though. All of you have good points.
kkbloss - March 17, 2010 at 10:49 am
Zaidy,I think that this legislation will change the COE curriculum for pre-service teachers.Didn’t know if you had seen it.Kim
cubaball - March 17, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Sounds like “No computer salesman left behind”. Kit
radiosaturday - March 18, 2010 at 6:41 am
@jamccain: The school I attended was secondary level only, and though there were problems with students not showing up to classes and not turning in work, I think that was more of aproblem with student expectation/mind set than with the educational model itself. I think if more of the students had understood that this was something that they had to log in and do every day — the way they would log in and check facebook updates or e-mail — the model would have worked better in terms of student participation. However, as Saurilio pointed out, many of my fellow students in this setting did complain of lowered potential for socialization and interaction — most said that, if given the opportunity to leave the school, they would do so not out of dissatifaction with the program itself but because they did missed spending time with their friends. But is that really the purpose of education? I never went to a prom, nor did I participate in school-sponsored extra-curricular activies, but I don’t feel that I was poorly socialized in the least.
trendisnotdestiny - March 18, 2010 at 9:16 am
While there are so many possible benefits of online learning to sell to people, I wish someone would voice the workings of why the exodus out of the old structure into the new paradigm….By doing that, asking critical questions maybe alternate points of view will pop up… Views that suggest that mass online learning is really a new global market conversion process to privatize education further (making content, university brands, and individualism; tailored for each student) the commodities…. Oh by the way, it creates more a malleable teaching community and reduces cost efficiences…..I wonder why this is occurring now? How could anyone possibily resist or critize all these benefits…. welcome to the free market education delivery process brought to you by the national association of manufacturers, business round table and the chamber of commerce… enjoy!
mssmiley - March 18, 2010 at 11:33 am
Some insightful responses especially the one that mentioned that some teachers are not too familiar with the tools of the internet. This underscores the need for enhanced professional development for teachers. I have seen an entire graduate program online that produced high quality students and tremendous interaction onlinle. We live in the iternet age, so why not incorporate this into our learning repertiore. The key is oversight and professional development. Yes, some programs are suspect, but in order for online education to be successful, it must adhere to strict guidelines and accreditation process.
youshouldgotoschool - March 18, 2010 at 3:39 pm
I really enjoyed your article. We’ve been discussing similar topics at on our youshouldgotoschool.com blog. Especially relevant are the posts regarding online education and the ipad’s potential effect on higher-education. Thanks again for your insight.