How Fast Can Education Change?
It is interesting to live and learn in a time when the face of education is changing so rapidly. Even as a 22-year-old college senior, the way my generation has been taught has gone through some drastic and exciting changes. Teaching, though a diverse art, has been somewhat theoretically static since the beginning of time. With the invention of the Internet and the continuing advancement of technology, education now has the potential to reach more people and fundamentally change, and that is pretty darn cool.
Companies such as Moodle and Blackboard have made my college life a lot easier. Assignments, lessons, discussion boards, and grades are all right on the computer. Some classes don’t even require you to leave your room. Colleges are bringing full degree programs online, just look at the two new online degree programs offered by the University of Southern California, the Online Master of Social Work. Classrooms are changing too, with computers and projectors making it easier to teach.
Even with all this exciting change, the gap in technology and funding between different schools leaves room for improvement. Fortunately policy makers are increasing efforts to bring technology to the forefront of states reform plans. The International Society for Technology in Education recently released its “Top Ten in ‘10” list of priorities, highlighting the course of action they think states should take to make this happen.
The list includes goals such as “leverage education technology as a gateway for college and career readiness, Continuously upgrade educators’ classroom technology skills as a pre-requisite of ‘highly effective’ teaching, and boost student learning through data and assessment effort.”
ISTE has the right idea. Simply having the technology is only a small portion of the battle. Teachers and students alike need to share expertise. People need to be educated about technology, and this starts with the policy set in place. With the Race to the Top competition and Investing in Innovation programs in place, states will have the opportunity in 2010 to truly make technology in the classroom a priority.
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