Being from the state and
interviewing a teacher from the state, I looked into Ohio’s Educational
technology plan and how Ohio views technology in the educational world. Like
other states, Ohio knows that technology is not only changing the world, but
that it is changing the way teachers teach and students learn. That is why Ohio
created a Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan is divided into 5 main goals with
each goal having multiple objectives. The goals are as followed:
Strategic
Goal 1- By 2015, increase the daily use of educational technology within K-12
classrooms to 80% to support standards based instruction.
Strategic
Goal 2- Provide technological expertise and solutions to create more
student-centered and data responsive educational systems by 2015.
Strategic
Goal 3- Develop a structured system to evaluate programs and practices during
the next two years to ensure effective utilization of resources and to achieve
the goals of the Commission.
Strategic Goal
4- Target and utilize Ohio’s Public Service Media and Education Technology
affiliates’ resources to increase educational technology integration into
instruction in coordination with Strategic Goal 1.
Strategic
Goal 5- Increase collaborations with regional-level networks by 2012 to better
identify and address local district needs, particularly in underserved regions
of Ohio.
These goals are to the point and show the support to
accessing all forms of technology needed for student learning into the classroom.
In Ohio’s Technology Plan
2009-2014, eTech Ohio, a combined agency of the Ohio Educational
Telecommunications Network Commission and the Ohio SchoolNet Commission,
divides the current and future initiatives into two groups: educators and
learners (students). According to the current Tech Plan, educator initiatives
are “Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, Professional Development for
Data-driven Decision Making, New Assessment for Individual Achievement,
Peer-to-Peer Support, Educators as Learners, and Access to Materials” (eTech
Ohio, 2005). For learners, the current and future initiatives are
“Leveraging Student Technology, Technology Literacy, Digital Citizenship,
Universal Access to Online Learning, Early College Options, Lowering Barrier to
Entry, and Ongoing Career Development” (eTech Ohio, 2005).
As a learner, I was able to see a few of these initiatives starting to take
place in my high school before I graduated, but I am sure that a lot has
changed in the past 3 years. Then now as a pre-service teacher, I have been
taught on how the educator can help students learn some of these current and
future initiatives, like Digital Citizenship.
I am glad to see that Ohio seems to
have specific goals on getting technology into the classrooms, but I cannot
stop thinking about the teacher that I interviewed and what she said about
technology. Although all of the classrooms in her school have SMARTboards,
SMARTboards are becoming “old” technology. Also, my teacher commented on how in
her district, there seemed to be a lack of professional development workshops
to help teachers with technology. Yet, in the Technology Plan 2009-2014, the
majority of the initiatives for educators revolve around professional
development. So is my teacher not looking in the right direction, or is the
district not supplying the adequate opportunities for professional development?
And even though the district has technology available in the classroom, it is
behind other county school districts and many schools in the state. Again, is
this the district’s fault? Or the State’s? I am glad to see that Ohio does have
goals and a Strategic Plan for Educational Technology, but after looking
through some of Indiana’s and federal Tech Plans, it makes you wonder if the
Federal and State Government are setting the bar too high for today’s economy.
eTech Ohio. (2005). Ohio’s State
Edcational Technology Plan 2009-2014 (Technolgy Plan) (pp. 1–17).
eTech Ohio. (2009). Ohio Strategic Plan
(pp. 1–19).
