Blog 4: Relating Tech Plans to Interview

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).