Hi folks -

Linda Roberts, Dir. of the Office of Educational Technology, announced lasr
Thursday that the final National Technology plan will be released on Friday,
12/15. She indicated it should be available at http://www.ed.gov/Technology
on MONDAY, Dec. 18.

As you may know, we've been waiting for this release to help drive our own
state plan, and ultimately, the local plans that so many of you have
developed and will continue to update and review.

There were no surprises, although some greater depth to the direction the
national plan will take. She mentioned five major goals (paraphrased from
notes):

        * Students and teachers need universal access to electroninc resources in
their schools, communities, and homes
        * All teachers will effectively use technology .... the formal wording will
be stronger, but the implication is for PD
        * All students will have strong literacy and information skills
        * Development of strong research, development, and evaluation techniques
(she indicated schools should "push the envelope" in wireless
communications)
        * Technology will transform teaching and learning

A couple of points struck me as being expansions to the plan. First, the
emphasis on total community connectivity to the point where we have "learn
anywhere anytime" opportunities. While this point is one that many believe
is entirely appropriate, its new to the tech plan which had focused on
school access only.

Her emphasis on strong research, development, and evaluation is a
confirmation of your efforts to gather data about your students' and staffs'
use of technology.

Finally, her last point which puts school reform initiatives up front and
cites technology as being integral to the change process, is a stronger
direction than in the past.

This is all significant since these goals will influence the direction that
many of the federal funding opportunities take.

So what does this mean to Vermont? This National Plan will inform the
Vermont State Plan, which we can now re-write. Thanks to your feedback, and
Frank Watson's efforts, we've made a good start on the process. We'll bring
a draft to you in the near future that seeks some detailed review so that we
can get the state plan completed. WE'll also likely convene a face-to-face
meeting regarding the state plan at some point. The State Plan format will
reflect the format expected in the local plans and will truly (we sincerely
hope) be a guide for the locals. Ultimately, local plan re-writes will be
required.

In the local re-write process, we will ensure that: 1) local plans are
closely aligned with the work already done in the "Plan Update" process,
meaning there will be an emphasis on a SHARED vision for the role of
technology, MEASURABLE goals for the plan with accompanying specific action
steps, and data collection that allows you to judge your progress toward the
goals; 2) there is alignment with the Technology Literacy Challenge grant
processes and Performance Reports.


Finally, we will work to provide you with resources that support the
directions presented in the state plan. For example, there are a number of
good data-gathering tools that allow schools to set goals, describe
standards, and gather and analyze data. Some of them are:

THE SEVEN DIMENSIONS FOR GAUGING PROGRESS - Milken Family Foundation
http://www.mff.org/publications/publications.taf?page=158

International Society for Technology in Education
http://www.iste.org/index.html

CEO Forum on Education and Technology
http://www.ceoforum.org/

Learning With Technology Profile Tool
http://www.ncrtec.org/capacity/profile/profwww.htm

Level of Technology Implementation Profile (LoTi)
http://www.learning-quest.com/LoTi/

Northwest Educational Technology Consortium
http://www.netc.org/equity/index.html

South Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium’s “Profiler” Tool
http://profiler.scrtec.org/

"Take a Good Look at Instructional Technology"
http://www.peptaglit.org/taglit/default.htm


In addition, VITA-Learn, VISMT, and the Education Development Center (EDC)
are building a "Classroom Observation Tool" that will allow trained
observers to gauge the level of technology integration in a classroom and
use the results to inform Professional Development.

And of course, many of Vermont's schools/districts are leaders in developing
their own standards and assessments relative to technology.

If you'd like more information or want to discuss any of this information,
please e-mail me (NOT the entire list) at [log in to unmask] or call
802-828-0064.

Thanks -

Bill Romond

VISMT                    Direct: (802)828-0064
Dillingham Hall          Office: (802)828-0060
7 West Street            Fax:    (802)828-0076
Montpelier, VT 05602     http://www.vismt.org
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