It's About Learning

It is the season for all sorts of predictions for the upcoming year. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) offers the following:

1. Establishing technology “as the backbone of school improvement” for student learning, professional development, and administration;
2. Integrating technology to prepare students for careers and keep students engaged;
3. Increasing federal funding support for technology through Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT);
4. Keeping educators up to date on the latest technologies to help them be more effective in their teaching environments;
5. Increasing support for pre-service education technology programs to help produce more technologically adept teachers;
6. Using technology to “scale improvement” and “accelerate reform”;
7. Ensuring universal access to broadband services, which ISTE described as “critical so that students and parents have access to school assignments, grades, announcements and resources”;
8. Developing systems and strategies that will help educators use assessment data to improve student learning;
9. Investing in research and development focused on “innovation in teaching and learning”; and
10. Promoting “global digital citizenship” through technology-based, cross-border collaboration.

ISTE’s complete “Top Ten in ’10” with explanations.