First Impressions of Technology Plan

I read the executive summary of the final release of the National Education Technology Plan: Transforming American Education, Learning Powered by Technology.

As the founder of an educational technology company, Acadium, I am excited to see the focus on technology and how it can support learning. At Acadium, we are convinced that the technology that supports corporations can also support learning. We are passionate about exploring the unique contributions technology, specificially mobile and cellular, can contribute to educators and corporate trainers.

In the report, there is a renewed focus on the individual learner and how we can address individual needs and learning styles both inside and outside of the classroom. Using technology for collaboration, feedback, and "just-in-time" information can transform education.

Our system, mClk, provides instant feedback to educators and learners as learners send in text messages in response to questions or submit comments and opinions.

Another system, Knowledge Factor, provides learners with not only feedback on how accurate they are, but also how confident they are regarding their answers. In high-stakes environments this additional feedback loop is critical.

The LMS developers are also looking at ways to improve feedback. Both Blackboard and Desire2Learn continue to move forward and introduce new ways to analyze student data and provide educators with the ability to support individual learners.

It will be interesting to see how the recommendations and goals of the report are implemented. Stay tuned!