Educational Access….

I searched long and hard for an article on educational access before I found this one on NEA 

 http://www.nea.org/technology/index.html  

 It discusses the need for students to become more adept at utilizing the technology that is advancing at such a rapid pace in a more constructive way than to just be able to navigate it. The consensus is that students not only be able to surf the web but that “Teachers and students need access to laptops and pocket PCs, digital cameras and microscopes, Web-based video equipment, graphing calculators, and even weather-tracking devices.”(1)  I totally agree with NEA, that the need for additional technology access equipment for student use is essential to the growth of knowledge in any content area.  Students must be able to “… become responsible and savvy users and purveyors of information. They need to need how to collaborate successfully across miles and cultures.”(1)  Once again I agree with this statement by the writers of the magazine about the need for students to learn to collaborate with other cultures of the world. 

 In a prediction for 2008, Vicki A Davis, author of the Cool Cat Teacher Blog predicted that 

 “…  districts will realize that teachers need time to be “teacherpreneurs” as they create and collaborate on projects with their colleagues around the world. E-Learning will become an integral part of the face to face classroom with students learning to collaborate not only with their seatmate but with teammates from around the world.

“http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2008/01/elearns-2008-predictions-and-my.html  

Another article from the same NEA  magazine titled “Professional Development Is Critical” states that training is needed to support and prepare educators to teach students new ways to utilize technology to convert how and what they learn from the online experience. They must be pushed to think outside the box and step out of their comfort zone in order to exercise higher order thinking skills. Students will get more from the technology that they are exposed to.   

When I think of the following post

 http://pcallahan.edublogs.org/2008/01/23/kentucky-educational-budget-cuts/  

 from Pam’s blog concerning the cuts proposed for the upcoming year, I can’t help but worry about the negative affect it will have on teacher use of technology or other improvements in teaching methods and techniques due to the cuts in Professional Development. I agree with Pam that P.D. is the way to get better teachers. We definitely need ongoing training to keep abreast of all the new technology and new methods.