Federal

Ed. Tech. Plan Is Focused on Broad Themes

By Andrew Trotter — January 11, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Ms. Patrick said the report is not a paper exercise. “We are going to follow up specifically on each action step and recommendation,” she promised.

It is the first such plan to be produced by the current Bush administration, following two plans that were drawn up in 1996 and 2000, during the Clinton administration.

“Toward a New Golden Age in American Education: How the Internet, the Law and Today’s Students Are Revolutionizing Expectations” is available online from the U.S. Department of Education.

The new report, which is a one-shot requirement under the No Child Left Behind Act, is being delivered to Congress almost exactly one month after President Bush signed an omnibus spending bill that cut by 28 percent the main federal block grant for the use of technology in schools.

That cut to funding for the Enhancing Education Through Technology grant program has alarmed school technology advocates, who have vowed to campaign for restoration of the money for the next fiscal year.

Educators are likely to use the new national technology plan to make their case, because the aims of the federal grant program, which dispensed $692 million to states and districts in fiscal 2004, ending Sept. 30, are consistent with the plan.

“[The plan] is being released to a new Congress, which has a job to do in restoring these cuts,” said Melinda G. George, the executive director of the State Education Technology Directors Association, based in Washington.

‘Where We Need to Go’

The plan’s 28 specific recommendations include support for virtual schools, greater broadband access for schools, and integration of instructional and administrative data systems.

The report does not spell out a federal responsibility for school technology.

“It doesn’t directly call out specific roles for any group,” said Susan D. Patrick, the Education Department’s director of educational technology, whose office crafted the report, using input from students, educators, researchers, and the business community. “It is designed to help [all the groups] focus on where we need to go.”

Ms. Patrick said the report is not a paper exercise. “We are going to follow up specifically on each action step and recommendation,” she promised.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the January 12, 2005 edition of Education Week as Ed. Tech. Plan Is Focused on Broad Themes

Events

Student Achievement Webinar What Effective Tutoring Should Look Like—and Achieve
Join this webinar to learn how to sustain effective tutoring programs that help improve students' performance in reading and math.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Engaging Every Learner: Strategies to Boost Math Motivation
Math Motivation Boost! Research & real tips to engage learners.
Content provided by Prodigy Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
The Ripple Effect: Mental Health & Student Outcomes
Learn how student mental health impacts outcomes—and how to use that data to support your school’s IEP funding strategy.
Content provided by Huddle Up

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Judge Reverses Ed. Dept.'s Abrupt End to States' Time to Spend COVID Relief
The order comes after Education Secretary Linda McMahon effectively canceled more than $1 billion in remaining pandemic relief funding.
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of a coin in the top section of an hour glass
Dumitru Ochievschi/iStock/Getty
Federal Opinion Trump's Barrage of Executive Orders for Education: How Significant Are They?
A Washington insider discusses the immediate—and long-term—implications of the administration's education goals.
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Admin. From Dismantling Library Services Agency
The president referred to the agency as "unnecessary" in a March executive order, after which it started winding down many operations.
2 min read
President Donald Trump arrives at Tuscaloosa National Airport, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
President Donald Trump arrives at Tuscaloosa National Airport, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. A federal judge blocked the president's attempt to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Federal Opinion We’re All to Blame for What Has Become of the U.S. Dept. of Education
The trouble started decades ago with a flawed plan to improve America’s schools, writes a former New York superintendent.
Michael V. McGill
5 min read
Illustration of pointing fingers.
DigitalVision Vectors<br/>