Yours Truly Facilitating The Indiana Team’s March To Capitol Hill
Welcome to a short midweek post dedicated to political action in education. I firmly believe that educators must proactively support technology in education. It is my hope that when students enter a school they walk into an environment that is engaging and promotes 21st Century standards along with the important core curriculum. Please read on and I invite you to help the people at ISTE as they support technology in the classroom. As always you can follow me on Twitter at (@mjgormans) and also read about free resources at my 21centuryedtech Wiki. Please read and consider… Thanks – Mike
I have been a long time advocate for students and the educational needs of the classroom. At the same time I understand that budgets are limited, in fact, that is the reason for both my Blog and Wiki! Both of these publications are my attempt at making teachers aware of free and inexpensive resources. While these are important, it is a reality that hardware, infrastructure, professional development, internet access, and their maintenance to support student learning is not free. For this reason I have met with legislators in my state capitol in Indiana and I also had the opportunity to lead a state delegation to Washington, DC’s Capitol Hill last year at NECC09. (See picture above.)
Being a member of the ISTE ESEA Reauthorization Advisory Group, I recently recieved an email from Hilary Goldmann, who is the hard working Director of Government Affairs for ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). She reports that ISTE is asking educators to contemplate taking some necessary action in order for all schools to at least maintain the current technology programs they have in place. At the present time the 2011 federal budget eliminates funding for Enhancing Education Through Technology, or EETT, which is the only dedicated funding stream for educational technology. On Wednesday, May 12, educators, parents, administrators and students from around the country and across the world are asked to speak out to support funding for ed tech. ISTE is suggesting that you take a moment to send a tweet, write a blog, update your Facebook status, start a Ning thread, or communicate by whatever means you have access to online to voice your support for dedicated ed tech funding in the 2011 federal budget. Below are some suggestion for ways you can make a difference.
Sample short messages for Tweets and social networking: (Sample of key Legislatures included)
- @TomHarkin #EETT Support innovation in learning & teaching. Fund #edtech at $500m
- @DavidObey #EETT Support innovation in learning & teaching. Fund #edtech at $500m
- @ThadCochran #EETT Support innovation in learning & teaching. Fund #edtech at $500m
- @RepToddTiahrt #EETT Support innovation in learning & teaching. Fund #edtech at $500m
- Our schools need 21st century education, #EETT. Fund #edtech at $500 m
- No funding for #edtech? No prep for 21st century. Fund #EETT at $500m
- I support #edtech. I vote. Fund #EETT at $500m in 2011
- As a principal/teacher/parent I know our kids need #edtech skills. Fund #EETT at $500m
Sample blog topics:
- How has ed tech improved the way you teach?
- How has ed tech improved the way students learn?
- What would you do with additional ed tech funding?
- What will your students lose if EETT funding goes away?
- Why is it important to have up-to-date technology in classrooms?
Please take a moment to reflect and consider any action. Perhaps you desire more information. Please click here (good information for you to be aware of) for details on the 2011 ed tech funding plans. You can also read about educational technology advocacy at the ISTE site Thanks for taking the time to read and consider. Not all of ed tech resources are free and inexpensive, but as I find them I will be sure to let you know. Thanks for your time and please consider subscribing by RSS or email! Have a wonderful week and continue that journey toward 21st century education. – Mike
21 st Century Educational Technology and Learning 
GO Mike!!
“…it is a reality that hardware, infrastructure, professional development, internet access, and their maintenance to support student learning is not free.” This can not be more true. At CompassLearning we will see how many students (schools) will be affected by this as many schools use EETT funding to implement our software and multiples others. It was the one place schools could look to for technology advancement and more so for better student improvement.
CompassLearning supports your fight and the ISTE fight to bring back tech funding. We made sure to tweet out in support yesterday. @compasslearning
Keep up the great job of spreading the word.
Monique Carreon, CompassLearning
Monique,
Thanks for you efforts at Compass Learning. You are so correct that many schools rely on EETT funding. In fact without this funding I believe that there will be a greater digital divide between schools, and what they can individually provide their students. I do believe that teachers must be aware of where their funding comes from and then must be proactive. Thanks for your comment, and your support is appreciated. Please continue to return! Thanks – Mike