Contact:
Christine Fox
[email protected], 561-963-0400

Geoff Fletcher
[email protected], 206-408-7125

 

Preparing Students for College and 21st Century Careers
SETDA’s 2011 National Trends Report shows State Leaders Leveraging Technology to Transform Teaching and Learning

June 6, 2011 (Washington, DC): The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) today released its eighth annual National Educational Technology Trends Report, State Leaders Leveraging Technology to Transform Teaching and Learning. This annual report highlights innovative educational technology activities that are playing a crucial role in K-12 school improvement efforts in states and local communities across the country. The report includes a variety of examples of successful educational technology initiatives as well as details regarding the federal Title IID program.

This unique nationwide data collection showed states and districts employing four key strategies with their educational technology investments:

• Developing and Scaling Innovative Learning Models: High-access, technology-rich learning environments and online and blended learning models help address education priorities to meet student learning needs where traditional approaches have fallen short.
• Preparing All Students for College and 21st Century Careers: Career and college readiness initiatives, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, project based collaborative learning environments, digital and open content, and dropout prevention programs enabled by technology support the efforts to prepare students for life in the 21st century.
• Supporting Educator Effectiveness: Effective professional development is the linchpin for ensuring that schools attract and retain highly-qualified teachers who can effectively implement a technology-rich learning environment in every classroom.
• Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for Equity, Innovation, and Improvement: Building the 21st century education environment requires a technology infrastructure that includes access to devices and sufficient broadband.

“State leadership is integral to transforming education to meet the challenges and goals of students and teachers in the 21st century,” stated Douglas Levin, Executive Director of SETDA. “Our study highlights how effective implementation of technology as a part of core reform and improvement strategies is associated with increases in academic attainment and achievement, student engagement, and teacher retention.”

“State educational technology directors continue to be integral to ensuring that state policies and programs focus on meeting the needs of all 21st century learners,” said Christine Fox, SETDA’s Director of Professional Development and Research. “In supporting student achievement goals, SETDA members promote technology-enhanced approaches that work.”

The national report is available online at https://www.setda.org/web/guest/2011nationaltrends.
Individual state reports can be accessed online from www.setda.org/web/guest/statemembers.

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