The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, an office that oversees policy and federal EdTech initiatives in K-12 and higher education, has kicked off the update of the National Education Technology or National EdTech Plan last issued in 2017. The office posted an online form on its website to solicit input and gather feedback on what to be included in the report and looked for a contractor to offer technical support on the project.
The NETP offers recommendations and federal priorities for implementing and assessing technology in learning. This is done by looking back at the past and putting forth goals for the future to provide “a national vision and plan for learning enabled by technology” — according to the 2017 version of the report though. The 2022 NETP, according to the posting for the 2022 contract, will in general inspire research, development, and innovation in the use of technology to enhance not only students’ learning itself but also schools’ and districts’ capability to support and evaluate that learning.
However, in light of the rapid advancements in technological capabilities over the last five years, as well as the current Administration’s new policy priorities, a prerequisite for the Department to the development of its new national educational technology plan is technical support. The first step in the process is none other than to recruit a technical group into the team, which previously consisted of a whole host of researchers, superintendents, professors, and tech company representatives; Not only is the contractor to be in charge of the logistics of developing, writing, and revising the report, they are also responsible for scheduling internal meetings and consulting with school administrators, tech CEOs, and policymakers.
The Office started the process of updating the plan in 2019, joining hands with EdTech nonprofit Digital Promise, and planned a listening session for the South by Southwest Education conference in March 2020, before the pandemic shut down the event.
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