NCTET Sponsors "Rethinking Education: Technology and 21st Century Skills" Event

NCTET Sponsors "Rethinking Education: Technology and 21st Century Skills" Event: Last week, the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training (NCTET) hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill to examine strategies for effectively integrating technology into K-12 education to impart crucial 21st century skills. The event featured a number of anecdotes about how certain federal programs, such as Enhancing Education Through Technology, Ready to Teach and other efforts, have allowed schools to leverage and enhance other efforts related to using technology in K-12 schools. Ryan Imbriale, an assistant principal from Maryland, insisted that discussions in Washington, D.C., about policy and funding do affect classrooms and encouraged staff present to continue their work, since federal efforts serve as a catalyst for improvement and innovation at the local levels. Mary Ann Wolf, executive director for the State Education Technology Directors Association, shared a number of examples of states producing good results and improving student achievement from education technology efforts and echoed suggestions of fellow participants that embedded professional development for teachers is crucial to such efforts and positively affects not only student achievement but also teacher retention. For more information, visit www.nctet.org.