The West Virginia State Educational Technology Plan does reflect what I feel are some important priorities. It establishes a program for technology acquisition that calls for an increased number of computers and projectors each year, for example, yet it also emphasizes professional development instead of merely the provision of technology. One of the key objectives it states is to "Provide for teachers, administrators and school staff, high-quality, research-based, job-embedded, technology professional development that is aligned with local, state and national standards and course of study content standards" ("West Virginia State Educational Technology Plan," 2007, p. 50). On the other hand, the plan fails to address the issues raised in the material studied in this class. The learning objectives are extremely general and do not include guidelines for achieving student engagement or project-based learning. The term "21st century" is used liberally in the plan, referring to skills, tools, development, and other facets of education, but it never defines what is meant by "21st century skills" or "21st century tools." It is left up to the teacher and the district to define for themselves what this might mean. Thus, I do not feel that all of the important priorities are included in the plan. There is virtually no information on how technology is to be used to engage students, what types of programs will be set up to maximize its usage, or how teachers with no computers will be able to integrate technology into their classrooms.
The plan does reflect growth over the past few years in one way only-the increased number of computers and projectors available in classrooms. The plan states that training needs to be provided for teachers but does not specify what the training must include or what its objectives are in terms of teaching students. Authentic student use is not addressed at all, so the plan seems to sugges<...