A major annoucement was made today from the State Educational Technology Directors Association that the Obama Administration’s has proposed cutting the 2010 budget proposal for EETT (Enhancing Education Through Technology) from $269 million to $100 million or 63%. This annoucement is of major concern to educators in The State of Ohio and across the country; however it is not recieved any formal media annoucements. (http://b2e.qeddata.com/story-2586-3.html)
This action represents a serious shift in policy funding for what has become the major funding for educational change in education dealing with technology. EETT funding has impacted the largest shift in teacher professional development in technology I have seen in my 18 years of education. This blog and the courses that it supports are a direct results of the impact that funding funding has provided. I am not compensated for this blog and run it at my own expense. I feel the topics and communication among teachers is vital to continue professional development and use in the classroom after the course or workshop.
The podcasting courses and workshops have trained over 350 teachers in the last two years on how to use Web 2.0 technology like podcasting and video casting in the classroom. Teachers have learned both where to find materials as well as to create their own customized materials for thier classrooms, in addition to recieving the equipment to use the training in the classroom. At least two school districts I have worked with in the last year have created curriculum for students and have enrolled students into production classes for this new technology.
A recent post on this blog discussed the reasons to give children a voice and ownership of their creative abilities and allow the to withstand the social critique of their productions. (http://tinyurl.com/pcv55z) Social Media tools like podcasting and video casting allow this very action to take place in a package that students are eager and excited to learn about. It is only natural that children will want to create in the media that surrounds them and the production costs associated with podcasting and video casting make it possible to do on a school districts limited budget and allows students to continue to use the technology after their introduction at school because it is affordable.
The introduction of the products like the Iphone are going to ensure that personal communication at the handset level is going to be a regular part of our student’s lives. Surveys are showing that mobile video and audio are increasing slowly but are going to become accepted ways of communication rather than the viral novilty it currently holds. (http://tinyurl.com/c86pyz) Continued cutting of technology funding that exposes our children to the tools of communication that are redefining our world are both short sided and dangerous to our advancement as a nation.
Taxpayers in the United States are paying taxes on every form of media consumption to support network access within our schools (http://tinyurl.com/oma35w). It seems a poor policy choice to provide the funding for the tools to allow access; and then cut the funding to train the very participants you wish to use those tools. Professional development for teachers has always the weakest link in educational policy because it is an easy target to cut when choices become challenging; while at the same time, demanding that new and innovative technology ideas are infused into our classrooms at every chance.
I urge President Obama’s Administration to reconsider this course of action and invite you to share your point of view in the comments as well as calling your elected officals to voice your concerns as you see them.
