Tuesday Session 2 by Marcia

Tuesday, November 7
Tim Magner—Director, Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Dept. of Education

Federal initiatives and the importance of promoting student success in math and science areas.

Competitiveness Trends
The world is changing.
India and China—two fastest growing economies (China-manufacturing, India-services)
Many foreign students who graduate from universities in America go back to their home countries, giving those countries a competitive edge. Many of those foreign students go on to Masters and Doctorate degrees in math, science, engineering.Our need for engineers exceeds the number we graduate
Currently 47% of engineering graduates are Asian
Our ability to compete in the future is dependent on education—60% of new jobs require post secondary education
Problem: rate of change: Even if we could graduate every American student, that is only a small fraction of graduates possible in China/India/Russia- (due to vast populations)
So…we must educate our students VERY WELL—they will be competing 10:1
Math/science education must be improved. “Quality will determine competitiveness!”This training is crucial for the future.

IT (instructional technology) is driving force in US economy
President’s American Competitiveness Program-- train and keep our students here with high quality skills for 21st Century

National Math and Math Now—expand AP Incentive programs.Just taking an AP course helps students even if they don’t take exam.
Changes happening:Location independent for education (online courses)Multi-mediaInformation distribution is flattened---free and level acrossMany kinds of information delivery systems, with many ways to access and participateNew models of instructional design—in process Textbooks online or download
DATA INFO needs to include context, relevance, authority, suitability Need to personalize, add meaningOnline learning can do this.“Online can be both an opportunity within and without the public schools-can be a part of traditional process-requires creativity”
http://school2-0.org

He flashed through some in-depth slides rather quickly—since I could not write down all of that information, the slide show may be viewed at http://school2-0.org or email tim.magner@ed.gov These addresses at the end of my notes on this presentation.



Questions from audience:
Q: Shouldn’t state governments be interested in data regarding online courses?
A: Yes, they should be interested and collecting data.
Q: Learning objects should be the role of the Federal government, if national unity in education is desired.
A: The challenge for the federal government is not only promote technology, but how to procedurally implement technology.

What is the future of virtual schools? We need to broaden the concept of what school is. The challenge is to provide clear structure to help students choose/select appropriate online courses.

Flashed through some in-depth slides rather quickly—since I could not write down all of that information, the slide show may be viewed at http://school2-0.org or email tim.magner@ed.gov

Marcia