TANDBERG EDUCATIONAL Newsletter


IN THIS ISSUE....
NETP
Study of Languages
EDO at TESOL
Global Proportions




Quick Links




 Westwood
Greetings!  

Draft National Educational Technology Plan

On March 5, 2010 the U.S. Department of Education released a Draft National Educational Technology Plan 2010.  The National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) calls for revolutionary transformation rather than evolutionary tinkering. 
 
The NETP presents a model of 21st Century learning powered by technology.

"The model of 21st century learning described in this plan calls for engaging and empowering learning experiences for all learners. The model asks that we focus what and how we teach to match what people need to know, how they learn, where and when they will learn, and who needs to learn. It brings state-of-the art technology into learning to enable, motivate, and inspire all students, regardless of background, languages, or disabilities, to achieve. It leverages the power of technology to provide personalized learning instead of a one-size-fits-all curriculum, pace of teaching, and instructional practices."
 
"Powered by technology" requires rethinking our delivery system.  Currently our education system supports learning in classrooms and from textbooks and depends on the relationship between the teacher and the students.  With technology properly implemented in the our education system we can provide multiple and flexible methods of presentation of information and knowledge, means of expression with alternatives for students to demonstrate what they have learned, means of engagement to tap in to diverse learners interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn. 
 
To accomplish this we will need to think outside of the box.  Buying technology and continuing to teach in the exact same way does not innovate or bring us into a new era.  We need only look back a few decades to learn from the mistakes business made when introducing technology. Back in the 1970s and 1980s businesses were rapidly deploying technology in the belief that it would help them perform better and more efficiently.  What economists found was that the economic output per investment did not increase as expected.  When businesses implemented the technology they were just automating current processes and procedures.  This yielded no benefit.  It wasn't until the 1990s and 2000s when the economists found dramatic improvements in productivity.  When business leaders took the time to make structural innovations and thorough redesigns of the business processes that were now available because of the technology the true benefits of the technology investment were reached. 
 
Our mission then must be to implement technology into our education system that will redesign processes and structures so that they take advantage of the power of technology, to improve learning outcomes while making more efficient use of time, money and staff. 
 
According to the NETP, "A highly instrumented classroom is a place where technology-based systems provide educators with real-time insight into how every student is thinking that , when combined with analytic tools, helps educators make better decisions about how to adapt instruction to students' needs. "
 

If you would like to read the Executive Summary or the Full Report please click here.




 
A Case for the Study of Foreign Language as a required Core subject in our Schools

Students who do study languages
are consistently:


  • more imaginative
  • better listeners
  • better with abstract ideas
  • better & faster problem solvers
  • more flexible in their thinking

than students who do not
study languages


www.celebratelanguages.com

This video and 9 others can be viewed on
http://www.celebratelanguages.com/advocacy.html


Tandberg Educational, inc.
 

Come Join Us at This Year's TESOL Convention

Tandberg Educational will be exhibiting in this year's upcoming
TESOL Convention from March 24th until March 27th at the
Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston, MA


Tandberg will present the EDO offerings and innovative solutions to participants. Those who attend the convention will have the unique
opportunity to experience a face to face presentation and
ask questions of our
Director of Educational Development, Ann Cohn.

TESOL's annual conventions bring thousands of ESL/EFL
professionals together to expand their educational capabilities
and network with others in the field of education.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!


EDO

I'm calling on our nation's governors and state education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don' t simply measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they possess 21st centruy skills like problem-solving and critical thinking and entrepreneurship and creativity."

President Barack Obama, March 10, 2009





A Language Lab is still the BEST instructional tool available for language learning.



Websites of Global Proportions....

To help you bring the World to your students

Guide to Infusing Global Education

Translation Tools such as Babel Fish

Digital Storyteller

Friends and Flags
SPeaking around the world

Globaldreamers

Global Nomads Group

Discover Languages

MERLOT Digital Library

Mixxer - Language Exchange Community





 
 
Yesterdays Methods Don't Solve Today's Challenges!