The 2010 Michigan Educational Technology Plan

Knowing that improving the performance of schools through implementing technology into the classroom is a very exhaustive task, the Michigan Department of Education’s 2010 Educational Technology Plan reveals that the MDE is going to take the lead to coordinate its plans.


The importance of data (also found in the NETP) is found within this document as well. The MDE is going to work with all levels of the educational system to improve the way that we, as educators, collect data. This is something that must be implemented in order for teachers to know how to effectively evaluate data in order to help improve students’ scores. The data collection process needs to be simple yet powerful to help students and teachers alike.

Knowing that there will be more and more videos, podcasts, and programs on the Internet, the MDE is calling for the advancement of high speed Internet connections for all schools and school districts by 2015. This is critical if the students and teachers will interact more with the web through online learning communities, as specified by the NETP and the MDE’s own plan.

The Plan, similar to what was found in the NETP, also calls for Universal Design for Learning so that every child is given the opportunity to become educated. Recognizing that not all children learn the same way, the MDE is focusing a significant part of its Plan to UDL including the professional development of teachers in UDL. The Plan also realizes that every teacher preparatory college must teach future educators about UDL.

The Plan continues to address the training of future teachers by exploring the possibility of requiring future teachers to gain online learning course experience. This would prove beneficial for future teachers who will be expected to teach using online communities.

Overall, much of the MDE’s Educational Technology Plan goes along with the NETP. There are several commonalities between the two plans. The MDE has a formidable task in helping the various educational institutions improve their instructional technique. The Plan shows that Michigan has a firm grasp of what it needs to do. Finally, I plan on using the MDE’s website more extensively to improve my own teaching.

Works Cited

Michigan Department of Education. (2010). State of Michigan Educational Technology Plan. Teaching for Learning in a Digital Age. Retrieved from http://techplan.org/STP%202010%20Final.pdf.