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FOR RELEASE Contact: David Thomas

January 7, 2005 (202) 401-1576

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELEASES NATIONAL EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY PLAN

Next steps lead to a new golden age in American education

American education is being bolstered by the increasing use of
educational technology, greater accountability, and growing new
partnerships between tech-savvy students and teachers, according to a
report released today by the U.S. Department of Education.

*Toward a New Golden Age in American Education: How the Internet, the
Law and Today's Students are Revolutionizing Expectation,* focuses on
signs of progress in core subjects, benefits from reforms stimulated by
the bipartisan *No Child Left Behind Act*, and the success of innovative
new approaches to learning through advances in educational technology.
It also profiles today's students and includes a sampling of the views
and recommendations of more than 200,000 students in all 50 states,
which is consistent with the president's management agenda for
government to be more customer-oriented.

"There is a new fervor in American education and a new creativity that's
being driven in part by this generation of tech-savvy students," said
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. "We are already seeing some
remarkable results, and I believe this trend bodes well for the future
of our country. As the report noted, America's students are our ultimate
constituents, and we need to listen to them."

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Paige added that teachers are transforming what can be done in schools
by using technology to access primary sources, exposing students to a
variety of perspectives, and enhancing students' overall learning
experience through multimedia, simulations and interactive software.

At the same time, teachers, principals and administrators are able to
better track student achievement and adjust instruction more effectively
to individual needs.

The report includes Paige's vision and recommendations for a National
Education Technology Plan, based on input received from educators and
technology experts across the country.

According to the report, the technology that has so dramatically changed
the world outside our schools is now changing the learning and teaching
environment within them. This change is driven by an increasingly
competitive global economy and the students themselves, who are "born
and comfortable in the age of the Internet."

In many states, the explosive growth of online instruction and virtual
schools is already complementing traditional instruction with high
quality courses tailored to the needs of individual students, the report
said. At least 15 states provide some form of virtual schooling to
supplement regular classes or provide for special needs, and about 25
percent of all K-12 public schools now offer some form of e-learning or
virtual school instruction.

The report includes numerous details of successful initiatives and
partnerships developed at the state level by school districts and by
individual schools. It concludes with a series of recommendations for
enhancing the use and benefits of new technologies, and places them
within the context of long-term, systemic transformation, covering such
issues as leadership, management, teacher training and funding.

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"As these encouraging trends develop and expand over the next decade,
facilitated and supported by our ongoing investment in educational
technology . . ." the report said, "... we may be well on our way to a
new golden age in American education."

The full text of the National Education Technology Plan is available at
[www.ed.gov/technology/plan](http://www.ed.gov/technology/plan).

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