From the Office of the Interim Superintendent

by Jeremy M. Hughes, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer/Interim Superintendent of Public Instruction

As we embrace the information age and technology becomes more visible in our schools, Michigan will continue efforts to provide a quality education for our students so that they are prepared to lead the 21st century knowledge economy. Our schools are facing many challenges, and the efforts of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) continue to reflect the State Board of Education’s primary goal to attain substantial and meaningful improvement in academic achievement for all students/children with primary emphasis on our high priority schools.

With technology becoming more and more sophisticated and accessible, our students, teachers, and administrators will need to master basic tech-nical skills and also understand how technology interacts with the academic environment to make teaching and learning more rewarding. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) includes the goal to “assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student’s race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability.”

To meet these requirements, Michigan schools must develop a definition of technology literacy for a student completing eighth grade. Michigan schools must determine criteria, standards, curricula, etc. that will prepare students to be technologically literate. They must also access and document the technology literacy proficiency level of all eighth grade students at the completion of each school year.

The Michigan Technology Content Standards and Benchmarks (www.michigan.gov/mde) and the national Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology provide a foundation for technology education teaching and learning in Michigan. In addition, the federal government recently released the National Education Technology Plan, Toward a New Golden Age in American Education: How the Internet, the Law, and Today’s Students Are Revolutionizing Expectations (www.ed.gov/technology/plan). Together, these guidelines and other efforts listed at www.michigan.gov/mde support the MDE, the State Board of Education, and Michigan’s visions for educational technology.

While educational technology initiatives are thriving, the promise of technology and all its possibilities are not yet fully implemented in all of our schools. The future holds potential for huge changes as teachers, principals, superintendents, and students learn about and utilize new technology options while striving for continued educational excellence. These are exciting and changing times. It’s my hope that this issue of Leading Change will offer you a taste of the initiatives, best practices, and progressive insights taking place in Michigan schools as we continue to embrace the information age.

Top of Page