Michigan 5-4-3-2-1 plan

Link to the Michigan 5-4-3-2-1 plan

This link will take you to the Michigan 5-4-3-2-1 plan for getting us ready for 2014 and the Smarter Balanced assessment. The easy steps in this plan are really the technical issues. The first hurdle is

5. One to One Access and Connectivity:
the cost of equipment has dropped and according to mores law will continue to cost have as much for twice the speed ever 18 months. We can see historically over the last 15 to 20 years that this has been true.


4.  Consolidation of Business, Data, and Technology Services:
Now we start to make it a little harder as these are people issues and systems issues and politics. But it can happen as long as people go into this with an open mind.

3. Teacher Capacity:
This is an issues that our Higher Ed has yet to address. Student leaving many colleges and the state has no requirement for student competency in 21st century learning skills and many are not exposed to it until they take a program in Technology education for a master degree.

2.   Digital Content and Assessments: This is the frame works for assessment and not a curriculum to get our students ready for there future careers. There is much work to be done here yet and only time will tell if we can get the different Silos in education to work together to create a learning environment that will sustain this.


1.  21st Century Learning Environments:
The holly grail of education and what does this really mean. Is it Personal Learning Networks (PLN)? or Project Based Learning (PBL)? or is it Collaborative learning. Yet it may be all the above in order for student to no longer sit in rows of chairs as a teacher lectures to them.


Here is the article that I based this Blog on
Bruce Umpstead is the State Director of Educational
Technology and Data Coordination, Office of
Education Improvement and Innovation, Michigan
Department of Education. umpsteadb@michigan.gov