Your Voice Matters


By Pam Shoemaker, MACUL Board Member


In keeping with MACUL’s 2010-11 Strategic Planning goal to increase


MACUL’s influence to promote educational technology, MACUL has established an ongoing committee for advocacy. As


part of our efforts, we will be publishing an article related to advocacy in each MACUL Journal. This is the first! We plan to help our members bring the voice of educators to policy makers/ legislators regarding educational technology and digital age learning.


Lawmakers at all levels of government are faced with growing economic concerns and increasing pressure to do more with less. It is a critical time for MACUL and its members to raise our voices together and step up our game to advocate for educational technology.


A critical issue has to do with federal funding for educational technology. In April, Congress completely eliminated the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program, despite our schools’ growing need for continuous investment in technology and professional development. However, members of Congress are now considering whether to support the Achievement Through Technology and Innovation Act (ATTAIN), which revamps EETT. ATTAIN supports education technology infrastructure, capacity, and professional development in all states, and it allows states the flexibility to conduct competitive grant programs, supporting innovative practices that best improve student achievement. It is dedicated to updating classrooms with appropriate technology and ensuring that educators receive continuous and comprehensive technology professional development. It supports online and


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blended learning initiatives, data driven decision-making, enhanced infrastructure, and new technology initiatives and training. Moreover, the technology supported by ATTAIN will prove essential to preparing for and administering the online Common Core assessments, which are expected to launch in 2014. MACUL members need to urge our legislators to support ATTAIN. A quick and easy way to do this is to use the Ed Tech Action Network (ETAN). Your congressional members need to hear from you as they begin to consider the federal government’s role in supporting education technology!


Your voice matters!


Pam Shoemaker, Ed.S is the MACUL Advocacy Committee Chair and serves as the Instructional Technology Coordinator for Walled Lake Consolidated Schools. She is a recent graduate of the MI Educational Policy Fellowship Program.


THERE ARE A FEW SIMPLE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO HELP:


Join the Advocacy group on MACUL Space. This is a collaborative space for our members to share and discuss our advocacy efforts. Please join us at http://maculspace.ning.com/group/advocacy.


Go to the ETAN website at http://www. edtechactionnetwork.org, enter your zip code on the top of the home page, and use/modify their pre-written letter. Adding a personal story about how technology impacts students would add to your letter’s impact. Choose to print and mail your letter, or simply click a button to automatically send to your representatives by email.


Educate yourself about advocacy issues by visiting ISTE’s Advocacy web page. Check it out at http://www.iste.org/advocacy.


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