Preface

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In 1994, the Mississippi Legislature passed landmark educational legislation entitled the Education Technology Enhancement Act, Senate Bill 3350. This bill calls for the developmentof the Mississippi Master Plan for Education Technology. Senate Bill 3350 requires a five-year plan that will outline activities related to purchasing, developing, and using technology to:

provide access to individualized instruction through computer-based technology, video and other technology-based instruction
improve teaching and learning and the ability to meet individual students' needs to increase student achievement
improve curriculum delivery to help meet the needs for educational equity across the state
improve delivery of professional development
improve the efficiency and productivity of administrators
encourage development by the private sector and acquisition by districts of technologies and applications appropriate for education
ensure efficient and equitable use of technology at all levels from primary school through higher education, including vocational and adult education.

To this end, Senate Bill 3350 also established the Council for Education Technology (CET) as the advisory group which, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), is charged with the responsibility of creating the Mississippi Master Plan for Education Technology. Membership in the Council includes representatives from public education as well as private business and industry.

To accomplish the tasks defined by Senate Bill 3350, the Council for Education Technology and the Mississippi Department of Education solicited help from two arenas-practitioners who educate Mississippi's population daily and professionals with extensive experience in state technology planning. The practitioners comprise a small group of educators called the Project Advisory Committee and were appointed by the Council to assist in this effort. To involve experienced professionals in state technology planning, the Mississippi Department of Education contracted with the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology (CELT), a not-for-profit research and development corporation with headquarters in Marlboro, Massachusetts, that has worked with numerous other states in technology planning. CELT had the primary responsibility for conducting a thorough assessment of current education technology initiatives and facilitating the development of the Master Plan. Council and Committee membership information may be found on the preceding two pages.

Input required for plan development has been gathered from all available sources using a variety of mediums over a period of ten months. Primary information sources include Mississippi students, parents, teachers, administrators, community members, superintendents, legislators, professors, and governmental agency leaders. Data collection methods employed were paper surveys, personal interviews, focus group discussions, telephone conversations, public hearings, and electronic teleconferences.

The Mississippi Master Plan for Education Technology represents the collective efforts of Mississippians statewide. The writing teams for the plan were comprised of educators from the ranks of teachers, administrators, and university professors, Council for Education Technology members, Mississippi Department of Education staff, and the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology staff. (For a complete listing of writing team members see Appendix A.)

It has been stated many times during the development stages that planning is an ongoing process that does not end when the document is published. Indeed, the initial plan is just a beginning. The Council for Education Technology, the Project Advisory Committee, the writing teams, the Mississippi Department of Education and the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology ask that this plan be regarded as a first step toward the creation of a future for Mississippians in which all students have access to the best educational resources. This document is an action plan that must continue to be revised, changed, and updated in a cycle of continuous improvement to fit the changing needs of Mississippi learners. Margaret Mead, famous anthropologist, eloquently expressed it in this manner: "We must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday and prepare our schools for what no one knows yet." Although this quote was first articulated over 40 years ago, it is even more relevant today.

This Mississippi Master Plan for Education Technology would not have been possible without the efforts of many hundreds of Mississippians who gave of their valuable time and talents to make this plan a reality. Special thanks goes to the Council members, advisory committee members, writing team members, and consultants from CELT who dedicated themselves to this project.

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