Technology In Schools: Gadgets v. Graduates

“Technology has a huge role in being a 21st century collaborator. You can’t be an effective communicator and not use technology to communicate. There isn’t a skill or content area that doesn’t have a significant technology attached to it.”

Ken Kay
President
Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
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Here's an interesting article discussing technology in school v. students. We were having a discussion here a few weeks back about this and this article -- printed in the American School Board Journal -- provides additional perspective.
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A Tool For Reform
by Kathleen Vail
American School Board Journal
July 2006
Educators, after focusing on lower grades following passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, are now facing a new wave of reform centered around the nation’s high schools. Alarmingly high dropout rates, particularly among minority students attending mammoth urban comprehensive high schools, are prompting the push to break down larger schools into small learning communities. Fueled both by private funders, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and by federal grants, small learning communities are inspiring other changes, summed up in three words: rigor, relevance, and relationships.

Technology is inextricably tied to this reform, and not just because of Gates’ presence in the arena. To truly transform high schools, reform proponents say, technology is key. Not so much the hardware and software itself, but what the technology allows teachers and students to accomplish.

Read more!