Best of 2003: Technology Focus
Putting technology to work for school leaders
Let the Professionals Do It
Advances in computing, connectivity, multimedia, and miniaturization are rapidly increasing the impact of technology on student learning. As a result, today's parents are insisting that their schools be equipped with the latest technology. Public agencies and private sector corporations are helping to subsidize this movement through corporate partnerships with school districts and such programs as the E-rate, which has supplied funding to help schools and libraries enhance their connectivity to the Internet. The question now facing many school districts is who should manage all these burgeoning technology services.
Prepared for the World
Six years ago, a groundbreaking middle school opened in Virginia's Blue Ridge region with an unwieldy but descriptive name: the Center for Applied Technology and Career Exploration. It was an unusual concept, for several reasons. First, Franklin County Schools is a financially limited district in a rural area. Second, CATCE is a middle school—not a high school. Finally, it is not a magnet school; every eighth-grader must study for one semester at the center.
Board members and administrators: Please get out your copies of the No Child Left Behind Act. Now, please turn to Part A, Section 1111, subsection (b), paragraph (1), subparagraph (D), clause (ii), division (III). What's that? You don't own a copy of NCLB? No matter. You can bet that software companies across the country have copies of the 1,100-page law and are working hard to understand its myriad requirements for assessment and accountability. Managing all the data required under NCLB is a task made for technology.
Next Generation Divide
Think the gap between technology haves and have-nots has been closed? Think again. It's becoming clear that a major part of the digital divide is students' access to technology when they're not at school. Teachers can infuse technology into the school day as much as possible, but the child who goes home to a place without a computer remains at a disadvantage.
Data to Count On
Are your students improving? By asking this simple question, the accountability movement is compelling schools to look at student achievement. As state and federal governments set specific benchmarks for achievement, schools must find ways to meet those benchmarks and show growth in concrete, measurable ways.