Technology - A vision

What if it were not a matter of "teaching technology" but of integrating technology into education? Can some of the group think of some examples of what we MIGHT do in that case to make education more exciting, relevant to later life and to all children, no matter how fast or slowly they learn? 

I recommend this article (also the first link on the Technology issue page of the Briefing Book, if you want to find it later):

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/overview.html

Here is a bit from the start of the article - I would really like to hear what you think about this!

"In the past, application of technology to education was often motivated by a desire to implement 'teacher proof' instruction. Technology was viewed as a 'black box,' something that could be bestowed on schools and classrooms from above. An increasing body of literature on technology implementation efforts suggests that this goal was not only unrealistic but also fundamentally misguided. To be effective, technology and teachers must work together to provide challenging learning opportunities. At the nine case study sites, technology serves the goals of education reform by contributing to:

    * Student learning through involvement with authentic, challenging tasks
    * New roles for students and teachers
    * Professionalization of teachers
    * Creation of a culture that supports learning both in the classroom and beyond the school walls

Of central concern to this project is the use of technology as a catalyst for changing schools in ways that better support the acquisition of higher-order skills by all students. Such uses of technology can have a particularly significant impact on the schooling of economically disadvantaged students, whose educational experiences frequently have stressed repetitious rote drill on lower-order skills, with relatively little attention to the areas of comprehension, problem solving, composition, and mathematical reasoning that will support both higher education and effective functioning in the real world."

Thanks - 

Rosemary