Computers have become a learning tool of choice in many classrooms. For those who haven't guessed already, this is the latest sign that today's high school experience just isn't the same old bag of books. At Travis High School, students create Web sites and educational CD-ROMs. Sometimes, with computers, we can reach students who learn in different ways. Rutledge's high-tech high school classes are a window into how much schools have embraced the Silicon Era.
Chalkboards still exist, to be sure, and students still read and write on paper.
But the 1990s will probably be remembered more as a decade when computers became a tool of choice for teaching and learning. But given their popularity among politicians and especially parents, computers will likely stay in the classroom, no matter what. The focus should not be on technology, but on the pursuit of relevant goals in children's education. To the extent that technology makes that possible, that's great. Tony Cipollone, director of evaluation at the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, agrees.