Chapman raises critical questions about how technology is used in American classrooms and its impact on teaching and learning. Programs and policies must be focused on the end result. But attention must also be paid to access, because without access, or even with limited access, much of the promise of technology falls short. The question at all levels of policymaking is not whether technology should be used but how full advantage can be taken of these new tools and resources to provide benefit to all learners. Therefore, policymakers must be concerned about disparities in access as well as disparities in teacher training and operational support.
All schools have some computers, and more than three quarters already have some Internet access.
Those same students are the least likely to have access to technology at home or in their communities. An impact has already been seen of the first round of the E-Rate telecommunications, in which the greatest discounts were targeted to the schools and libraries with the highest concentrations of poverty. For example, while all schools have continually added and upgraded their base of computers, half of the new computers purchased by high-poverty schools were purchased with federal funds. Four equally important goals are part of the National Educational Technology Plan. Provide all teachers the training and support they need to help students learn through computers and the information superhighway.