Databases of student information can help teachers target resources and appropriate teaching methods toward individual children. Computer tools that streamline administrative tasks can improve school accountability and free up more resources for the classroom. Among the most important pending federal initiatives for educational technology are the discounts for telecommunications services that are scheduled to go into effect in January 1998 under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The E-rate discounts will range from 20 percent to 90 percent of the cost of services and products such as Internet access, classroom wiring, networking equipment, and telephones. Includes state profiles of our findings about technology quality.
Technology education is about to join the academic-standards movement.
The International Society for Technology in Education released a set of national standards for what students should learn about technology by the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 12th grades. State education officials say the three-year technology initiative, announced May 21, is the largest foundation gift ever awarded to a single state. Albert M. Storrs, the principal at Jackson Hole High School in Jackson, Wy., remembers vividly the day two years ago when seven of his students were certified to manage Microsoft computer networks as entry-level technicians. If the computer network in the Jessamine County, Ky., school district crashes, administrators will have to rely on high school students to get it up and running again. Only 3 percent of U.S. schools are effectively integrating technology into all aspects of their educational programs, while most others fall far short of that goal, a report from a group of 21 business and education leaders concludes.