Failure to foster a technologically savvy workforce, he warned, could lead to economic hardship in the future. I look at it as a crass economics issue. There's a compelling need to get computers integrated into the educational process. About 75 percent of voters favor spending any federal budget surplus on educational technology, while 70 percent say they advocate using the money to repair school buildings, and 58 percent would use it to reduce class size. Only 14 percent of voters say they would delay spending on educational technology because there is insufficient evidence of its impact on student achievement.
State legislators are more satisfied with the status quo than voters and business leaders are.
Roughly one of every two legislators surveyed believe their state is spending enough money on educational technology. Only 28 percent of the public and 29 percent of business leaders say they are satisfied. About 65 percent of voters predict research will eventually show technology has a major impact on improving education. About 36 percent say they are concerned about the lack of evidence thus far. Demonstrated for the first time this summer at the RoboCup in Paris, Lego Mindstorms comes with a miniature built-in computer so kids can design robots that move, rotate, and respond to light and touch.