Proponents of technology acknowledge the many questions that surround its use in schools. But they say technology offers so many potential benefits that it would be even riskier not to invest in it. But if we don't start somewhere and have something to build on, we're never going to get anywhere. In this report, the staff of Education Week has compiled the best data available about the level of technology in the nation's schools and the latest thinking about how technology should be implemented. Because both are in a state of flux, Technology Counts will serve as the foundation for a series of annual reports in the years to come.
Technology is also a hot topic in the policy arena.
President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and a procession of state governors from both political parties have recently endorsed technology as a necessary tool for education. At last year's national education summit in Palisades, N.Y., the governors and business leaders who attended made improving education technology one of two main goals for school change. Among the most important pending federal initiatives are the discounts for telecommunications services that are scheduled to go into effect in January under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Providing teachers with high-tech training, personal computers, telephones, and Internet connections is a step toward increasing their professionalism. Technology also can reduce their isolation and lead to professional communities of educators in cyberspace.