• All teachers in the nation will have the training and support they need to help students learn using computers and the information superhighway.
• All teachers and students will have modern multimedia computers in their classrooms.
• Every classroom will be connected to the information superhighway.
• Effective software and on-line learning resources will be an integral part of every school's curriculum.

The Forum on the Future of Technology in Education

By Fall of the year 2000, the plan had been revised with the following "Emerging Priorities:"

• All students and teachers will have universal access to effective information technology in their classsrooms, schools, communities, and homes.
• All teachers will effectively use technology.
• All students will be technologically literate and responsible cybercitizens.
• Research, development and evaluation will shape the next generation of technology applications for teaching and learning.
• Education will drive the E-learning economy.

If these goals became the basis for teaching technology in schools, do you believe they are appropriate goals? Do you see these goals being implemented at your school(s)? Talk back!

Read in detail about the National Educational Technology Plan.

Below: What role do you think the federal government should play in addressing the digital divide? What about state or local governments and school boards? Should this become an area of curriculum with standards and assessments by grade level?

From National Secretary of Education Ron Paige's speech to Silicon Valley leaders, February 28, 2001:

"Another way we can make things easier for teachers is by incorporating new technology into our classrooms. We have discussed the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers, but there is also a technology gap between these students. We must do more to make sure that the latest technology is available to every American student, regardless of where they live or what school they attend.

The President is committed to making sure that the federal government helps in this effort. The President's plan would streamline the numerous federal technology programs into a performance-based technology grant program. This simplified structure will ensure that more technology dollars get into our classrooms. When schools are free of the administrative burdens that they must currently endure to receive technology funding, they can spend more time focusing on how to best use that technology funding.

Technology can be a powerful tool to approve academic achievement. But we must not use technology as a crutch - or a lack of technology as an excuse. Technology must be integrated into our classrooms in ways that will help increase student achievement. When technology is properly incorporated into our classrooms, more students will develop the skills it takes to succeed in the modern workforce. And American companies will finally be able to look within our own nation to find the high-tech employees they need."

See the full text of the speech.

From the Bush Administration's education reform package "No Child Left Behind" :

The Administration believes schools should use technology as a tool to improve academic achievement, and that using the latest technology in the classroom should not be an end unto itself...

Summary of Proposals

• Sends more dollars to schools for technology. Consolidated technology grant programs and E-rate funds will be allocated by formula to states and school districts to ensure that more technology funds reach the classroom. Funds will be targeted to high-need schools, including rural schools and schools serving high percentages of low-income students.
• Reduces paperwork and increases flexibility. Burdensome paperwork requirements will be eliminated by sending E-rate funds to schools by a formula instead of the current application process. Flexibility will be increased by allowing funds to be used for purposes that include software purchases and development, wiring and technology infrastructure, and teacher training in the use of technology.
• Allows funds to be used for Internet filters. In support of Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000, funds may be used to purchase filters to protect children from obscene and adult material on the Internet.
• Focuses funds on proven means of enhancing education through advanced technology. States will be encouraged to set performance goals to measure how federal technology funds are being used to improve student achievement.
• Offers matching grants for Community Technology Centers. Matching federal grants will be provided through the Community Development Block Grant Program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to establish Community Technology Centers in high poverty areas."

See the full text of the educational proposals as published on the Department of Education web site.

From the California State Department of Education's Educational Technology Office:

Education Code section 51871.5 requires school districts to have a three- to five-year technology plan as a condition of receiving any technology grant funding administered by the California Department of Education after January 1, 2002. Education Code section 51871.3 established the Commission on Technology in Learning to assist school districts in this effort by developing education technology planning guidelines, in collaboration with the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission, and to recommend those guidelines to the State Board of Education for approval.

Education Technology Planning: A Guide for School Districts, approved by the State Board of Education in January 2001, provides the guidelines by which a school district can develop a complete plan to utilize technology to improve teaching and learning. The Commission on Technology in Learning and the staff at the California Department of Education hope that this Guide will both raise awareness of the issues that need to be addressed and serve as a road map that eases the journey into the twenty-first century.

Also check out the status of technology in California according to the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of the CALIFORNIA SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY SURVEY conducted by the state educational technology office.