Week 13:Getting America's Students Ready for the 21st Century

In order to successfully prepare students for adult life, schools must continue to teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but must also infuse the curriculum with technology rich devices so that students get a first hand experience with them. Students should get as much experience as they can use devices such as handheld computers, desktop computers, GPS systems, calculators, electronic microscopes, Smart boards, cell phones, iPods, overhead peripherals, and a number of other devices. Unfortunately, there are literally thousands of school districts’ that simply do not have the funding to purchase such devices, let alone provide training for teachers. Fortunately, the government has recognized this and created the technology literacy challenge. At its heart are four concrete goals that help to define the task at hand:
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. Such goals can be attained by salvaging and recycling computer electronics, private (tax deductible) donations, and from outside sources like federal and state governments and universities.

Week 12-Kansas rolls out a 1:1 Mac Program

The one on one laptop program in Kansas City, KS is a great start for students who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and who otherwise may not have access to such devices at home. An interesting aspect to the one on one MacBook program is that students can take the computers home to complete homework and prepare for classroom lessons. This is a great beginning to successfully integrating technology into the classrooms and beyond.Additionally, I thought that the school district made a wise decision to chose Apple computers because they come fully loaded with a lot of creative software.