Technology enchances education

In the July 2006 issue of T.H.E. Journal, editor-at-large Geoffrey Fletcher talks about the third annual State Educational Directors Association providing a direct response to the Bush administration decision to pull funding of the Enhancing Educatiaon Through Technology (EETT) section of No Child Left Behind. In the article, Fletcher mentions that the administration has pledged zero dollars to this part of the NCLB, deeming it as "not performing". The unofficial comment from congressional staffers on the subjuct is that the EETT's job is done, because there is now plenty of technology in the schools.

Plenty of technology? That is not the point. Having the technology is only part of the battle. Out of the eight purposes expressed by the legislation, only two address access to technology. They include "improving student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools, making sure all students are technologically literate by the end of their eighth-grade year, and establishing research-based instructional methods that can be widely implemented as best practices". The other six points of the EETT include using technology to foster a comprehensive system, technology integration, professional development, distance learning, rigorous evaluation, and parent and family involvement.

So why is the Bush administration cutting these crucial funds at this juncture? No Child Left Behind, with its almost impossible goals, is doomed to fail if the funding for EETT isn't brought back to its original funding level of $700 million, allowing states and schools to continue using technology to aid in bringing children forward in the reading, writing and mathematics goals it originally set, while allowing children to gain the skills needed to send them out into the 21st century workforce.

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