On a drizzly day here in this small town, a new piece of software is making a good impression on Warren Buckleitner, a former teacher and the editor of Children's Software Revue magazine.
Teachers and students don't just use digital content. More and more often, they make it as well, thanks to the growing popularity of computer tools for creating, analyzing, and publishing data and information.
With its colorful banners and incessant public announcements, the annual NECC trade show held this summer at the Atlantic City Convention Center-has the kind of festive, competitive atmosphere you might find at a state fair. Everywhere you turn, vendors are giving away beach towels, candy, stuffed animals, online subscriptions, and more in hopes of attracting potential buyers.
Americans continue to invest heavily in technology for schools. And with more and more research showing that technology can pay dividends in student learning, the investment would seem to be a good one.
Craig D. Jerald & Greg F. Orlofsky, September 23, 1999
When Virginia approved new state achievement tests in the fall of 1997, districts had to change their curricula in a hurry. The tests were based on state standards that are among the most detailed in the nation, and schools had just eight months to prepare their students to take them.
Technology can provide a fertile medium for learning, but it is still the teacher who plants the seed. That's a lesson that comes across vividly in Florence McGinn's classroom.
A school can have the best software ever made and access to the Web on every computer. But it won't see much difference in student learning, experts say, unless its teachers know how to use the digital content in their classrooms.
Andrew Trotter, September 23, 1999
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22 min read
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