The Topeka Capital-Journal gives a brief look at some of the technology making its way into the classroom: microphones for teachers, computing fractions via a keyboard, and PowerPoint. The presence of iPods in one classroom was mentioned, though its use was, mysteriously, not explained.
As many people with a five-year-old can attest, children love to use gadgets. So the point of technology in the classroom is not that an education is incomplete without a familiarity with, say, Google or Microsoft Word. Favored technologies and programs change over time (remember reel-to-reel tape decks and WordPerfect?). On the other hand, if a technology can improve teacher productivity or help a student learn, then by all means let’s use it. And the best way to do that just may be to let schools experiment rather than impose a statewide, top-down “revolution.”
