Rural schools are long accustomed to meeting challenges in innovative ways. For them, the challenge is not so much a lack of technology as it is adequate internet access, which affects both teachers and students. In this article, the author discusses how to keep rural schools up to full speed. The author suggests that the best approach when…

The Forest Hills Local Schools board in Ohio had always been supportive of a 1-to-1 program, but it simply did not have the resources to buy every student a computer. The district had some laptops available, but only enough for about one out of every five students. So, when a teacher wanted to integrate technology into a lesson, the machines had…

This article is the second of a two-part series on how schools in different types of communities meet the challenge of implementing technology. The emergence of technology as a critical component of education has presented rural districts with an invaluable tool for overcoming the problems created by sparse and remote populations. But rural…

What would an educator do with $650 million? Better yet, what "should" he/she do with $650 million? No, this is no game show. It's a real-life challenge posed to school districts nationwide in the year since President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The bill dedicates more than $90 billion to education, with…

It's a riddle faced by virtually every IT director: how to fulfill users' desire for more muscular computing resources while still obliging administrators' commands to keep education spending down. Against long odds, many district technology directors have been fulfilling both counts, optimizing their computing systems with improvements that pay…

A growing number of K-12 districts are taking the open source plunge, both to cope with tight budgets and to escape proprietary vendor lock-in and expensive upgrade cycles. With the potential for cost savings and a growing number of educational applications, open source software is proving to be an effective alternative for schools willing to make…

This article stresses that school administrators need to understand the history of education technology in order to introduce new ideas and learning opportunities to students. Pownell and Bailey (2002) described four predominant waves in the history of education technology: In the 1960s, the first phase included mainframe computers, which allowed…

The frequency and form of computing for children are still open to definition at the classroom level. There are three major classifications of general-purpose computers to consider: desktops, laptops and handhelds (PDAs). However, despite the final commercial realization of a "computer" teachers should consider the physiological and cognitive…

Discusses adult learners, lifelong learning, and methods for teaching the use of technology based on experiences with graduate students at Duquesne University. Examines computer hardware, computing expertise, and access to the Internet and e-mail; and considers the debate over concentrating elements of technology-based instruction into one course…

Describes a program developed at Penn State Berks-Lehigh Valley College (PA) for inner-city minority girls to use computer technology that was otherwise unavailable to them. Highlights include access issues, gender issues, girls' preferences in a learning environment, making technology relevant, introducing new skills, creating Web page, and…

Discusses the importance of introducing preservice teachers to the use of technology and how to integrate it into their classrooms. Describes one teacher's development of multimedia programs and emphasizes availability of and access to computers in schools, careful planning, the use of appropriate technology, and student motivation. (LRW)

Discusses issues involved in equitable access to technology in public education based on a Saint Paul, Minnesota, school district's experiences. Highlights include funding, uses of technology for teaching and learning, facilities design, strategic planning, inservice training, and evaluation. (AEF)

Describes an instructional collaboration designed to create and deliver a distance learning module for helping students improve their skills in writing and reading Spanish. Results identified a technology gap, where students without their own computers and the latest versions of Web browsers finished assignments with greater difficulty. (AEF)

Discusses steps taken to initiate, implement, and complete the five-year technology plan of Florida's Lee County school district. The project was developed to provide computer access for the district's administrators, teachers, and students. Sidebars present project phases; inservice training opportunities for district staff; services provided by…