This generation of students truly has been born in a time very different from that of their parents, school board members, principals, and most of their teachers. For educators and policymakers, one of the keys for effectively responding to this generation is remembering that educational technology is both a tool and a game changer.
As digital influences expand and their effects on students’ lives increases, some of students’ fundamental educational experiences change as well. And as is true of any transformative era, this changing world that includes instant communication and access to information, open source instructional materials, personalized learning plans, and online learning provides both abundant opportunities and challenges to teachers and administrators. It also presents challenges to state boards of education, whose policy decisions made for a digital environment will deeply affect teaching and learning and impact more than simply what happens in school buildings.
Author: The report of the NASBE Study Group on the Role technology in School and communities
Source: NASBE