Nov 17 2009
Technology Programs Just Got More Money From President Obama
I was reading the ISTE (International Society for Technology In Education) website, and found that President Obama signed into law an act that poured over $100 billion dollars into education.
That’s a LOT of money.
Fortunately, technology programs and such were not left out of this. According to the website:
ISTE worked closely with the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress to ensure that the ARRA included a dedicated funding stream for classroom technology and professional development through the Enhancing Education Through Technology program
What this means is, technology programs in many of our nation’s schools (U.S.) will be receiving extra money in the budget specifically for technology.
I can imagine there will be more spending for :
- professional technology staff/technology specialists
- software
- curriculum developers
- computers and hardware
- computer furniture
- …and perhaps even extra tech training for teachers
With more money, comes more spending.
What I’m wondering is: how much of the spending will actually translate to kids truly learning the basics of technology and its functions?
Kids are really smart…they can pick up just about any technology gadget and figure it out in a matter of minutes.
But put them online, and sometimes they make unwise decisions. If they haven’t been taught the importance of internet safety, that is.
Give them access to Word, Excel, or Power Point and see if they can effectively use the software to write a paper, perform a calculation, or create a presentation…and for many kids and teens, it just isn’t happening for them. (This is a case for the majority, and I cheer for every kid who learns this stuff before graduating high school b/c it’s so crucial for the work force).
It’s not that the public and private education sector is failing at technology education because they don’t have enough money or misappropriate the money (although I am sure this is the case in some schools), but what’s a technology budget without a technology education PLAN?
The questions that I think should be addressed are:
- WHAT do our kids need to learn about technology in each grade level?
- WHYdo our students need to learn this material?
- HOW can we keep our children safe while teaching the material?
- HOW can we teach technology without cutting too deeply into a budget, AND without neglecting needed time on other subjects?
So how does this apply to homeschoolers? Read my next post…
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My name is Demetria and I homeschool two little girls who, because they are growing up in a digital age, find themselves tinkering with electronics. I created this site out of my interest in exploring web 2.0 and techie gadgets for homeschoolers. 
