ASCD Special Report on Educational Techonology (2 parts)

This is the second thing which GK shared today. The URL to the two parts of the report is here and here.
Part I takes a look at curriculum strategies and leadership development; Part II examines public policy and emerging technologies.
Grabbing some Part I headlines and interesting excerpts:
– Survey: Teachers embrace tech tools
According to a new survey, about 86% of teachers say technology has changed the way they teach to some extent …
– Study finds half of U.S. teens create Internet content
A survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that half of all teenagers have their own blog or have contributed photos, text or artwork to a blog or other Web site…more than half of the population of teens online report downloading music …
– Pioneering teachers embrace interactive technologies
Tech-savvy educators are pushing their students to develop online blogs and podcasts to refine their reading, writing and research skills …
– Reading online: Helping students make sense of Internet content
Reading on the Internet is a part of daily life, but many students do not have the proper skills to use online texts meaningfully …
– Study extols benefits of online learning programs
This meta-analysis … suggests that online education programs may have the same ability to raise students’ achievement as traditional classroom programs.
– Student blogs educate, engage and entertain
Teachers find blogging helps students to hone grammar and creative writing skills … blogs have afforded them an online voice.
– Technology helps special education students transition to the abstract
According to seventh-grade teacher Susan Hall, 22 years of experience have taught her that Piaget was right. Children do progress from concrete knowledge to more abstract understandings…
– Whiteboards enliven lessons
Educators using interactive whiteboards, which are beginning to replace chalkboards, handouts and even textbooks in a growing number of schools, find the devices appeal to youngsters who’ve grown up with technology.
– iPods as language tools
… English language-learners in all grades are using iPods to master vocabulary through preloaded songs and course lessons.
– Web project fosters deeper understanding of human condition
… The Web’s greatest educational strength is also its most characteristic feature: connectivity.
– Trailblazing teachers use classroom blogs
A small but growing number of innovative teachers nationwide have set up classroom blogs to improve communication with parents and build class cohesiveness.
– Study: Teachers find it difficult to integrate digital materials
A small study … explores the barriers teachers face when they seek to use digital libraries and other electronic resources in the teaching of science, technology engineering and mathematics … complained most about hardware shortfalls, poor training, a lack of support and a lack of time.
and here’s some of Part II:
– Education Department study finds schools slow to adopt technology
A U.S. Education Department report on school technology released in January found that students often are far ahead of their teachers in computer literacy. The report also found that in general schools lag behind many other parts of society in the use of technology, despite recent advances.
– Maine pushes envelope with ambitious laptop program
The state of Maine … has become the first state in the U.S. to give a laptop computer to every student and teacher in grades 7-12. Although it’s too early to tell whether the ambitious program has raised academic achievement, educators say it is showing tangible benefits including more in-depth instruction.
– A look at ed tech in “the most wired island in the world”
Seng Chee Tan of NIE in Singapore … says that while students are quite comfortable using PowerPoint, video technology and other programs, some teachers aren’t yet ready to shift from didactic instructional approaches to ones that give the students more power over their learning.
– Wikis challenge textbook model
Wikibooks, a set of open-content textbooks, based on the same user-generated, user-edited model of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, could one day replace printed textbooks as a major source of information for students…
– Open-source software offers schools new freedoms
… free software, including the Linux operating system, is helping to bridge the digital divide by offering schools attractive alternatives to costly commercial products.
– Experts from ISTE share their thoughts on educational technology
… They had this to say about the kinds of technologies today’s young people respond to:
“Younger students, and those ‘young at heart’ are always looking for tools that engage as many senses simultaneously as possible. They gravitate toward technology they can carry with them, and that connects them to their peers and a broad array of information sources. Therefore, to find a tool that provides great visuals and sound is incredibly important to young learners. The key word here is ‘engaging.’ These students are active learners, not passive.”