Published: March 29, 2007

Getting Up to Speed

U.S. schools have come a long way since connecting to the Internet was their chief technology challenge.

America’s policy leaders can take a bow: Most schools today have technology for learning that few imagined just a decade ago. Most classrooms have multiple, multimedia computers linked to the Internet and access to high-quality software and digital content. Teachers have the computer tools that those in many other professions enjoy, and many receive training to hone their use of technology in instruction. Students hop onto the Google search engine to research their term papers online, and they craft class projects using multimedia tools.

Getting more technology into schools has been a priority for policymakers over the past 10 years, and in many respects, that goal has been accomplished. Yet few experts would argue that America’s schools are making optimal use of the new digital tools they have received. Likewise, few can point to evidence that all the new technology has translated into great leaps forward in student learning.

“The honest assessment is [it has had] very little impact,” says Elliot Soloway, a professor of computer science and education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor who has spent much of his career developing ways to use...