The State Educational Technology Directors Association teamed up recently with state Title I administrators to create two quick guides for schools to make better use of technology and stretch their money more effectively.
SETDA and the National Association for State Title I Directors worked on the guides, which quickly outline ways that technology can help schools meet their student-achievement goals.
The first, Leveraging Title I & Title IID: Maximizing the Impact of Technology in Education, outlines some effective ways schools can use technology to improve learning, and provides specific examples from schools and districts that have displayed best practices.
A Resource Guide Identifying Technology Tools for Schools is a great primer for educators who want to become fluent in ed-tech-speak. The 18-page guide gives an alphabetical listing of common technology terms and definitions or explanations that put acronyms and confusing terms into plain English.
“In terms of helping districts and states, we see some new understanding and questions asked about how technology can really make a difference in teaching and learning and in meeting the school improvement goals,” said SETDA Executive Director Mary Ann Wolf. “When I look at the four assurances required in the [American Recovery and Reinvestment Act] funding, I can’t imagine accomplishing them, particularly the reporting and accountability measures that use data, without technology.”
Wolf was referring to the principles outlined in the EETT guidance for the $650 million in ed-tech funding in the economic-stimulus package.
According to Katie Ash’s story in EdWeek this summer:
The four guiding principles for distributing the funds, says the document, are to "spend funds quickly to save and create jobs; improve student achievement through school improvement and reform; ensure transparency, reporting, and accountability; and invest one-time funds from the economic-stimulus program thoughtfully to minimize the 'funding cliff.' "
