Ed Week’s annual report on educational technology, Technology Counts 2009, was published today. The full report and individual state reports are available for download.
This year’s report focuses on issues and trends in online learning and grades the states on educational technology use and capacity.
As the world of online education continues to evolve, brick-and-mortar schools are incorporating digital curricula and virtual teachers into their classrooms in ways that have surprised even the advocates of the online education movement, according to the 12th annual report.
Once mostly catering to advanced students who educators believed had the motivation to pursue education online, virtual courses are growing in popularity for struggling students, too, according to Technology Counts 2009: Breaking Away From Tradition: E-Education Expands Opportunities for Raising Achievement. And school districts that once felt threatened by the surge in online education are embracing the technology, often in a hybrid model that blends face-to-face learning with digital teaching and curricula, in an effort to raise student achievement.
Even so, the report notes that serious concerns remain about e-learning, especially regarding the quality of the teaching and the curricula.
This is a must read for educators and district officials who are trying to find ways to use technology more effectively to improve teaching and learning. Check it out.
