Last week the Smarter Schools Project hosted a panel of teachers entitled Straight Talk from Teachers on Ed Tech Policy. Moderated by former Governor Bev Perdue, three teachers from around the country gathered to give their take on how public policy on technology in the classroom directly impacts students. The discussion began with great insight into how students use technology to learn and how teachers use technology as a communication tool with both parents and students.
The conversation turned to how access to technology can ultimately be an important step to equalizing opportunities to students in vastly different districts. However, before teachers can employ these resources, administrators must advocate for comprehensive teacher training. Ensuring that teachers fully understand the technology available to them only ensures that students can then be able to learn in new and innovative ways. Overall, each of the teachers called for security of students while using technology, but understanding the impact of a policy before implementing something that may have unintended consequences.
The session lasted an hour and yielded great questions by audience members on advancing the greater understanding of the benefits of technology in the classroom. As policies are continuously implemented on the federal, state and local level, a fundamental understanding of the impact of classroom technology is warranted. Many thanks to everyone involved for a great discussion!
