Technology

To remain competitive, schools are spending an increasing amount of their budgets on technology. Even elementary school students are becoming familiar with computers and the internet. In fact, some schools provide each student with a laptop which they bring to school each day. The extent to which schools incorporate technology into the curriculum is important, because students not only use computers to write papers but also conduct their research with the internet, use desktop publishing to have ownership of the publishing process, conduct virtual experiments for science, as well as talk to their peers in foreign countries.

When parents visit schools, they should learn:

• The number of computer labs in the school and the number of computers in each classroom.
• How are the computer labs and computers in the classroom used (i.e., for games or academic purposes)?
• Does the school have a person that manages the school’s technology systems?
• How much training do faculty and staff receive to use the technology appropriately?
• Is technology integrated into all subjects?