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November 15, 2001
Top 10 Technology Breakthroughs for Schools
By Susan McLester
More useful than a feature on how technologies of the future might fit into education, we felt, would be a look at today's technologies and the somewhat futuristic part they are already playing in schools. Many of those we focus on here, such as ASPs and wireless networking, have been in schools for quite a while already and might be considered veterans in the "dog years" of today's rapid technological progress. The futuristic piece comes into play in the sense that they are just now, at this particular intersection of advancing technology and education, beginning to find a fairly comfortable home in schools. Others we look at here remain more untried in our market-optical networking and XML, for instance-but are already being viewed as key to improving existing systems through streamlining, increased compatibility, or other upgrades. Our 10th and final focus, the fascinating MUVE-based learning simulations, departs a bit from the previous nine as it remains largely a work in progress, a promise-albeit a promise well grounded in reality. But for all the technologies we present here, both new and familiar, the single common "breakthrough" thread is, as Jason Ohler points out in his lead piece on virtual learning, their ability to impel us to think in new and innovative ways about the concept of "school."
Click here for the Top 10 Technology Breakthroughs > > >
Contributors
Bill Bateman, teacher of at-risk students, frequent contributor to T&L and Techlearning.com.
Jerry Crystal, director of technology for Bloomfield (Conn.) Public Schools.
Hall Davidson, director of education services at KOCE-TV in Southern California and coordinator of the California Student Media & Multimedia Festival.
Carol S. Holzberg, Ph.D., an anthropologist, educational technology specialist, and computer journalist.
Todd McIntire, former technology coordinator with the White Plains City School District in New York, director of technology for LearnNow.
Susan McLester, editor in chief of T&L.
Jason Ohler, director of the University of Alaska's Educational Technology Program. His most recent book, Then What?, is available at ThenWhat.com.
Ray Rose, vice president of the Concord Consortium, an education research and development organization.
Jean Shields, freelance writer, former educator and editor, and frequent contributor to T&L.
David Warlick, director of The Landmark Project and the author of Raw Materials for the Mind.
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