This report, the 20th edition of "Technology Counts," examines how schools are tackling tech training for teachers, "passive" vs. "active" use of digital tools, and online learning needs. Contents include: (1) Tracking 20 Years of Change in Ed Tech (Kevin C. Bushweller); (2) Poor Students Face Digital Divide in How…

Schools are working to incorporate more multimedia into classrooms, upgrade online professional development, and do a better job using data to improve student achievement. Even though nearly every school in the country is now connected to the Internet, not all of them have the kind of connections that allow teachers and students to make full use…

iPads and other tablet computers are more than a novelty for many students with disabilities, including deaf students in Pennsylvania, youngsters with autism in Southern California, and children with Down syndrome. They are tools that pave a fresh path to learning. Tablet computers are useful for students with disabilities because some of the…

During the first-ever Digital Learning Day, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Federal Communications Commission chief Julius Genachowski unveiled an ambitious plan earlier this year to get schools to switch from print to digital textbooks by 2017. Dubbed the Digital Textbook Playbook, it's a recommendation for how schools could transform…

It's been a rough time for the image of K-12 virtual education. Studies in Colorado and Minnesota have suggested that full-time online students are struggling to match the achievement levels of their peers in brick-and-mortar schools. Articles in "The New York Times" questioned not only the academic results for students in virtual schools, but…

Last school year, many educators were caught unprepared when schools closed in response to cases of swine flu. This time around, both the federal government and school districts are putting specific online-learning measures in place to get ready for possible closures or waves of teacher and student absences because of a flu outbreak. To prepare…

In this article, the author discusses the instructional challenges faced by educators this year in the 12,500-student Recovery School District (RSD), the state-run system that took over most of New Orleans' public schools after the storm in August 2005. Roughly 85% of the district's students scored at least two years behind grade level in reading…

The for-profit e-learning company K12 Inc. grew 40 percent last year, generating $385 million in revenue by providing virtual courses to 70,000 students across the country. Connections Academy, another such provider, generated about $120 million in revenue serving up online courses to some 20,000 students. And last month, the education technology…

This article describes how some teachers such as Gamal Sherif are turning to electronic resources to capture students' interest in the election. Sherif, who teaches history and science at the Science Leadership Academy, a public school in Philadelphia, said "the technology is fun and helpful, but it's also a tool one can use to get a better…

In this article, the author talks about Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle School, where educators are blending technology more heavily into the teaching of arts and music than most other schools. Arts teachers are integrating computer software with traditional instruction in dance, music, theater and visual arts to spark students' creativity. It…

Maine is the first state to deliver "anytime, anywhere learning" to schools by providing laptop computers to every 7th and 8th grader in public schools statewide. It's an unprecedented attempt by a state to be a catalyst for school technology. The brainchild of then-Governor Angus King, the Independent who herded it through the…

More and more school districts, as well as for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations, are offering Internet-based summer classes in core subjects, such as algebra and reading, and electives such as creative writing. In this article, the author discusses the growth of enrollment in online education for summer. The logistical ease of…

This report contains several articles that focus on the new digital divide, which is no longer just one wide gap between those with and those without computers, but is instead a series of divides that create inequities for different reasons. The first article explains how certain types of students are not getting the high-tech experiences they…