This College Program Wants to Help Schools Use Technology With Intention

Portrait Of Female Pupil In Elementary School Drawing Using Digital Tablet In Classroom

With 99 percent of U.S. schools accessing high-speed broadband, and devices all but ubiquitous in the classroom, the question is no longer whether teachers and students are using technology, but how. On its face, that sounds like a good thing. But just as owning a bicycle does not imbue a child with the ability to ride a bike, using a Chromebook to complete assignments will not by itself improve a child’s learning outcomes. The missing piece amounts to teacher training, which, for the most part, has been seriously lacking in schools during technology integrations, says Liz Kolb, a clinical associate professor of education technologies at the University of Michigan.