PatSine

I just finished reading the article, Research Windows: The Two-Year Bump by Robert Kadel in the Dec-Jan issue of Learning and Leading with Technology, the magazine of ISTE. Kadel goes on to criticize the funding agenda and realities of the E2T2 provisions of NCLB. He describes how funding is generally used to purchase hardware and software in schools under the budgets of short-term grants. He goes on to question how this 2-year bump in tech spending really helps the schools, teachers and students. The article is really focused on what research should be done to examine the effect of E2T2 spending and spending patterns. However, to my mind there is a much bigger question. Why do we in education still treat technology as a one-time expense? Why do we fund this with special, competitive grant money? Why does education regard technology as a "special" when every other business uses technology as the cornerstone of increased productivity? If you leave your classroom and Windows 98 computers today, you might pick up dinner at McDonald's where the computerized cash register routes your order through the networked terminals at each station. Then stop off at Home Depot to have the computer mix paint for you. Is it any wonder that we often have trouble impressing our high schoolers that we know how to best prepare them for the future?