This is a picture I took of my sherpa and me as we traversed the DA parking lot up here in Connecticut on Friday afternoon. I reached my car safely but Nanook, unfortunately, was never found. A 45 minute commute mutated into five hours. Needless to say, it was quite a storm.
But getting back to products! Last week, BusinessWeek ran an article raising the question: have computers helped schools improve learning?
"Schools are enthusiastic about the technology's promise, but short of the money and trained faculty to extract many of its benefits. The debate over the efficacy of PCs in schools is gaining new charge as President-elect Barack Obama proposes new federal spending to outfit classrooms with computers and wire schools for Internet access as part of his economic stimulus plan."
The article relied heavily on contributions from new DA columnist and computer science prof Elliot Soloway, whose "Tech Disruptions" column will appear regularly in our magazine. One interesting example cited is the Keller (Texas) School District, which will begin handing out HTC smartphones to students in January, with Soloway as a consultant. The overall gist of the article? Technology can be useful, but you need professional development to make full use of it. I'm sensing a theme. Here's another one: drive slowly out there!
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