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Educators Use Technology to Expand Learning Opportunities

Everyone benefits when K–12 schools have the right classroom tech.

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As Editor in Chief, Ryan works on developing editorial strategy and is always on the lookout for new writing talent and sharing great stories with the IT world. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, biking and obsessively following Iowa Hawkeye sports and Cubs baseball.

Education should give students more options, not fewer. While the connection between teachers and their students remains key, the right set of tools can link students to more options and turn the average K–12 classroom into a launch pad for a bright future.

Many educators agree. They believe technology can be a key tool for learning that helps students develop critical skills for the future. In the 2021 “Use of Educational Technology for Instruction in Public Schools: 2019–20” report from the National Center for Education Statistics, 41 percent of schools “said it helped students learn more actively, and 27 percent said it helped students think critically.”

Districts Prepare Students for the Future

In this issue of EdTech, schools share how technology has helped break down silos to unleash learning. This is clear in our feature on students with disabilities in California’s San Bernardino City Unified School District, who are using technology to expand their career options.

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According to LaTanya Greer, principal at the district’s Curtis Middle School, where students with disabilities take engineering and manufacturing electives, kids are “able to shine in these classrooms and then use what they learn in other settings.”

In “Connected STEM Classrooms Break Down Learning Silos for K–12 Students,” students interested in science, technology, engineering and math are getting a jump start on their futures as well. At Central Union High School District in El Centro, Calif., for example, these students learn in an all-new STEM building where ubiquitous technology supports interactivity and collaboration.

“This is an effort to give our students industry-standard experiences, not simulations, because we want them to be as prepared as possible,” says Ward Andrus, district superintendent.

Students are not the only ones benefiting from integrating technology in the classroom. In “Is Dated Technology Contributing to the Great Teacher Resignation?," educators share how robust, upgraded technology can benefit teachers in the classroom — and how it can help attract and retain them overall.

Crystal Wielenga, a third grade teacher at Bay District Schools’ Lucille Moore Elementary School in Florida, says her new wireless devices and mobile workstation offer more freedom and flexibility. No matter where she is in the classroom, she says, “I can see the kids on the periphery of the classroom, and I can engage them more, to make sure that each student has the best chance at learning.”

The connection is clear. When we give students the ed tech tools that empower and inspire them to learn today, we are giving a wider array of students their best chance at a better tomorrow.

Ryan Petersen
Editor in Chief

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