Technology In The Schools

To the Editor:

Changes in technology are posing great challenges as well as presenting great opportunities to our schools. The risks of modern information technology to our children have become readily apparent to anyone listening to the news.

The conventional responses to these risks, firewalls and policies, will not be enough.

We can’t expect our children to recognize the dangers of new technologies on their own. As an engineer, immersed in the technology on a daily basis, and as the father of teenage children it would seem that nothing should surprise me. Yet, the synergy created by the massive interconnectedness of the Internet produces new risks and opportunities that will surprise anyone. Our children will be living and working in this interconnected world and we must develop curriculums that help them understand its structure, implications, and risks.

We must also make better use of technology for teaching our children. The school district has made teacher websites available, and many teachers are using them to post assignments and curriculum. Their use should become universal. Parents know how effective it is for students to be able to check assignments online, when they have been out, or didn’t copy the assignment correctly. Online assignment access is even more important now as we prepare for a potential swine flu outbreak. Parents will find it much easier to follow recommendations to keep their children home if they don’t have to worry about them falling behind in their work.

Technology is also providing opportunities for the school system to reduce costs while improving education. We are rapidly approaching the time when a computer will cost less than a text book. It is increasingly apparent that texts will eventually move to electronic media. Not only does this hold the promise of being an improved platform for learning, by combining text with video and other media, it can also literally reduce the burden our children carry on their backs. While Newtown cannot afford to be on the bleeding edge of this change, it must be prepared to take advantage of the improved educational techniques and reduced costs as soon as they become practical.

Changing the schools to better prepare our students to live in this hyper-connected world of the future will not be easy. It will require the involvement of parents and dedicated and competent teachers and administrators. It will also require that excitement for new technologies be moderated by practical experience and old-fashioned common sense, without increasing the public burden. Ultimately, the responsibility for leading this change lies with the Board of Education. As a parent of teenagers who are fully immersed in this new world, and as someone who has spent over 40 years using, inventing, and successfully applying information technology to real world problems (for example www.IPN2009.org), I believe that I can provide the that leadership. Please consider voting for me and the IPN slate of candidates this November 3.

William Hart

Member of and IPN candidate for

Board of Education

24 Fawnwood Road, Sandy Hook                               October 6, 2009