While 9 in 10 children between age 5 and 17 use computers, students of almost any age are far ahead of their teachers in computer literacy. Teenagers use the Internet at even higher rates for school related work.
The good news is that virtually all U.S. schools are connected to the Internet, according to a Department of Education report. The bad news is educators still lack training and understanding how computers can be used to help students.
This schism between the skills that students need to learn and use and the ability of our aging teacher workforce to teach them is a problem. One of the solutions that comes up in every plan to head off The Perfect Labor Storm is better education of students. You can’t do that without having the students skilled in the use of technology.
"Education is the only business still debating the usefulness of technology," says Rod Paige in the National Education Technology Plan.
What’s a solution? One student says " I think that teachers should be required to go to a technology course."
