The best method for improving educational standards is to utilize every tool
available, including state-of-the-art technology. Computers and the Internet
have expanded the way in which education can be delivered to the students of
today. Today's networking technologies provide a valuable opportunity to the
practice of learning techniques. Educators are discovering that computers and
multi-based educational tools are facilitating learning and enhancing social
interaction. Computer based telecommunications can offer enormous instructional
opportunities, but educators will need to adapt current lesson plan to
incorporate this new medium into all the classrooms. The only problem is that
some of today's schools are hindered by an underpowered technology based
curriculum and, in order to stay competitive, the American educational system
must do a better job of integrating. Computers have made a fundamental change in
most industries, providing a competitive advantage that has come to be essential
to stay in business. Therefore, education must also use technology to improve
the educational process instead of simply applying it to existing structures.
School systems often consider acquiring an enterprise computer network, but
justify its purchase by applying it to routine administrative tasks, or take
period by period attendance. Although these tasks are important, they only
represent a small part of what technology can do for an educational institution.
Technology must go beyond just keeping attendance; it must focus on keeping
students interested and productive. "Curriculum improvement is the best
strategy to prevent dropouts; technology is especially useful in this
regard". Technology can provide a unique and compelling curriculum resource
that challenges every student. The Clinton administration has taken steps
towards improving educational standards via its "Goals 2000: Educate
America Act of 1994" However, several interpretations of the Act never
mention the use of technology. Advocates of the Act need to realize that
Internet linked computers can provide more current information than what is
found in today's "exciting" textbooks. For example, science textbooks
and history textbooks are notoriously out of date. In contrast, the Internet
offers students a vast pool of current scientific data. Most of the time the
Internet makes learning fun, unlike the plain fashion of the
"almighty" textbook. Computers and other technology can also heighten
the learning process by actively engaging students in the task of exploring
data. Some students may be tempted to simply download information from the
Internet that does not have anything to do with a particular subject that they
were asked to research. This shows that the Internet may have a greater impact
to education than to learn that information from a typical textbook. Since
computers and the Internet have expanded the way with which education can be
delivered to students, it is currently possible to engage in distance education
on specialized subject and fields through the Internet. Distance education
involves audio-video linkage of teachers to many students and even in remote
areas. Video conferencing allows groups to communicate with each other. Desktop
video conferencing promises to bring student together from geographic and
cultural distances face to face via computer. Students in New York City will be
able to learn about a Chinese culture, not only through books, but also from
Chinese students. Not only will the teacher talk to the students but also the
students will be able to interact with each other. This will make the students
more interested and fascinated with learning about another culture. Not only
does the Internet, and video conferencing help education, also Microsoft has
created new programs for designed for educational purposes, some of these are
"Encarta World Atlas" and "Encarta Encyclopedia." These two
particular programs make learning easier and more enjoyable, all because of the
use of the CD-ROM device. Instead of looking for a particular country and simply
finding out where it is in a regular atlas, students can type in the name of
that country, and not only will they find out where it is faster, but they will
obtain more information about that particular country. Instead of having volumes
and volumes of heavy encyclopedias, Microsoft has placed all of these massive
books into one light CD. This CD is much simpler than the unpleasant job of
flipping page by page just to read about an uninteresting topic, such as
history. But, with the use of this CD, not only do you receive regular
information, but you may also view videos about certain people and battles. This
makes education an enjoyable task. With "Microsoft Works" student will
be able to cut and paste their way to make interesting multimedia research
documents. This computer program offers a spell-check, thesaurus, and other
helpful features which make writing that term paper easier. These particular
programs by Microsoft are only a few of the educational programs available to
student. "The successful use of technology in a few classrooms is not
enough, because developing a successful technology using school requires careful
planning and must be a school wide priority with broad support from the
community". The traditional top-down, uniform distribution approach is
almost never the best way because it limits innovation and development fails to
provide equity and does not reflect the characteristics of the school community.
Most educational boards should be open to any new idea that technology has to
offer. It would not be fair for a student in a particular city to get a better
education than another student in another city. Technology is not meant to
replace teachers; it is there only to serve students to make tedious tasks
easier. Therefore, this technology should be offered to every student trying to
get ahead of the competition. In doing this, it not only needs the support of
teachers, but it also requires support from communities. If technology in
schools receives the support from entire communities, students in any area would
be able to keep up with the competition. Some of today's schools are hindered by
an underpowered technology based curriculum and, in order to stay competitive,
the American educational system must do a better job of integrating. Teachers
must take a leadership position in designing and implementing a technology
powered classroom curriculum, investing time and energy to become familiar with
available resources. The faculty at most schools should create a set of
individual goals, including developing basic skills, defining core content and
thinking creatively and clearly. Technology enriches curriculum by increasing
the value and power of Traditional classroom techniques within the boundaries of
school structure and schedules. Technology is able to help students in a variety
of ways. By making learning more enjoyable and less tedious, student will want
to learn and will not see education as such a difficult responsibility.