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For many years the rhetoric and substance of national reports written by bands of technologists eager to see electronic devices work their wonder on children and adults in schools have puzzled me. I am especially puzzled now as I try to make sense of the mountain of data I have collected at Las Montanas, a 1:1 laptop school in northern California (see posts of August 7, 13, and 20).  In these national reports issued periodically by U.S. government sponsored agencies (e.g., Office of Technology Assessment, the National Education Technology Plan) or privately-funded groups (e.g., CEO Forum on Education and Technology), I noted two things.

 technocentrism and pedagogical dogmatism. If the goals of technology integration are separated from the goals of educational reform, teacher educators are faced with an important choice. Should we, as educational technology leaders, concentrate our efforts upon developing, testing, and disseminating a wide range of educational technology uses that support a broad spectrum of pedagogical approaches? Or should we recommit-and state publicly-our intention to help schools change the nature of teaching and learning through particular applications of digital technologies?

The coalition government is driving forward reforms to allow commercial companies to set up universities to compete with traditional institutions. Students at private universities will have access to student loans of up to £6,000 a year from 2012. Further proposals to encourage the for-profit sector are due next month.

Can you describe how you personally use technology to access, create and share information? 2. In terms of technology use, what were the most innovative ideas for education that you saw in the Race To The Top applications that you reviewed?