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Some would argue that the tension and irritation between "why" and "how" is by design. That these shifts are creating a permissive framework in education where there are no clear answers (Turner, 2004). And that in a changing educational environment the needed changes in education should be negotiated from a why approach rather than a how approach.

It is no longer about information management and prescriptive outcomes, but rather about building capacity- in ourselves, our faculty, our staff and in our students and then being able to contextualize the collective wisdom we gain through those relationships to making the world a better place.

In this environment, school district leaders have a critical choice to make: Will their schools pro-actively model and teach the safe and appropriate use of these digital tools or will they reactively block them out and leave students and families to fend for themselves? Unfortunately, many schools are choosing to do the latter. As a technology advocate, I can think of no better way to highlight organizational unimportance than to block out the tools that are transforming the rest of society. Schools whose default stance is to prohibit rather than enable might as well plant a sign in front of their buildings that says, “Irrelevant to children’s futures.”

In recognition of such growing concerns about Internet safety, the National Association of Secondary School Principals has adopted a policy statement with recommendations for educators and policymakers about Internet usage. The NASSP recommendations form the cornerstone of CTAP's work in cybersafety education. All school districts can benefit from applying these leadership directives. NASSP recommends that school leaders: Familiarize themselves about all aspects of computer technology, including the mechanics of the Internet, blogs, social networking Web sites, and the liability issues associated with the use of these technologies Form a technology team that comprises staff members, parents and students to act in an advisory capacity to the larger school community Educate staff members and students on using technology within the boundaries of the law Guide teachers and students on how the Internet can serve as effective educational tools Formulate clear guidelines to protect students and teachers against cyber bullying and other criminal activities Conduct orientation sessions for parents regarding student use of the Internet Reinforce these guidelines with parents and encourage vigilance of Internet use at home, including the elimination of derogatory statements against other students or staff.

Welcome to the June/July issue of Innovate. This issue opens with two features that explore the characteristics, needs, and expectations of current students in higher education, followed by three features that illustrate specific examples of innovative practice. Our issue then concludes with two features that provide models of faculty development and technology-enhanced teacher education.

Moreover, findings indicate that children who used the Internet for an average of 30 minutes a day, had higher standardized test scores in reading and higher grade point averages, compared to those who used it less. However, Internet use had no effect on math scores.

Just because we have more information, doesn’t necessarily mean that the information is better. In fact, it could even be argued that information is being dumb-down and infantilized due to our ever-shrinking attention spans

For the following programs, funds will be made available beginning in fall 2009, and will be conditioned upon receipt of further information that will be outlined in future guidance: Title I School Improvement Grants ($3 billion). Educational Technology State Grants ($650 million). The following funds will be made available beginning in fall 2009, based on the quality of the applications submitted through a competitive grant process. Guidelines for these funds will be posted shortly: Teacher Incentive Fund ($200 million). Teacher Quality Enhancement ($100 million). Statewide Data Systems ($250 million).

Under the $5 billion in SFSF reserved for the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants, the Department will conduct a national competition among states for a $4.35 billion state incentive "Race to the Top" fund to improve education quality and results statewide. The Race to the Top fund will help states drive substantial gains in student achievement by supporting states making dramatic progress on the four reform goals described above and effectively using other ARRA funds. $650 million of the $5 billion will be set aside in the "Invest in What Works and Innovation" fund and be available through a competition to districts and non-profit groups with a strong track record of results. Guidelines and applications for the competitive funds will be posted expeditiously. Race to the Top grants will be made in two rounds—fall 2009 and spring 2010).

LEAs that optimize the use of the varied funding streams provided under ARRA

So digital textbooks could widen the gap between rich and poor.

A large portion of our kids don’t have computers at home, and it would be way too costly to print out the digital textbooks

The tools we use in life have leapfrogged over the ones we use at work. Business’s lingering love of bureaucracy, process, and legacy technology has fallen completely out of sync with what people need to do their best.