California Task Force Puts Forth Recommendations for Technology in Schools

Technology is playing a bigger part in our lives and a new study by the Education Technology Task Force tells California officials that they should embrace that reality moving forward.

 The task force’s report indicates that instead of seeing mobile devices like the iPhone as a barrier to a student’s learning, education officials should find a way to incorporate mobile devices into their education. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson headed the task force and wants the state to find ways to use the top technological machines of our day to help California students get a leg up.

Torlakson put together the task force as part of his No Child Left Offline program, started earlier this year. The goal of the taskforce and the initiative is to make sure that there is a plan in place to move California and its schools forward in this technological age. The plan for education technology in the state has remained the same for the last decade, meaning all kinds of innovative devices such as the iPad have been left on the back burner.

The task force is comprised of 48 members who include teachers, superintendents, CTOs and people from the business community as well. The task force has put together this initial report, with more study expected the rest of the year and into 2013. 

"With its ubiquity and its adaptability, computing technology is changing the face of education—and rightfully so," said Torlakson. "It can be a powerful tool for preparing kids for the economy they will become a part of once they leave school.”

Torlakson has certainly been a champion of technology in the school system. When he served in the California state assembly he authored a bill that made it easier for teachers to incorporate technology in their classrooms.

Among the recommendations that the task force has put forward, they wish to make sure that every student has access to an Internet connected device for learning purposes anytime and anywhere. This particular view is called the 1:1 and the task force believes attaining that ratio might be the biggest challenge currently facing the public education system.

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