technology

Thanks to technology, we’re watching a revolution happen in education right now. From the explosion in popularity of language learning apps like Mindsnacks to the media furor about the rise of massive open online courses, companies are being built around the idea that technology can radically reshape our relationship with education.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been pressing his idea of a "homegrown workforce" to feed New York City's tech industry, and it is one he is trying to foster in the city's public schools. The Academy for Software Engineering, for instance, a high school in Manhattan devoted to computer science, opened in September, and the school received 1,400 applications for its next freshman class of 125.

Shared or distributed leadership is a concept familiar to education leaders, and now a new web tool, called Pipeline, and developed by a Carnegie Mellon University researcher, looks to make the process simpler and more effective.

Over the past decade, the United States has spent upwards of $100 billion on K12 classroom technology to no discernible effect. The reason is clear: most education technology in use in K12 classrooms is not integrated into core instruction, and thus offers limited educational value.

While technology has revolutionized how people communicate and learn, federal and state governments insulate schools from the disruptions technology creates in other organizations. To overcome these obstacles, we must persuade teachers that technology will empower them and help their students learn. Here are five strategies for successful teacher adoption of education technology.