Kosmo Kalliarekos offers an open letter to new Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
The letter argues for a commitment to one-to-one computing based on the following “facts”:
– Many kids have grown up digitally literate and are comfortable with and attracted to technology.
– Although teachers as a group have been slow to adopt technology, most are either comfortable using it or are open to training.
– The great success of distance learning in higher education shows that technology can help deliver a higher-quality educational experience.
– Billions of venture capital dollars have been invested in innovative educational-technology companies working on solutions to specific educational challenges, from privacy issues to security, training,communications, and data management.
– Content publishers spend more than $4 billion annually on textbooks and ancillary material.The movement to electronic content represents a major opportunity for textbook publishers to increase their growth and profitability.
The cost? Up the technology per pupil expenditure from $40 to $200.
