A new report says Tennessee schools are incorporating technology at a rate that’s right at the national average. The study by Education Week magazine and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, called Technology Counts, grades states according to how many computers are in their classrooms and state requirements for the way those computers are used.
Tennessee earned a C for its 4 to 1 ratio of students per computer. But study editor Caroline Hendrie says the focus is no longer on placing computers and high-speed connections into classrooms.
“What we’re seeing now is a real recognition on the part of states and districts that we’ve really gotta make sure that educators know what to do with this stuff to make sure it’s not just gathering dust and that kids are really benefitting from the technology.”
The report gives Tennessee a C for efforts to ensure that teachers are technologically savvy, noting that there is no state-wide requirement that new teachers have computer skills. Yet the report gave the state its highest score, a B-, for the way the state’s schools implement technology in the classroom.
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