Message: Technology is Core to Reform Schools

State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA)’s Emerging Technologies Forum yielded powerful statements about technologies uses in reforming America’s schools. Among the dignitaries who spoke at the event were:

• Patricia Smith, Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Aneesh Chopra, CTO of the United States
• Jim Shelton, Office of Innovation at the US Department of Education
• Mary Ann Wolf, Executive Director, SETDA

Chopra announced the winner of the Apps Challenge, a program he initiated while at the State of Virginia as the Secretary of Technology. The Virginia Math Apps Challenge along with SETDA’s Emerging Technologies Forum are examples of the public/private partnerships emerging to improve instruction in our schools.

The Apps Challenge is a glimpse at Chopra’s approach to spurring innovation in all areas of government with forward thinking initiatives.  After the announcement of winners, Chopra was joined on stage by Jim Shelton for an informal arm chair discussion. The two officials spoke to an audience of more than 300 education technology policy makers, business leaders, and experts as they bantered back and forth about the Administration’s vision for the use of technology being core in reforming America’s schools. They both acknowledged that the effective use of technology is critical to the strategies they are employing to improve teaching and learning.

“SETDA was so pleased to host these two visionary leaders as they laid out their intentions for improving education, said Mary Ann Wolf, PhD. “Our members work supports all the tenets outlined by Aneesh and Jim’s discussion,” continued Wolf. “We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to ensure technology is leveraged in the areas of professional development, digital content, broadband access, STEM, as well as data and assessment.”

International benchmarking studies highlighted during the discussion show that policies in some states and a lack of national leadership are causing problems in our ability to scale up promising practices that work to improve learning. SETDA stands ready to provide venues to deal with these policy challenges, share information among states, and implement national leadership in the use of technology in schools.

About SETDA
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) is the principal association for state directors of technology and their staff members. SETDA provides its membership consisting of 50 states, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands with opportunities to collaborate and learn from one another as well as the broader education community. For more information about SETDA and/or its events, visit www.setda.org. Contact – Mary Ann Wolf, Executive Director at 410-647-6965 or via email at mwolf@setda.org.