Ed Tech Leaders to McCain, Obama: Make Modern Classrooms a Priority
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SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 9/29/2008 11:03:00 AM
Four leading education associations have launched a new public service announcement (PSA) campaign urging federal support of education technology. A new 30-second radio PSA will complement One Giant Leap for Kids, a print campaign which urges the Presidential candidates to make K–12 student access to education technology and modern learning environments a top national priority.
The PSAs, which were developed by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the National Education Association (NEA) and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), press presidential candidates Senators John McCain and Barack Obama to recognize that investments made today in technology ensure the future ability of U.S. students to compete and succeed in the increasingly competitive 21st-century global workforce.
"Nearly 40 years ago, men walked the moon because of dreams, determination, and most of all, because of education. We didn't just talk. We invested in our kids and our schools," states the PSA. "The next generation of scientists and innovators are in our elementary and secondary classrooms now. In a world full of challenges, their schools need technology and their teachers need the right preparation."
The PSA campaign includes an online petition in support of making 21st-century education a public policy priority, available at the EdTech Action Network Web site. The site also features both the print and radio PSAs, which are available for downloading.
Following this summer's launch of the print PSA campaign, the four organizations sent to both candidates the PSA and a five-question survey about each candidate's vision for the future of American education and the modern classroom. The associations will continue to place the print PSA in a number of education and education technology trade publications, including Converge, eSchool News, Learning & Leading with Technology, Scholastic Administrator, Technology & Learning, THE Journal, and Threshold/Cable in the Classroom. The radio PSA will air on XM Radio's "POTUS '08" (Channel 130).
