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Since the first personal computers were introduced into schools twenty years ago, technology has had profound implications for the way teachers teach and students learn. Today, those who make decisions about education technology are under increasing pressure to ensure that our national investment in technology enables students to flourish in the new age of information technology. The EDvancenet Leader’s Guide to Education Technology was developed to help decision makers have the information they need to ask the right questions so that technology is used to support — and indeed achieve — educational goals. This Leader’s Guide discusses technology in the context of student achievement, educational equity and workforce preparedness. It celebrates successes, relates challenges, and poses questions that must be asked by legislators, school board members, and other decision makers. The Leader’s Guide is a key component of EDvancenet, a project that is committed to providing resources to keep policymakers and school leaders informed of the issues that affect how schools can use technology, for example, to improve student achievement, address educational equity, and ensure workforce preparedness for our nation’s students. In addition to the Leader’s Guide, resources prepared by EDvancenet include presentation materials and online resources such as the EDvancenet Web site (http://www.EDvancenet.org) and the EDvancenet listserv. Furthermore, EDvancenet convenes those who work with state and local decision makers in professional development sessions that enable them to develop and practice new strategies for promoting the effective use of technology in K-12 education; become informed about emerging trends in education technology; and form mutually beneficial relationships with colleagues within their states and across the nation. EDvancenet is implemented in partnership with the Consortium for School Networking, the National School Boards Foundation and MCI WorldCom, who joined together for this initiative because of their belief that, in order to enhance statewide efforts to bring technology to our schools, it is critical to build and nurture relationships among people who have not previously worked together. Relationships not only help implement change, but also inspire and produce agents of change, who will ensure school improvement through education technology.
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