| July 25, 2001
In Senate hearings today, EDC Vice President Margaret Honey called for a renewed federal commitment to providing leadership and funding for educational technology and, more broadly, for comprehensive educational improvement. "It may be time to conceive of an educational initiative on the scale of the Apollo Program or the Genome Project," Honey told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, chaired by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa.
Drawing on her more than 20 years of experience and research on educational technology, Honey—who directs EDC’s Center for Children and Technology in New York—said that educational technology had produced positive effects on student learning, particularly in mathematics, reading, and science. She also cited ways that educational technology facilitates student assessment, access to information, and teacher collaboration—all central issues in education reform. And she lauded the role the Federal Government has played in the development of model educational technology programs. "The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology has provided critical leadership in helping promote a comprehensive vision for the effective use of technology in our schools," said Honey.
"I hope you will conclude from my testimony that we are getting measurable results from educational technology, that we know what it takes to make new educational technology programs successful, and that the Federal Government must continue to provide the leadership and funding without which this progress would not have occurred," said Honey.
