In the report, Sustainable America, the PCSD states that technological innovation is changing the ways in which Americans live, work, produce, and consume and refers to concerns of the U.S. Department of Education that technology is changing everywhere except in our classrooms.  According to the report, while society is being transformed through communication technologies and access to them, the application of this technology is lagging in the classroom.

According to the report, knowledge has become the economy's most important resource.  Because knowledge is rapidly changing and increasing, students and citizens need to know how to access and manage this vast information base.  Many traditional teaching methods have become outmoded and leave students unprepared for their role in society.

Public policy, reflected in government and private initiatives to increase access to the Internet, reflects the recognition that use of communication technologies has become a cost effective and efficient means of providing unlimited information to learners of all ages.  These include programs to increase Internet access in rural and undeserved communities and to ensure that all public schools are wired for the Internet.

Since Sputnik in 1957, hundreds of men and women and countless electronic eyes have looked back at Earth, to capture images that reveal effects of human activity on the Earth's natural systems.  Technology has become an important tool for monitoring and communicating about natural resources, environmental quality, and human impact on the environment.  Students must learn to interpret this technological information. For example, GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, is a computer-based tool that integrates common database operations with visualization and geographic analysis through mapping.   It can serve as a valuable aid in a wide range of public and private enterprises for explaining events, predicting outcomes, and planning strategies.   

In the future, multi-media, interactive and computer-aided education products that allow students to use the Internet will increase.  But students must first learn to use it.  Teachers need to be well trained in order to use and teach the effective applications of technology.  A major need affecting technology use in the classroom is the ability to analyze and select from the vast amount of information produced. Another challenge is that teachers cannot possibly keep up with the ever-changing and extensive material available on line. Consequently, teachers are often no longer the experts in the classroom.  Student knowledge of technology often exceeds that of the teacher.

The Mendocino Unified School District on California's north coast is a model program in which technology is integrated with curriculum in a meaningful way.  Access to the Internet complements Mendocino's primary goal of creating a learning community that provides opportunities for students and teachers to become lifelong learners.  The school district has provided equipment and training and developed policy and a curriculum geared towards:

• increasing the excitement of and love for learning