Policymakers and educators should plan for “blended” learning environments, characterized by significant levels of teacher support and opportunities for interactions among students, as companions to technology use.Curriculum and instruction plans should enable students to use technology to create content as well as learn material and.
States, districts, and schools should favor technology designed to promote high levels of interactivity and engagement and make data available in multiple forms. Technology access policies should ensure that speedy internet connections are available. Technology access policies should aim for one-to-one computer access. The report includes several recommendations that could expand the use and impact of technology among at-risk high school youth: These disparities are compounded by the lack of access to technology in these students’ homes.” “Unfortunately, applications of technology in schools serving the most disadvantaged students are frequently compromised by the same disparities in dollars, teachers, and instructional services that typically plague these schools. “When given access to appropriate technology used in thoughtful ways, all students-regardless of their respective backgrounds-can make substantial gains in learning and technological readiness,” said Darling-Hammond, the faculty director of SCOPE. In more affluent schools, however, students tend to be immersed in more interactive environments in which material is customized based on students’ learning needs and teachers supplement instruction with technology to explain concepts, coordinate student discussion, and stimulate high-level thinking. Secondly, applications of technology in low-income schools typically involves a “drill and kill” approach in which computers take over for teachers and students are presented with information they are expected to memorize and are then tested on with multiple-choice questions. More dramatically, only 3 percent of teachers in high-poverty schools said that their students have the digital tools necessary to complete homework assignments, compared to 52 percent of teachers in more affluent schools. Because of their students’ lack of access, teachers in high-poverty schools were more than twice likely (56 percent versus 21 percent) to say that their students’ lack of access to technology was a challenge in their classrooms. First, low-income teens and students of color are noticeably less likely to own computers and use the internet than their peers. The report, Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students’ Learning, also identifies significant disparities in technology access and implementation between affluent and low-income schools. 
Specifically, it identifies three important components to successfully using technology with at-risk students: interactive learning, use of technology to explore and create rather than to “drill and kill,” and the right blend of teachers and technology. Zielezinski, the report is based on a review of more than 70 recent research studies and provides concrete examples of classroom environments in which technology has made a positive difference in the learning outcomes of students at risk of failing courses and dropping out. Written by Professors Linda Darling-Hammond and Shelley Goldman at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and doctoral student Molly B. Instead, strong gains in achievement occur by pairing technology with classroom teachers who provide real-time support and encouragement to underserved students.” “It also underscores that replacing teachers with technology is not a successful formula. “This report makes clear that districts must have a plan in place for how they will use technology before they make a purchase,” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. As school districts around the country consider investments in technology in an effort to improve student outcomes, a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) finds that technology - when implemented properly -can produce significant gains in student achievement and boost engagement, particularly among students most at risk.
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