People use technology in almost every aspect of their lives.

Is it, however, appropriate for use in the

classroom? Teachers at the BS Anhs, which is located in the pfaltzland area of Germany and includes
eight military posts, had recently acquired new computers, and some had attended particular software
training seminars during the summer. Kaiserslautern is a military-based district in Germany. There are
four high schools, five middle schools, and ten primary schools in the district. The students are American
youngsters from military families that attend the schools.

Teachers were ready to incorporate a range of technologies into their classroom lesson plans, and
students were assigned assignments such as generating brochures, creating PowerPoint presentations,
and utilizing video cameras. This technological upheaval could be witnessed in practically every regular
class. As the school entered the second quarter, however, there was a gradual return to traditional
classroom education, with PowerPoint presentations, Publisher use, and video creation being phased
out. Students are still using word processing tools and working on a few technological projects here and
there, but the frenzy of technology use is ended. After the use of technology was eliminated, at-risk kids'
grades plummeted, as did their attendance in some or all classes for a few.

Over the next 12 years, the students in grades K-12 will graduate from high school, and

more occupations will be technology-based than in prior years. Even if a student wanted to work

in a fast food restaurant for the rest of his or her life, he or she would have to learn how to

operate a computerized cash register. In addition, the rising use of the Internet has brought people

together from all over the world. People in the United States are able to do business with people in

Spain via the Internet, for example. According to Kleyn-Kennedy (2001), "The unprecedented,

exponential growth of technology has changed the world as we know it, and its impact on every

aspect of society is, as of yet, impossible to measure" (as cited in Honey, 2005,

p. 8). Smith (2002) offered these thoughts on the impact of technology on the workplace: Clearly it is

now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more

other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and

on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world-using

computers, emails, networks, teleconferencing, and dynamic new software.

(p.325