A new generation of students with vastly different learning needs is redefining expectations for classroom instruction, and a growing emphasis on school accountability is changing the role of the school district IT leader: These were two of the main ideas outlined in a Dec. 10 webcast from the Consortium of School Networking titled "Major Technology Trends that School District CTOs Must Know."

According to William Rust, research director for the IT research and consulting firm Gartner, there is a new digital divide occurring in schools. Whereas this divide used to refer to whether or not students had access to technology, now it concerns whether schools are using technology effectively to achieve results.

Rust identified four key trends that school district chief technology officers (CTOs) should be aware of: accountability, the changing nature of learners, the accessibility of technology, and the "internal and external demands" that are now placed on ed-tech executives.

"If CTOs are thinking about these four factors and how they can keep up with these changes, they'll stay ahead of the divide," he said.

Regarding the changing nature of learners, Gartner believes that so-called "digital natives" will demand, and need, new types of learning experiences.

Citing a report by Ian Jukes and Anita Dose of the InfoSavvy Group, Rust said digital native learners prefer (1) receiving information quickly and from multiple resources; (2) parallel processing and multitasking; (3) processing pictures, sounds, and video before text; (4) random access to hyperlinked multimedia information; and (5) interacting and networking simultaneously with many others.

"The biggest shift we're seeing right now is student preference shifting from print to digital resources," Rust noted. "It's all about the web."

As for accountability, Rust explained that No Child Left Behind's extensive data tracking and reporting requirements have prompted the use of robust student information systems and data-warehousing strategies in schools. Now, the next logical step will be to apply this same degree of scrutiny to schools' financial data, Gartner believes.

Soon "NCLB will be on steroids," Rust predicted, and will extend to a school district's fiscal reporting, holding educators accountable for their purchases and spending.

The greater accountability ushered in under NCLB has changed the internal and external demands on school district CTOs, Rust said--especially with regard to storing data and granting access privileges. Whereas data once were locked away and stored forensically, he explained, now they are made available to teachers, parents, and staff.

And technology's broad accessibility, Gartner believes, is changing the paradigm for how students receive instruction. Like the growing trend of telecommuting to work, Rust predicted, virtual and distance education soon will trump the delivery of instruction via brick-and-mortar classrooms.