From using mobile video conferencing equipment to connect geographically isolated students to world-class educational resources, to leveraging the internet to aid in project-based learning, examples of technology's power to increase student achievement can be seen in every state in the nation, according to the State Educational Technology Directors Association's (SETDA) annual National Trends Report.

Released on April 2, the 2009 Trends Report, Focus on Technology Integration in America's Schools, identifies programs that effectively integrate technology to create robust subject-matter content, innovative curricula, ongoing professional development, and diagnostic assessments to facilitate individualized instruction.

The report highlights the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant program and focuses on how states are using those funds to increase student achievement.

"We are very excited by these promising results," said Mary Ann Wolf, executive director of SETDA. "The report can help guide education leaders and policy makers as they develop programs that will prepare our students for the global workforce. As in business, technology can help develop sustainable programs with short- and long-term academic and economic benefits."

Many of the gains shown in the report directly address the goals of President Obama and the U.S. Department of Education under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Teacher Quality Enhancement grants.

The report highlights success stories that are in line with ARRA goals in several states:

Closing the Achievement Gap in High Poverty Areas: Educators in the Three Rivers School District in Oregon are using mobile interactive video conferencing equipment to connect international students and teachers with the geographically isolated, culturally limited, and financially disadvantaged students in their district. This technology, along with other factors, has helped boost academic proficiency among fifth graders. Reading and literacy scores on the statewide assessment rose from 61.4 percent to 95 percent in one school year. In math, 86.7 percent of students met or exceeded the statewide assessment standard in 2007-08, up from 63.6 percent the previous year.

Addressing Special-Needs Students: In New Jersey, educators in the Wharton Borough School District used educational technology to help seventh grade special-education students plan and design the construction for a new bridge connecting New York and New Jersey. In this task, students examined the relationship between geometry and bridge designs. They used a variety of internet sites to identify the most common types of geometric figures that are used in the construction of bridges as well as to research other valuable information that informed their construction and design strategies. The students won first place for their bridge designs and models during the 2006 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics National Conference. The students competed without the judges' knowledge of their special math needs. Since implementing this lesson, the middle school's Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment and New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge proficiency levels have increased to the highest percentage in the district's history.