Wired Educator is keeping an eye on the Presidential Candidates so you know where they stand on the issue of technology in Education.  This first report will be on promises made during the Democratic Convention.  We will follow next week with a report from the Republican Convention once it convenes. (Wired Educator will not endorse a candidate. We simply report the candidate’s platform on Tech in Ed.)

Educational Technology highlights from the Democratic Convention focus on the need for 21st Century skills. The Democrats clearly have made boosting education a top priority of their campaign. During the convention’s Keynote, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner said it best when he stated, “If you think there’s been dramatic changes in the world and in technology over the last 10 years, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”  He believes Sen. Obama understands the needs best for technology in the classroom and will deliver what is needed to our schools. Warner ended with a direct focus on education, “Look at education. If we recruit an army of new teachers and actually give our schools the resources to meet our highest standards, not only will every child in America get a fair shot, the American economy will get a shot in the arm. Whether they want to be an engineer or an electrician, every kid will be trained for the jobs of the 21st century.”

According to an NPR article, Obama calls for a new Cabinet-level position: a chief technology officer” to focus on making sure the best technology tools are being imported from the private sector and Americans are getting the needed training. The article portrays Sen. Obama as the candidate that best understands America’s future economy depends on how we have access to technology and how we empower Americans to use it. Obama embraced a plan to provide phone/Internet service to rural areas that McCain opposed.

In Barak Obama’s own words (courtesy of his website): TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION FOR A NEW GENERATION

“Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let’s set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let’s recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let’s make college more affordable, and let’s invest in scientific research, and let’s lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America.”
— Barack Obama Presidential Announcement Speech in Springfield, IL 02/10/07

At a Glance Sen. Barack Obama is an advocate to:

Ensure an open Internet.
Create a transparent and connected democracy.
Encourage a modern communications infrastructure.
Employ technology to solve our nation’s most pressing problems.
Improve America’s competitiveness.

Wired Educator’s will feature McCain’s platform on Tech in Ed after the GOP Convention.