Opinion

Thanks to technology, we’re watching a revolution happen in education right now. From the explosion in popularity of language learning apps like Mindsnacks to the media furor about the rise of massive open online courses, companies are being built around the idea that technology can radically reshape our relationship with education.

As much as I love the revolutionary potential of technology in education, I understand why some of those who care about public education and public universities worry about privatization and plunder.

During my eight years as a teacher and education consultant, I have seen an acceleration in the digital shift in education. When I began in 2005 at age 23, it was at the beginning of Web 2.0. My students weren’t yet posting status updates on Facebook; nor were they tweeting, sharing videos or bringing smartphones to class. Boy, were things about to change.

The best American K12 schools, many of them in the New York City metro area, are fully competitive with their peers around the world, even in math and science—though experts often tell us otherwise.

Over the past decade, the United States has spent upwards of $100 billion on K12 classroom technology to no discernible effect. The reason is clear: most education technology in use in K12 classrooms is not integrated into core instruction, and thus offers limited educational value.

By all rights, Wendy Chaves' Algebra II class should be a zoo. Yet Chaves has never felt more effective. Why? Her 48 students are all on laptops, working through lessons in Compass Learning, Virtual Nerd and Revolution Prep that Chaves has assigned. "The kids," she says, "are engaged."

Digital currency company Bitcoin has been generating buzz—some would say hype—for a while; in the last few months there’s been talk about Bitcoin ATMs, bubbles, ecosystems, miners, and more. But no one has addressed something about Bitcoin that seems obvious in hindsight: What about its effects on teaching kids to count? How will a generation of kids that grows up on Bitcoin, or some future iteration of digital currency that eventually becomes the norm, learn math?

In 2012, education technology firms attracted $1.1 billion from venture capitalists, angel investors, corporations, and private equity—an order of magnitude more than the industry was pulling in 2002. But will the rush of cash translate into a radically transformed education landscape?

Technology has changed lives in a number of meaningful ways. Unfortunately, the U.S. education system is a decade late on entering the new century. It must catch up, and quickly, to ensure that all students—especially low-income students and students of color—graduate from high school ready for college and a career.

Many of us in today’s workforce had help from parents, teachers, mentors or peers in identifying what we wanted to become and getting started in our careers. Today’s students need the same kind of assistance to become the backbone of tomorrow’s workforce and our future leaders. The robotics competition can help.