CHARLESTON, W.Va.  – West Virginia Board of Education Members Lowell Johnson and William White have been named to a year-long technology task force of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE).  

Lowell and White will join other board members from other states to examine the role of technology in schools and communities and other compound issues surrounding the ever-expanding use of digital technology in K-12 education.

NASBE conducts annual study groups to provide professional development to members of state Boards of Education, set organizational direction and priorities, and inform the state education policymaking process on key issues. As members of the 2012 national technology task force, Johnson and White will meet with other state board members, researchers, and policy analysts to examine the complex issues related to crafting and implementing effective policies that fully address the effect of technology on teaching and learning under the common core state standards and identify the relationship between technology and the social and emotional health of students.

Task force members will examine and make policy recommendations on

- how to best use technology to personalize teaching and learning for all students;

- preparing students for computer-based assessments;

- increasing teachers’ skills at using technology in the classroom;

- developing students’ media literacy and sense of responsible digital citizenship;

- developing criteria to help administrators and policymakers effectively assess technology in line with the needs of their respective states.

The study group will issue a comprehensive report in October at the NASBE Annual Conference in Chicago. The group’s policy recommendations will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders including members of Congress, federal officials, governors, chief state school officers and local education policymakers.

The National Association of State Boards of Education is the only national organization giving voice and adding value to the nation's state boards of education. The nonprofit organization works to strengthen state leadership in educational policymaking, promote excellence in the education of all students, advocate equality of access to educational opportunity and assure continued citizen support for public education.

For more information, contact the Office of Communications at (304) 558-2699. 

 --The West Virginia Board of Education and the West Virginia Department of Education are committed to ensuring every student in the state is college and career ready when they graduate from a public school. What West Virginia students are learning in school exceeds national and international standards through the WVDE’s 21^st century learning plan called “Global21: Students deserve it. The world demands it.”

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