Some Florida classrooms are taking advantage of technology that allows them to share--in real time--the same lesson with students in other schools while the students of both classes interact with each other.

Approximately 14 percent of the classrooms in the Broward County School District have been outfitted with whiteboards and interactive software that make this kind of sharing possible. "Today's students are digital natives," said Superintendent James Notter. "We are absolutely modifying learning to our student's world."

"The 21st-century technology makes lessons such as history and math accessible to the Nintendo Wii generation," said Principal James Griffin. In addition, some of the schools in the district are comprised of students from low-income families. Said Griffin, "...the technology can expand students' worlds beyond their neighborhoods and expose them to people from different backgrounds--in classrooms across the county or across the Atlantic Ocean." Students have shared lessons with schools across town as well as a class in England.

And it's not just the students who benefit. Teachers learn from colleagues outside their schools and pick up different techniques they can use in their own classrooms.

I view this as essentially positive. I'm a firm believer that learning should be interesting and pertinent. As technology develops, we should integrate it into the classrooms so that students feel relevant. Last week's blog spoke to the dangers of over-emphasizing technology. I believe that whiteboards, both alone and with interactive software, keep learning relevant, as they are so versatile. As I said before, this trend drives our commitment to keep our resources current, as is evidenced by our investment in making all our leveled books, worksheets, quizzes, and graphic organizers projectable for use on interactive and non-interactive whiteboards.