Tech trends every school leader should know

A new generation of students with vastly different learning needs is redefining expectations for classroom instruction, and a growing emphasis on school accountability is changing the role of the school district IT leader. According to William Rust, research director for the IT research and consulting firm Gartner, there is a new digital divide occurring in schools. Whereas this divide used to refer to whether or not students had access to technology, now it concerns whether schools are using technology effectively to achieve results. Rust identified four key trends that school district chief technology officers (CTOs) should be aware of: accountability, the changing nature of learners, the accessibility of technology, and the "internal and external demands" that are now placed on ed-tech executives.