Tech-Savvy Is the New Street Smart

In response to technology developments during the first decade of the century, K-12 schools in the USA began to design and develop a variety of blended learning initiatives. The hope was that technology could better address the challenges related to college and career readiness in a rapidly evolving world, and to close the performance gaps between low-income students and their more privileged peers. By 2012, large urban districts began to implement one-to-one device-to-student environments at scale. Districts and educational organizations alike became concerned with the balance between legislation to restrict uses of technology and data to inform learning and the need for digital citizenship competencies for educators and students alike. This chapter reviews recent efforts and resistance against excessive legislation which could create unintended results, including fewer opportunities for underprivileged groups, and to advocate in favor of the systemic inclusion of digital citizenship imbedded in already existing curriculum.