AB 836 would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop technology literacy standards.  The literacy standards would address utilizing state of the art learning materials, teaching computer literacy, promoting professional development and connecting our classrooms to the world.  The standards would take into account that such skills expand beyond computer operating, into the development of critical thinking skills. 

The US Department of Education will begin to require students to demonstrate technology literacy beginning in 2010-2011.  Currently, California does not have a plan to address these standards.  Without education technology standards in California, our students will fall behind. 

Although the State of California is regarded as a world leader in scientific discovery and application, with science, engineering, and technology professions accounting for 8 of the 10 fastest growing jobs, California ranks 49th in education technology use in the nation.  Technical and science education is disappearing from our K-12 system, leaving California students without a foundation for future scientific pursuits, and leaving our state without a foundation for the next generation of scientists.