Speak Up 2009: Creating Our Future: Students Speak Up about their Vision for 21st Learning article

I found this article very interesting, because it reports evidence from the results of  the Speak Up 2009 surveys for K-12 students, teachers, and parents that in order to keep our nation from falling behind in the world, we must educate our students not from the familiar lecture, note-taking, paper test route, BUT by utilizing the vast innovations we possess.  Our nation's children have been exposed to and therefore, are adept at using "communication and collaboration tools",  These tools need to be used by teachers to create meaningful projects and assignments that students would be interested in doing.
What really jumped out at me was the image of a classroom where students could freely use the internet via classroom computers or their ipods that have internet capability.  Having students being able to use these devices is such a 180 degree turn around.  I like the idea of students learning by working cooperatively or independently on these devices as they are the "tools" of our world.  As long as students can focus on their work and not wander to unrelated topics or "unsafe" sites, this should be a most productive endeavor for our country.