In broad terms, Bill 3350 has a great impact on the state of education in Mississippi. This bill sets up a council that develops a master plan for adding technology to schools within the State. The role of this council appears to be very broad. This council develops long-range plans for the adoption and use of technology in all schools, from kindergarten through higher education as well as vocational and adult education. The council also recommends equipment and software for school administration and student records. Additionally, the council has control along with the Mississippi Educational Television authority to ensure that fiber optic cable is laid with educational technology needs in mind, as well as public and private needs.

The Council for Educational Technology also is charged with developing a master use plan for educational technology within the state. This plan should be the main drive for technology use in all schools of the State. I see this as the plan which school districts will use to devise their plans. Developing and finding the technology that will help improve the learning of Mississippi's school children is also a vital role of this council. The council is also assigned the task of developing distance learning delivery system for the state. I know that as of last month, the state was evaluating software to be used to create distance learning courses for the Community and Junior Colleges.

The council also has control of the state's technology bond funds. For a school district to be eligible for these funds, the district must create a plan of use for the technology purchased with these funds. The school district's plan must be approved by the Council. How well schools develop a plan will determine if they are given any of the funds. This should improve the technology within the schools by setting a standard for what is purchased and how it is to be used by the school districts of the state. Also the council can mandate how much money is to be spent on teacher training as well as type of software. This will all be tied back to the school district's accreditation. Poor performance can mandate how the funds are allocated for training or equipment as the council recommends.

I think that Senate Bill 3350 will have a positive impact on the teaching and learning within the State of Mississippi. I see it as "raising the bar" for technology use within the school districts by requiring a district to develop and maintain a plan of technology use. Prior to this, there were few organized efforts to help schools invest in technology and no impetus to try to keep equipment up-to-date. Additionally, there was no one to tell districts that a use of technology was good or bad. We had to rely on the honesty and/or knowledge of equipment vendors, who were the very people who made their living from our purchases.