For just a mere $3 million dollars, the feds are going to do what decades of researchers have not been able to: tell us the best way to use technology in the classroom.  Indiana University gets the money, and by April 2009, they’re planning to tell us just how it should be done, according to an article in the Indy Star:

“IU educational technology Professor Curt Bonk, who uses collaborative tools and other Internet-based techniques with his students, expects the report to detail what approaches to technology work best in the classroom, including some that might be a major deviation from tradition.”

Just in case, you haven’t been following along, that last sentence is a code word for what Bonk calls “learner-centered approaches” in his bio on his website.  So, I can’t help but wonder what they will be researching? Is this just another opportunity to denigrate teachers for not making radical changes to their teaching methods or, as I hope, will we really get a glimpse into the variety of ways teachers are using technology, even if it may not be by adopting a particular pedagogical style?

Here’s the press release.