A few posts ago, I challenged readers to help me give a graduation gift — a three-month subscription to The New York Times — to two lucky students, one from my Advisory class and one from AP English.

In less than 24 hours, three generous readers — Iris, Jenni, and Denise — had funded the project, and the raffle was officially on.

Last Friday, amid quite a bit of buzz, we drew the lucky winners: Dezmond and Ramir!

Both students were extremely happy. Dezmond told me today that he can’t wait to start receiving his subscription. (I told the students that the paper would start on September 1, after they’d settled into college.)

Dezmond will be going to college in Seattle, while Ramir is heading south to Los Angeles.

Again, thank you to Iris, Jenni, and Denise. You’re providing a graduation gift that will transform my students’ lives. You’re helping them love the news and to enter a more complex world — all at a high reading level! 

Update: This project was funded in less than 24 hours! Thank you to Denise, Jenni, and Iris for your generous contributions!

Update #2: Ramir and Dezmond won! They’re both very happy. I’ll try to post more info soon.

 My students graduate on June 2 and go off to college and into the world.

I remember one of the first things I did when I got to UC Berkeley. I bought a subscription to The New York Times. I’d grown up with the San Francisco Chronicle, but I noticed that my peers had upgraded to The Times. Getting a subscription was one of the best decisions I made. Twenty years later, I still get home delivery now.

I’d like your help in giving two lucky students print subscriptions when they get to college in September.

The college student rate is $3 a week. That’s $36 for a three-month subscription. After that, the student will decide whether to extend the subscription.

The home delivery subscription will also allow the student full online access to nytimes.com.

Interested? Just click the ChipIn! button over on the right sidebar. Donate as much or as little as you want.

Thank you so much! 

 Yesterday, The New York Times ran an excellent article questioning technology’s impact on student achievement. Despite investing millions of dollars into technology, an Arizona district has found its test scores stagnant.

Writer Matt Richtel sums up what’s going on:

In a nutshell: schools are spending billions on technology, even as they cut budgets and lay off teachers, with little proof that this approach is improving basic learning.

Richtel’s reporting is sound. He describes school leaders doing their best but making shortsighted purchases. He highlights that technology can distract as much as engage. And he emphasizes that having technology alone does nothing to improve learning; rather, teachers need to know what to do with it.

Still, even if technology does not directly lead to gains in test scores, I think it’s crucial to advocate for it in schools.

1. Schools should look like the world around them. There’s WiFi at McDonald’s and at the public library. Why not in most schools?

2. Schools should challenge the digital divide. One student owns a computer while another doesn’t. The first student is completing her homework more easily and suffers from less stress.

3. Schools should teach students how to use technology, to interact with information, and to be respectful online. This is also why we shouldn’t cut school librarians.

4. Teachers should be treated as professionals. And professionals have access to technology to do their job.

While technology is important, it’s important to invest in the right technology. SMART Boards, which do little to disrupt traditional teaching, are not the same as laptops. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean we have to get it.

But figuring out “the right technology” is not an easy puzzle. After all, what’s current one day is obsolete the next. By the time a school researches a product, puts in the order, and gets the equipment installed, the gadget is old. In addition, all devices have pros and cons. Kindles are great for English class, but they’re clunky for science. iPads look beautiful, but typing on them is horrible.

My school struggles with our very limited technology budget. Sometimes, I feel like we can’t get past fixing our current computers and printers. Maybe I should be happy that we have computers and printers in the first place.

Meanwhile, my students live in a scattered technology state. They’re comfortable on Facebook but have trouble fixing a printer jam. They snap pictures and listen to music but haven’t seen a library database. They text like crazy but balk at sending a professional e-mail.

Even if technology doesn’t mean higher test scores, there’s still a lot to learn from it.