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The purpose of this chapter is initially to examine the nature and characteristics of US federal policy regarding uses of technology for instruction in public elementary and secondary education. As a centering document the authors use
Transforming American Education:
Learning Powered by Technology, the US National
Educational Technology Plan 2010, issued November 9, 2010. Subsequently they use this examination to frame a discussion of policy and technology from an international perspective. A key question concerns the multiple roles of research. Thus, the authors broadly survey US federal policy on educational technology and support for research on such technology as identified in policy. This discussion is then extended to sample international viewpoints on policy, research, and practice in various nations. Included in this discussion is consideration of English as the de facto language of technology and how English dominance affects teaching and learning.