This right is readily met thanks to rapid technological developments. Today's computers and other technological devices are cheaper and more efficient. Furthermore, the technical requirements to support the use of these devices have greatly diminished. Software need no longer reside at every access hub. Instead, it can simply reside on an active server, easily updated by the provider. Nor must the software be installed on any particular device ­ it can be accessed via many different devices. These reductions in cost and technical requirements have enabled all schools to provide educational technologies to their teachers and students. In fact, many teachers and students have devices of their own, which they can use at home and/or bring to school with them.

New standards and technologies make access even more automatic by making it possible to create content just once and then provide opportunities for multiple expression suited to the needs and desires of each individual learner. For example, the same extensible markup languate (XML) content source can be (a) displayed in a browser, (b) printed, (c) used as a source for refreshable Braille devices, or (d) spoken with high-quality, expressive synthetic speech.

Access to educational technologies has also been facilitated by a global shift in publisher practice. Although a few educational publishers still produce textbooks in print, as a whole publishers have transitioned to providing content and activities in digital form. Now schools can simply license the specific content students and teachers need to accomplish their project goals, a much more productive and cost effective solution.

Although schools and publishers were once concerned about giving up the security and predictability of the printed textbook, most have been won over by the new method for selecting, licensing, and using such materials. Standards requiring publishers to tag their content and activities with meta-data ease the location and selection of digital materials, as do the new digital libraries. A few schools are also experimenting with electronic locator and selector tools that build smart digital agents to help locate materials aligned with established local criteria. These new services hold great promise for saving time and money and preventing problems associated with the purchase or licensing of materials that are not properly aligned to established standards and local preferences. Schools can now quickly locate content from both large and custom publishers that is appropriate to the context of a lesson or project.

Of course, in 2006, students' access to educational technologies extends beyond the walls of schools and libraries. Thanks to more widespread fiber optic and broadband connections, teachers and learners can access educational materials at home. The desired content or activity can be readily accessed via desktop computer, laptop, portable handheld PC, personal digital assistant, or even a cellular phone. Teachers and learners need simply download the extensible markup language and extensible style language (XSL)­based learning materials that fit their device's requirements. None of this was very practical in 2001 when most of the content was hard wired in HTML.