Transformation takes more than technology.

• Author: Kavanagh, Shayne
• Position: Government 2.0: Using Technology to Improve Education, Cut Red Tape, Reduce Gridlock, and Enhance Democracy - Book Review

Government 2.0: Using Technology to Improve Education, Cut Red Tape, Reduce Gridlock, and Enhance Democracy

Published by Rowman and Littlefield Publishers rowmanlittlefield.com 2005; 304 pages, $27.95

In Government 2.0: Using Technology to Improve Education, Cut Red Tape, Reduce Gridlock, and Enhance Democracy, government reform expert William Eggers provides a wide-ranging examination of how technology can be used to enhance the public service. While the book does include a wealth of illustrative case studies, it is more than just a survey of the latest technologies. Eggers describes how government must change its thinking to make the most of technology.

Education, regulation, and government transparency, Eggers argues, can all be transformed by the combination of modern technology and imagination. For example, in the field of education, computers in classrooms have commonly served as an extension of traditional teaching methods. However, e-learning could radically transform the educational experience by providing customized content, self-paced learning, the ability to tailor teaching methods to individual students' aptitudes, and greater opportunity for parental involvement in the education of their children. For this to occur, however, many traditional concepts of education have to be reconsidered.

Eggers points to the Department of Defense as a prime example of a government agency that has transformed itself using technology. The Pentagon's Total Information Awareness program, for example, sought to provide military personnel with real-time access to actionable battlefield information. This led to unparalleled levels of coordination, lifting the so-called "fog of war" and contributing to the Pentagon's tremendous military successes in the first Gulf War. Eggers describes a number of other examples of government agencies that have made important...