Solutions Through Technology

The Need For ReformChallenges and Solutions in Educational TechnologyAlmost 30 years ago, The National Commission on Excellence in Education stated

All, regardless of race or class or economic status, are entitled to a fair chance and to the tools for developing their individual powers of mind and spirit to the utmost

The Need For ChangeDistinguish between fonts, and a transition2This promise means that all children by virtue of their own efforts, competently guided, can hope to attain the mature and informed judgment needed to secure gainful employment, and to manage their own lives, thereby serving not only their own interests but also the progress of society itself.The Need for ChangeThe Need for ChangeAfter three decades the United States is still far from that promising vision

FactsIn the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) comparison, American students ranked 21st out of 30 in science literacy among students from developed countries, and 25th out of 30 in math literacy

Facts Cont.On the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math tests, 4th graders showed no signs of progress for the first time in many years, and 8th graders tallied only modest evidence of progress.

Facts Cont.As a nation we face a national average unemployment rate of 9.6% in 2010 and first-time bachelor recipients graduating with an average student loan debt of $24,700 as of 2009

SolutionsThrough TechnologySolutionsIncreased Communication and Collaboration Online Portals Social Networks

Organizations on the web

The Cloud9InformationDatabases provide more streamlined access to information regarding students, such as strengths and weaknessesSolutionsSolutionsProvide Teachers with Alternative Tools

Accommodations for learning disabilities

Assisted listening devicesTalking calculators, spell checkers, and dictionariesAudio books and publicationAlternative keyboards

SolutionsSolutions

Technology used in the classroom can provide students with an authentic use of technology, ie. Something they will use as an adult in their profession.13The Future of Educational TechnologyThe Future of Educational TechnologyComprehensive Learning InfrastructureData System InteroperabilityNational Broadband Plan

Broadband and wireless access for everyone

Expanded access to educational digital contentPublic DomainInfrastructure

The Future of Educational TechnologySupports the three types of learning

The Future of Educational Technology

Support from Organizations

DigitalPromise "to support a comprehensive research and development program to harness the increasing capacity of advanced information and digital technologies to improve all levels of learning and education, formal and informal, in order to provide Americans with the knowledge and skills needed to compete in the global economy."National Science Foundation Cyberlearning: Transforming Education Provides funding and grantsNational Lab Network - nationwide initiative to build local communities of support that will foster ongoing collaborations among volunteers, students, STEM professionals, and educators.17ChallengesTeachers do not have the time to find and evaluate software

Computer and software training was seldom offered at convenient times

Although there were many district opportunities and on-site sessions to learn general computing skills, the generic training available was irrelevant to teachers specific needs Previous ResearchWhen we shadowed teachers and student, all but a few of the teachers in both schools used a familiar repertoire of instructional approaches (Cuban 2001).Except for the four teachers identified above, we saw little evidence of more student-centered instruction (Cuban 2001).Few fundamental changes in the dominant mode of teacher-centered instruction have occurred (Cuban 2001)Occasional to serious use of computers had marginal to no impact on established teaching practices (Cuban 2001).Most teachers in the two high schools adapt technology to fit the familiar practices of teacher-centered instruction (Cuban 2001).

18ChangesCertain policy tasks emerge as recommendations: Speed up the process of making computers readily available to each student in each classroom; increase on-demand technical support for teachers

Fundamental changes would need to be made in how schools are organized, how time is allocated, and how teachers are prepared. Hardware manufacturers, software firms, and telecommunication companies would need to improve product reliability to limit the defects in their wares, expand technical support to teachers, increase speed of Internet connection at little cost to schools, and test software on consumers prior to marketing them to district and state administrators. Cuban (2001) states,Teachers also said that they did not have enough time in the school day, much less at home, to do all of the things they were expected to do and then find time to integrate computers and other technologies in their classroom routines. (p.828)Cuban (2001) states,Teachers told us that they did not have enough time to incorporate computers into their dialing teaching. They would need hours to preview web sites; hours to locate the photos they required for the multimedia project they assigned to students hours to scan those photos into the computers and hours to take district or corporate courses to upgrade their skills. (p.828)Cuban (2001) states,What we have seen in the two high schools and in the literature on teacher turnover is that an increasing number of computer-using teachers eventually leave teaching or move on to other technical or teaching positions that provide them with more time, higher salaries, and more advanced and reliable technology. (p.828-829)teachers also said that the technology itself is unreliable and they expressed deep ambivalence about powerful machines that often broke down (Cuban 2001).

19Works CitedCuban, Larry. (2006). Frogs into princes: writings on school reform. New York: Teachers College Press, 148-158.

Cuban, L., Kirkpatrick, H. & Peck, C. (2001). High Access and Low Use of Technologies in High School Classrooms: Explaining an Apparent Paradox. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 813-834.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). 2008-09 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B: 08/09): A First Look at Recent College Graduates (NCES 2011-236).

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2011). Labor Force Statistics for the Current Population Survey.

Supporting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education: Reauthoring the Elementary and Secondary School Act. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/faq/supporting-stem.pdf

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology, Washington, D.C., 2010. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010

Valve Software. Open Doors; Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. Retrieved from http://www.learnwithportals.com/

Council of Economic Advisors. Unleashing the Potential of Educational Technology (2011). Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cea/factsheets-reports/educational-technology

National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.digitalpromise.org/about

Great Schools. Assistive technology for kids with LD: An overview. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/702-assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs?page=1

National Lab Network. Retrieved from http://www.nationallabnetwork.org/

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Elaine Bernal

Andrew Fitzgerald

Jack Opkins

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