A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

I. Key Facts

• Technology provides a new learning medium. Students are learning to gather information, organize their thinking, revise their work, collaborate on projects with others, and present knowledge to audiences.

• Administrators give computer learning high marks. In a study conducted among educational administrators, two-thirds reported a broad range of improvement in student grades and performance. More than half said student performance improved between 5 and 15 percent, while 40 percent said the improvement ranged from 16 to more than 50 percent.

• Schools are recognizing the merits of online learning. Sixty-seven percent of public schools have plans to implement or upgrade a wide area computer network.

Areas that Need Attention. Too many schools have yet to reap the full benefits of technology. In the information age, we still have schools that were designed for the factory age. In classrooms that could be modern communication centers for learning, the basic tools of instruction continue to be the blackboard and chalk. Only a handful of schools have access to the new technologies that are becoming central to our lives. Indeed, many schools have less technology than the neighborhood grocery store.

• Internet access is very limited. Only three percent of the nation's public school classrooms have access to the Internet.

• Teachers need training with the new technologies. For schools to take advantage of technology, teachers must have more time and opportunity to integrate it into the curriculum. The Congressional Office of Technology Assessment found that a majority of teachers feel inadequately trained to use technology and are not aware of how technology can improve learning or help them do their jobs better.

• Funding is a major barrier. Lack of funding is the most often cited reason for failure to get up-to-date telecommunications in schools. While the Information Superhighway is on the front pages of daily newspapers, lack of funds keeps schools from building their on-ramps. Communities should get involved in deciding how best to pay for technology in schools.

• Poor resource planning is common. Even when schools have the resources to spend on technology, they often hurry to buy equipment without sufficient planning and without investing in training and support.

II. Ten Things You Can Do To Make Technology More Available

1. Families: Encourage your school to provide access to the computer lab after school and on weekends.

2. Families and community organizations: Explore options for the use of technology in the schools and in the home, such as take-home personal computers from schools and libraries.

3. Families, community groups, religious organizations, and businesses: Develop a technology plan for your school that explores how technology can support students, teachers, and administrators. Talk with local cable, telecommunications, and wireless companies about ways to improve technical facilities at your local school, including telephones in the classrooms, e-mail linkages across the building, and free or low-cost modem access between school and home.

4. Schools: Work with local businesses to set up a voice-mail system and homework hotlines to help parents communicate with teachers and principals.

5. Schools: Make the use of technology and computers a learning priority at every grade level. Provide opportunities for teachers with computers to demonstrate how technology can be applied to classroom teaching and learning. Work with local community colleges or technical schools to offer professional development opportunities for teachers using online materials and online discussions. Allow time for technology-literate teachers to help their other colleagues. Invite families to visit the classroom while students are using the computers. Offer Saturday family and senior citizen computer classes taught by students and teachers.

6. Schools: Set up a local area network in your school to share information about useful software and send home ideas for family-student learning. Set up a computer lending library so families can borrow computers and software. Ask parents who are computer literate to work with families who want to learn about technology.

7. Community groups, libraries, and religious organizations: Establish computer labs in neighborhood centers. Offer family classes on computing. Encourage students, families, and teachers to access the World Wide Web through your local library or via online services at home, and build relationships with pen pals in other communities or countries.

8. Community groups and businesses: Explore ways that technology can be used to enhance learning for children with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, and other students with special needs.

9. Businesses: Establish a computer donation and upgrading program for schools and low-income families. Assist schools directly by supplying used, no-cost, or low-cost computers and software, modems, and training and support to help teachers use technology in the classroom.

10. Businesses: Act as an online mentor to students, parents, teachers, and community members who are exploring the best ways to use new technology for learning. If you use the Internet, help teachers learn how they and their students can use it, too.

III. Where To Go for More Help

ORGANIZATIONS

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
1787 Agate St.
Eugene, OR 97403-1923
1-800-336-5191 or 503-346-4414.

Educational Resources Information Clearinghouses (ERIC)
ACCESS ERIC
1600 Research Blvd.
Rockville, MD 20850-3172
1-800-LET-ERIC
AskERIC (askeric@ericir.syr.edu)

The National Parent Information Network
ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education
University of Illinois
805 W. Pennsylvania Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801-4897
1-800-583-4135 or 217-333-1386

The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education Projects
The Ohio State University
1929 Kenny Road
Columbus, OH 43210-1079
614-292-1373

ONLINE RESOURCES

Videos available for two-week loans by calling 1-800-USA-Learn:

Satellite Town Meeting #16
October 18, 1994
"Learning On-line: Education and the Information Super Highway"

Satellite Town Meeting #7
October 19, 1993
"New Technology: Transforming Education"

Funding is available to communities that want to use powerful new technologies to improve learning. Challenge Grants for Technology in Education are available, and the Star Schools program offers grants that create telecommunications partnerships. For information about these programs, see Need Financial Assistance? Your Schools May Qualify For Funding.
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