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Background Paper for the Expert Panel on Educational Technology--August 31, 1998
The list of research studies on individual projects, large scale interventions, and meta-analyses on technology effectiveness is vast; a full analysis of this material is far beyond the scope of this paper. (See Appendix B and Bibliography for a partial list of resources). For the purpose of providing guidance to the Expert Panel, lessons taken from a small selection of the most significant and widely recognized of these are reviewed briefly below. These projects have already resulted in some important conclusions that need to be considered by the Expert Panel.
In a national study of technology's role in education reform, in which case studies of nine schools or projects using technology as a part of their reform efforts, Means and Olson (1995) found impacts related to content, student motivation and self-esteem, use of time, school structure, and changes in teacher roles. These findings also reflect outcomes found in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow and other long-term studies. While not all technology projects are developed or applied with a conscious eye to school reform, we suggest that any activity given the promising or exemplary designation by the Panel would go beyond "business as usual" and focus instead on supporting school reform goals. Some of the impacts of technology on school reform are noted below and form a useful list for considering factors that promising and exemplary programs should demonstrate.
Impacts on curricular change
In these cases, technology was not used to teach the same material as before. Technology was used as a stepladder to help the students learn material that was not previously thought reachable. In their research, Means and Olson (April, 1995) reported:
Teachers reported that use of software tools enabled students to go farther than previous classes had without technology in a whole variety of curriculum areas... Subthemes in the area of higher-quality work are that technology increases use of outside information sources and prompts both greater consideration of multiple perspectives and an improved understanding of audience needs. Perhaps as a result of these effects, teachers felt that use of technology enhances creativity, improves design skills and the ability to present information well, and promotes better oral communication skills.(pp.6-7)
Technology created opportunities for students to do meaningful work. The projects were designed to connect curricula studies to the "real" world. The teachers no longer needed to frame a question in such a manner that it fit the classroom setting. The questions could be more broad since technology facilitates the learning process by providing extra resources, scaffolding where help is needed, and providing new ways of organizing and displaying content and concepts.
When classroom activities are structured around long-term projects with an authentic purpose, the value of the project tasks is apparent, students are challenged by more complex content, and the so-called basic skills are dealt with in context, providing a motivation for mastering the mechanics of writing, computation, and so on... Our observations across sites provided opportunities to see the difference between learning skills and engaging in technology use as isolated academic tasks and addressing those same skills in the context of meaningful projects. Tasks that were grounded in activities that were challenging and made sense to students elicited a much greater level of student interest and understanding, as well as higher self-imposed standards for quality (Means & Olson, April 1995, pp. 1-2).
Impacts on teacher and student roles
The roles of teachers, and, symbiotically, those of their students, changed. Teachers encouraged their students take a more leading role in their own education. In his study, Becker (1998) found that teachers became "skilled in managing multiple simultaneous activities during teaching." Dwyer (1994) noted that "Teachers reported and were observed to interact differently with students - more as guides or mentors and less like lecturers."
Technology changes so fast that the teachers had to work not only to teach the classroom material but also to investigate and learn how to use new technology tools and then bring them into the classroom. However, it was not necessary that a teacher become an expert on a technology before using it. Students were amazingly adept at learning quickly, without a significant amount of guidance, if they were interested in the project and/or technology. In projects like Generation WHY students have been specifically trained and assigned to become technology resource guides for teachers.
Impacts on classroom environment
Researchers found that the nature of the classroom changed. Sheingold and Hadley (1990) observed that classrooms became more investigatory, and students were called upon to take on learning tasks requiring more higher order thinking. Cooperative skills were also emphasized. Unlike some people feared, the computer did not cause people to work separately; the reverse actually occurred. The computer facilitated the exchange of information and ideas, since they could be accomplished via a file transfer. Students were more apt to share their work and a more social environment actually arose. Means and Olson (1995) noted in their study that in 13 of 17 case studies, teachers described an increase in collaboration and more peer teaching among their students.
Impacts on student motivation
Motivation is a central part of the learning process, and technology?s impact on student motivation should not be undervalued. In study after study, enhanced motivation is listed as one of the most promising impacts of technology use. For example, in Means and Olson?s case studies of 17 teachers, 16 of the 17 teachers reported that technology increased their students? motivation level, 11 said they had observed increased self-esteem, and 5 talked about improved classroom behavior. Mastering technology-based tasks, which students know are valued in society, had a positive impact on both teachers and students, as one teacher in the study noted:
I see more confidence in the kids here...I think it?s not just computers; it?s a multitude of things, but they can do things on the computers that most of their parents can?t do and that?s very empowering and exciting for them. It?s "I can sit down and make this machine pretty much do what I want to" and there?s something about that that gives them an extra little boost of "Wow, I?m a pretty special person." Elementary school teacher, (Means and Olson, April 1995, p. 10).
Impacts when support is sustained over time
The Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) research team described the results of their ten-year study in a final report "Changing the Conversation about Teaching Learning and Technology. A Report on 10 Years of ACOT Research". The Expert Panel might consider the ACOT findings as guideposts in framing their expectations for exemplary and promising projects:
[IV. Criteria for Selection of Promising and Exemplary Practices]