CORE CONCEPTS FOR TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

Several themes came up repeatedly during the plenary, keynote, and breakout sessions. Together they form a set of core concepts, or basic advice, for schools to consider as they embark on technology implementation. These core concepts cut across all four of the major conference issues. Although some of these concepts are probably quite familiar to conference participants, who tend to be technology leaders, they are not always well understood by schools and communities throughout the nation.

The Rapid Pace of Change

Thomas Hardy, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Vivian Horner, Bell Atlantic Video Services, provided trend data that captured the rapid changes occurring in home and school technologies:

• Every 30 minutes another network is connected to the Internet.
• Nearly 8 million Americans "telecommute."
• By the year 2001, the number of Internet accounts will equal the total world population-but many people will have several accounts, while multitudes will have none.
• Last year, for the first time, Americans spent more on computers than on televisions.
• Nine of ten Iowa families say their children use computers at school.
• All media now can be converted to digital files that can be manipulated, stored, shared, and sent across networks.

To cope with these rapid changes, schools must become "nimble," as Edward McCracken suggested-flexible enough to respond to unexpected developments. Unfortunately, several participants noted, a nimble response is at odds with the nature of school organization, budgeting, and curriculum policies. Breakout sessions on professional development and infrastructure produced some recommendations for building flexibility into a school's technology program, as outlined below.

Educational Technology and School Reform

The strong, symbiotic relationship between technology and systemic school reform was another key concept of the conference. Of particular note were the reforms being carried out through the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which encourages states to develop challenging standards for student learning and prepare all students to meet these standards.

Many schools have already recognized one important link between technology and school reform; namely, that to compete successfully in the workplaces of tomorrow, students must become comfortable and competent users of technology. "Part of the reason we have technology in schools is because parents had it in their workplaces and wanted it to be part of their children's experiences," said Chris Dede of George Mason University. Toward this end, many states and school districts have incorporated learning goals for technology into their curricula, graduation requirements, or other policies.

Another, more complex relationship between technology and school reform is materializing. Educators are beginning to recognize that technology can be a vehicle for promoting school reform and spurring changes in the teaching and learning process. "How and what we teach is largely conditioned by the tools students have to solve the problem," explained Art St. George of the National Science Foundation in a breakout session. When technology is introduced into a school, teachers may find it more feasible to implement such reforms as collaborative learning (which emphasizes student teamwork), constructivist learning (which recognizes that students can actively construct their own learning experiences), and hands-on instruction (which gives students access to real-world tools).

Schools that are undertaking these kinds of innovations often find themselves thinking differently about technology than they have in the past. Instead of viewing technological literacy as an end in itself, and instead of organizing "computer classes" in self-contained labs, schools begin thinking about how to integrate technology into the overall instructional program and across all subject areas.

While some may fear that the new emphasis on high standards in core academic subjects could crowd technology out of the curriculum, nothing could be further from the truth. As Secretary Riley stressed, technology can be a potent tool for teaching content and inspiring students to achieve at high levels.

Systemic reform means aligning all components of the education system, including curriculum, technological tools, professional development, and testing policies. "We understand that technology by itself will not reform education," said Sharon Robinson, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. "But we also know that the vision of student learning that we are coalescing around cannot happen without the technology, the management of student information, professional development, and a host of options supported by technology."

Some communities are redesigning an entire school-the curriculum, physical environment, assessment practices, professional development, and community relationships-with technology at the core. "Everything is connected to everything else," explained Bruce Goldberg of BBN Systems and Technologies (paraphrasing Mary Alice White), "and all of it is greased by professional development."

One such example is the Christopher Columbus School in Union City, New Jersey, an inner-city middle school that was on the verge of being taken over by the state before undertaking a massive reform project with Bell Atlantic. Bell installed a local area network, provided each student with a 486 computer in school and another at home, and provided teachers with full support and training for computers and telecommunications. In just a few years, student mobility in the school has dropped from 50 percent to 15 percent, students are showing the best state test scores in the city, and the school is considered one of the top urban schools in the state.

No Single Formula

There is no single approach to technology implementation, the conference illustrated, and no one system or application that is perfect for all schools or districts. The technologies demonstrated by presenters and participants included the full range of video, computer, and multimedia-based options, and the software covered subjects from art history to zoology. Strategies for designing and financing a networking infrastructure also varied widely.

Investing in People

Effective use of technology ultimately depends on the knowledge and skills of the teacher, the person with the greatest impact on the classroom environment. Yet the need to prepare teachers and provide them with continuing technical support and professional development sometimes receives lower priority than hardware and infrastructure issues as schools implement educational technology.

According to some estimates, for every dollar invested in equipment, it costs at least two times as much for ongoing operational support, including technical assistance and training. Yet many school districts set aside a very small percentage of their technology budgets for operational costs relative to capital expenditures. As discussed in more detail below, models exist for using technology as a resource to strengthen and deliver professional development.

Importance of Community Involvement and Support

Another theme emerging from the conference was the need to forge partnerships among all those with a stake in educational technology. The costs of technology are substantial enough that they can be shouldered only if the public and private sectors and all levels of government work together. And the implementation challenges are great enough to require coordinated solutions from schools, parents, businesses, and community leaders.

Several speakers said that public awareness activities were needed to build a critical mass of people who support educational technology. "When communities really understand the need, they respond," said Karen Billings of Microsoft Corporation.

Persuading the public is not always an easy undertaking, however. As Richard Tkachuck, AskERIC Coordinator, noted, it is hard to sell some parents and even school board members on the kinds of innovations supported by technology because these new ways of teaching are so different from their concepts of what schooling should be about. "I have had to change my message [to the school board]," said an audience member about how she approached an uninterested school board. "Students can make the strongest argument," she added; "they can articulate how it affects their learning."

Margaret Honey, of the Center for Children and Technology, described how participants in a discussion on a teacher network "talked about the value of bringing in students to school board meetings to do demonstrations or bringing examples of student work to the school board members."

Role of the Department of Education

Over the past two years the Department of Education has strengthened federal leadership in educational technology in many ways, including establishing the Office of Educational Technology. The Department has recommended increased funding for the Star Schools program and proposed or endorsed several new programs, including state planning grants for technology, technology challenge grants, and networking demonstrations. The Department has also tried to heighten attention to technology issues in a range of federal programs with broader purposes, including the Title I program for disadvantaged children, other programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Goals 2000 legislation, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, and federally funded research. Furthermore, the Department sponsors satellite conferences, several on-line discussions on the Internet, and other support resources.

"You have to remember we started practically at zero, and now we're working up some very important resources," said Augusta Kappner, Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education. Right now, however, the Department is facing a "good news-bad news world for technology," as Linda Roberts said. Although many exciting new initiatives are taking hold, the entire federal technology effort is seriously threatened by proposed budget cuts. As Sharon Robinson advised, "We need to be good and sure of what we're doing because we're in the fight of our lives to make it happen."

Regardless of the outcome of the current budget deliberations, the federal government will not be the primary source of funding for infrastructure or technology implementation. Consequently, the Department is pursuing new ways to facilitate and coordinate state, local, and private sector technology efforts. Recognizing that states have the primary responsibility for education reform, the Department has awarded state technology planning grants and encouraged a state team approach to future planning. The Secretary is also allowing states greater flexibility in the use of federal funds through waivers of federal requirements that may interfere with state and local reform efforts.

The federal government influences educational technology through several other arenas, including telecommunications policies, the National Information Infrastructure effort, and technology research. The Department is working with other federal agencies to ensure that the needs of schools receive high priority in all these arenas and that technology policies collectively form a sensible and coherent plan.

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