EMBRACING CHANGE

Keynote Address
Edward R. McCracken
President and CEO
Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Chairman
National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council

"The coming revolution of the information highway will change business, how we work, how we get our health care, how we entertain ourselves, and most importantly how we educate both ourselves and our children," said Edward McCracken.

In the technology industry, "the long term is stamped out; five years down the line is unthinkable," said McCracken. This rapid pace of change means that a technology that costs too much today for a school might be affordable very soon. Now is time for schools to start planning, he recommended.

McCracken predicted that interactive television will become the dominant mode of delivering education for children and adults, because it is ubiquitous, easier to use than computers, less expensive, and less intimidating. But schools must be flexible, because "we don't really know what technology is going to win yet."

Access to educational technology can offset high student-teacher ratios, bring powerful resources and interactions to students, engage their interest in learning, and improve schools' administrative efficiency. For example, McCracken said, the Cityspace project in San Francisco constructs a "virtual city" that connects students to real museums; the Earth Vision project sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency trains students to conduct environmental resource studies using high performance computers.

The National Information Infrastructure (NII) Advisory Council, which McCracken chairs, has adopted the principle that information highways should be delivered to all educational institutions by the year 2000. McCracken shared several observations about achieving this goal.

First, he said, schools must adapt to the atmosphere of constant change surrounding technology and learn to "thrive on chaos," as Silicon Graphics and similar businesses have done.

Second, he said, the children from technologically advanced families-the "taffies"-will have major social and professional advantages over other children, and it will be up to schools to help level the playing field by becoming centers of access for the children who lack these advantages.

Third, he underscored the need for further study on such tough NII-related issues as high demand, intellectual property rights, and privacy.

Fourth, McCracken recommended that before introducing technology on a broad basis, schools and districts should first create a framework for overall education reform that looks at such issues as professional development, technical support for teachers, and assessment policies.

Educators will have to come together with business to make school access to the NII a reality, he said. What can business do? "We will work with you to jump-start community access, we will start a dialogue with the stakeholders, and we will make suggestions about how people can access the highway through schools and libraries," McCracken said. Businesses can also suggest paths for appropriate adoption to schools and help train educators to use technology.

"The NII Advisory Council is poised to help," he added, noting that the Council can help find funders, spark activity among content providers, and highlight beacon projects.

McCracken urged conference participants to serve as catalysts for educational technology in their local communities. "Dissolve some of the myths" surrounding technology, he said. "Show what it can be used for. Form partnerships with business leaders, parents, and other concerned citizens."

[First Keynote Address][Third Keynote Address]