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

Thank you, Craig. I have been secretary of education since 1993, so I asked my schedulers why we waited more than seven-and-a-half years to speak to the National Educational Computing Conference. They said they were saving the best for last, and, after the welcome I have received here, I see that they were right.

It is wonderful to be here with you. I want to thank you for working so hard to develop effective educational technology that can help students reach high standards of learning.

At the federal level, we are supporting educational technology. The federal role in education is not a controlling role; it is a supportive role. In fact, federal funding covers less than 10 percent of overall education costs, but we provide 25 percent of the funding for educational technology.

The Clinton-Gore administration has made this unprecedented investment because, like all of you, we believe that every child in 21st-century America should have access to effective educational technology and a quality education. I'm pleased to tell you about the development of an exciting new Web resource that will help in this regard, announced last week by President Clinton. The new site, www.usa.gov, will provide all Americans with a single site where they can find every online resource offered by the federal government.

The educational technology community and the administration are on the right track. There is a growing body of research on how educational technology affects student achievement, and I hope you will pick up a fact sheet at our booth that describes the research as well as a number of other education initiatives.

One study found that, on average, students who used computer-based instruction scored at the 64th percentile on achievement tests, while students in the control group without computers scored at the 50th percentile.

Another study from the Educational Testing Service found that eighth-graders who used "higher-order thinking" software showed significant gains in math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests. The eighth-graders' math scores also went up when their teachers received professional development on computers.

I know that many of you have similar stories about students who have benefited from technology, and I applaud your work because improving student performance is what educational technology is all about.

That's why I strongly support bringing the benefits of technological literacy to every child in America. And I want to take a moment to remind you of the connection between technological literacy and literacy. You may know that Linda Roberts, my adviser on technology, is going to receive an award later in the program, and I can tell you that she is very deserving of it. But what you may not know is that she is a former reading teacher.

Linda reminds me from time to time that a child can't surf the Web without knowing how to read. And there are parallels between reading and computing. For example, we help students "learn to read" so they can "read to learn." And we help students "learn to use technology" so that they can "use technology to learn."

Our efforts have made it possible for more and more students to benefit from technology. By the end of this year, nearly 100 percent of our nation's schools will be connected to the Internet. This progress is the result of your hard work and the E-Rate Program, which New York City's educational technology chief has called a "godsend."

Although the progress has been great, less than half of the classrooms in the poorest schools have Internet access. We will need to work even harder to provide equal access for students in the poorest schools. I am hopeful that with business support, federal E-Rate discounts, and committed educators and technology leaders, we will meet the challenge of closing the "digital divide" and bringing effective educational technology to all children.

But even if all classrooms are connected, students won't be connected to effective technology unless their teachers are well trained. Craig Barrett has given this a lot of thought. He has been a leading voice on the Glenn Commission, which will release a report in October on how to improve math and science teaching.

In January, Intel announced a generous investment that supports technology training for teachers. In fact, I know that just about every company represented here today has formed partnerships with schools. I think I can speak for students, parents, and teachers when I say that we are very grateful for all that you have done to bring computers and effective technology into our schools.

When he announced the Intel teacher project, Craig said, "Computers aren't magic-teachers are." At the U.S. Department of Education, we couldn't agree more. We have several initiatives that can help teachers develop their "magic" by becoming proficient in technology. We are not quite as good as the information technology industry with these catchy acronyms, anagrams, initialisms, and abbreviations, but we have come up with TLCF and PT3.

In 1997, we launched the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund, which has awarded more than $1 billion in grants for long-range, statewide technology plans. The TLCF supports professional development for teachers to help them use technology effectively in the classroom.

And in 1999, we established a program called Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology, or PT3. The PT3 programs helps education majors learn to use the new teaching and learning styles enabled by technology.

Grants from the U.S. Department of Education also support several excellent programs in which technology is making a measurable difference. One program provides laptop computers and "cyber mentors" for migrant students. And the results have been terrific. Nationwide, only 50 percent of migrant students graduate from high school. But for students in this program, the graduation rate was 100 percent, and 80 percent of those enrolled in postsecondary education.

In West Virginia, a state-run educational technology program has been in operation for 10 years. According to a recent evaluation, the West Virginia program is highly successful in equalizing opportunity for low-income and rural students. Technology contributed to a 14-point gain by fifth-graders on the Stanford 9 achievement test in 1998, and West Virginia improved from 49th to 17th among all states in fourth-grade reading.

But with the incredible advances we are seeing in technology, we know that our policies must continue to evolve as well. So we are working on a five-year "National Educational Technology Plan" that will be completed this fall. I invite you to help us articulate these goals so that we can develop the roadmap that will guide our policies and programs.

I encourage you to offer your thoughts about revising the National Educational Technology Plan on our Web site. I'll give you the address if you promise not to pull out your handheld computers and log on until after my speech. It's www.ed.gov/Technology/.

One of the areas that we will focus on is creating a teacher corps that is comfortable with computers, familiar with the up-to-date educational technology, and eager to let students make full use of technology. The teachers at this conference fit that description. You are wired for the Web, Internet-ready, and equipped with "Palm Pilot VIIs." You have everything but an "Intel Inside" sticker on your foreheads.

That is wonderful, but it is not enough. I hope you will continue to do everything you can to bring your colleagues up to speed. Everyone who is responsible for teaching children in the 21st century should know how to use the tools of the information age. We talk about the importance of making sure that every child receives a quality education. We talk about making sure that not a single child is left behind. We should think about our teachers in the same way.

So, again, I challenge you to help your colleagues develop the enormous potential of America's greatest resource-and we all know that our greatest resource is not technology, but our children.

I also have a challenge for the entrepreneurs and businessmen and -women here today. Every child learns in a different way, so I invite businesses to develop technology that can revolutionize education by helping teachers to offer individual instruction for every student.

At this conference, you can see compelling examples of assistive technologies-from tools that enable blind learners to communicate via e-mail, to speech recognition systems that allow people with disabilities to do research on the Internet. Technology can also offer opportunities for gifted students to learn at their own pace and explore advanced studies.

Most parents believe that their children are special and deserve individual instruction. And they are right. So there is a great demand for effective educational technology.

You can be sure that if you develop software that helps children learn to read, you will have parents and teachers flooding your Web site. If you design technology to improve math and science instruction, an area in which we are struggling to keep up with other nations, it could be not only a shrewd business move but also a great act of public service.

Or, if you develop technology that supports the "English Plus One" approach, which requires students to meet high academic standards in two languages, you will have parents and teachers clamoring for your products. And I can tell you that students in other countries are very eager to learn English, so there could be huge demand internationally for programs that teach English. Technology can provide more opportunities for young people to learn about other cultures and study other languages.

I recently visited a fifth-grade class with Vice President Gore, who has often taken the lead for us on educational technology issues. And a few of the students were online with students in Ethiopia. The vice president asked them what they were learning, and one of the students said, "We've learned we can be friends." Now, that's an example of a great lesson.

And it's not a trivial childhood lesson. Just last week, Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to a cease-fire in their conflict. It might be a stretch of the imagination to make a connection between educational technology and a cease-fire between these two African countries, but I can tell you that I think your work has the potential to reshape our world in the 21st century. You can help us improve achievement for all students, strengthen our work force and economy, and build cross-cultural friendship and understanding.

If we do that, we will have made a huge leap forward and accomplished something even greater than all the technological wizardry ever developed. I know that you are committed to our children, and I am grateful for your efforts to help them build a brighter future for themselves and for our nation.

Thank you very much.