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AUTHOR Lemke, Cheryl; Quinn, Bill; Zucker, Andy; Cahill, Shannon PDF

259 Pages·2012·5.47 MB·English
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DOCUMENT RESUME IR 019 558 ED 430 534 Lemke, Cheryl; Quinn, Bill; Zucker, Andy; Cahill, Shannon AUTHOR An Analysis of the Status of Education Technology TITLE Availability and Usage in the Public Schools of Virginia. Report to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Second Edition. Milken Exchange on Education Technology, Santa Monica, CA.; INSTITUTION North Central Regional Educational Lab., Oak Brook, IL.; SRI International, Menlo Park, CA. 1998-12-31 PUB DATE NOTE 285p. Tests/Questionnaires (160) Research (143) Reports PUB TYPE MF01/PC12 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Accountability; *Computer Uses in Education; Educational DESCRIPTORS Development; Educational Environment; *Educational Technology; Elementary Secondary Education; Focus Groups; *Information Technology; Internet; Interviews; Outcomes of Education; *Public Schools; Questionnaires; School Community Relationship; School Surveys; State Surveys; Tables (Data); Teacher Competencies; Teacher Surveys; Use Studies Access to Technology; Administrator Surveys; Computer Use; IDENTIFIERS Conceptual Frameworks; Site Visits; *Technology Utilization; *Virginia ABSTRACT This study was commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia to assess the status of technology availability and usage in public schools in the Commonwealth. The study used the Milken Exchange's "Seven Dimensions for Gauging Progress with Learning Technology" as a framework. The first dimension focuses on new opportunities and benefits for learners through technology; the remaining six dimensions frame the essential conditions necessary to bring the effective use of technology to all learners (i.e., learning environments, professional competency, system capacity, community The methodology for connections, technology capacity, and accountability) . the study included collection, analysis, and correlation of data from four sources: a survey of principals or designees representing school buildings; a survey of a statewide sample of teachers; on-site visits of school buildings representing all regions of the state; and focus groups and phone interviews of key constituents in the state. Results are discussed for each of the Seven Dimensions, and key findings and recommendations are outlined. Appendices include: survey, focus group, and site visit findings in text and tables; data by school division; and data collection instruments. (AEF) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** Report to the Commonwealth of Virginia An Analysis of the Status of Education Technology Availability and Usage in the Public Schools of Virginia December 31, 1998 Second Edition en G BEST COPY AVAILABLE on no ogy NCREL "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION North Central Regional Educational Laboratory CENTER (ERIC) C. Lemke This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ° Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Report to the Commonwealth of Virginia An Analysis of the Status of Education Technology Availability and Usage in the Public Schools of Virginia December 31, 1998 Second Edition Assessment Team: Cheryl Lemke, Executive Director Milken Exchange on Education Technology Dr. Bill Quinn, Senior Program Associate North Central Regional Educational Laboratory Dr. Andy Zucker, Program Manager SRI International NCREL Dr. Shannon Cahill North Central Regional Educational Laboratory Evaluation Consultant 3 Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 1 12 2. Background 17 3. Introduction to the Study 18 4. Key Findings and Recommendations 50 5. Results: A Triangulation of Data Across the Seven Dimensions 102 6. Methodology Appendices 117 A. Technical Report: Survey Findings 161 B. Technical Report: Focus Group Findings 174 C. Technical Report: Site Visit Findings 187 D. Data by School Division 215 E. Data Collection Instruments REPORT TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA Executive Summary At the forefront and basis of any plan should be that technology skills are not a luxury, they are life skills. Elementary Educator, Region 5 Nine years ago in this rural district, there was only a handful of Radio Shack TRS 80s...Now, with the assistance of state and district funding, the elementary school brought Internet access to both the school computer lab and to almost every classroom. Students begin using computers for reading instruction in kindergarten...older students exchange email correspondence with students at a school in Australia...the school leadership believes technology should be infused into all aspects of the school environment and has a strong commitment to staff development and training...For all these reasons, a small rural school in Virginia is rapidly moving into the 21g Century. The school obviously benefits from visionary leadership... Site Visit-Technical Report Look before you leap. Think it through in a systemic way and follow through DON'T PULL THE PLUG! Middle School Educator, Region 3, commenting on state technology initiatives The Commonwealth of Virginia, guided by its Six-Year Educational Technology Plan, made a significant public investment ($200 million) in school technology for 1994-1998. The spring of 1998 brought Virginia to a crossroads for education and learning technologies. Nearing the end of its Six-Year Plan, the Commonwealth halted all funding for learning technology for FY1998, while commissioning a study to "assess the status of technology availability and usage in each public school in the Commonwealth." The Virginia General Assembly, the Governor, and the Board of Education called for an assessment of the impact of the state's investment. Their intent was to gauge the Commonwealth's progress to date with school technology and the progress Virginia has yet to make in order to intelligently and thoughtfully maximize the impact of future state investments in education technology. These policy leaders posed questions about topics such as: the extent of current technology use for instruction; student technology-related outcomes; the availability of technology for instruction; the availability of technical support the inclusion of technology in the curriculum; REPORT TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 1 5 the current level of teacher preparation, including new and experienced teachers, regarding technology instruction; the availability of professional development opportunities; perceived barriers to greater technology availability and use; funding sufficiency for education technology; and the extent of support school leadership provides for technology. In compliance with a statutory requirement, a Request for Proposal (#ETS-99) was issued in July of 1998 by the Virginia Department of Education. Through a competitive bid process, the proposal was awarded to the Milken Exchange on Education Technology, a Santa Monica, California-based foundation, and its team members: SRI International, in Menlo Park, California; and the North The Chicago, Illinois. Educational Laboratory, Central Regional in Commonwealth's award to these contractors can be attributed, in part, to the team's proposal to use the Milken Exchange's Seven Dimensions for Gauging Progress with Learning Technology as a framework for the study. Dimension One focuses on new opportunities and benefits for "learners" through technology. The remaining six dimensions frame the essential conditions necessary to bring the effective use of technology to all learners. The authors of the Seven Dimensions framework contend that simply bringing computers and the Internet into classrooms will not improve student academic performance. What is required are: intelligent, selective application of how and where technology can add value; rigor in imposing the conditions that are essential to its effective use; and an understanding of the powerful role it is already playing in society and in shaping the lives of our young people. The Commonwealth's Six-Year Plan acknowledges that "infrastructure and equipment alone are not sufficient to infuse technology into instruction. Teachers must be trained, support services provided, equipment maintained, and an on- going evaluation established." The challenge is to recognize technology's potentialthen to make the hard choices and policy decisions that ensure it is responsibly and effectively used. The Seven Dimensions provides a guide for schools in making wise choices to guarantee a solid return on federal, state and local technology investments. REPORT TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 2 METHODOLOGY Data Sources: The methodology for this study included collection, analysis and correlation of Surveys from the data from four sources: a survey of principals or designees representing school 1,885 school buildings; a survey of a statewide sample of teachers; on-site visits of school buildings: 87 buildings representing all regions of the state; and focus groups and phone percent response interviews of key constituents in the state. The instrumentation for all data Over 1,300 sources was developed around the Seven Dimensions. Findings from the four teachers data sources were cross-tabulated to verify results and provide insights into the surveyed: 86 data through specific examples and quotations from educators, policymakers and percent response community members. rate Site visits in 48 A survey designed to be completed by a principal or designee was sent out to all school buildings, 1,885 school buildings in September of 1998. There was a response rate of 87 in all regions, percent At the same time, three to five teacher surveys were sent to a randomly representing selected sample of 300 schools. About 86 percent of the surveyed teachers urban, rural and responded. During the month of October, a team of trained researchers visited 48 suburban schools school buildings, representing urban, rural and suburban elementary, middle and Ten focus groups high schools in all eight regions of the state. Ten statewide focus groups were and interviews conducted statewide with educators, principals, community members, parents with key state and business and industry representatives. In addition, we conducted phone policymakers interviews with key policymakers at the state level. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The triangulation of data from the surveys, site visits and focus groups (see Section 5 of this report) resulted in the following findings across the Seven Dimensions. 1. Technology Capacity and Community Connections The researchers collected and analyzed data regarding technology capacity in "Are there adequate technologies, Virginia schools, asking the question, networks, electronic resources and support to meet the education system's learning goals?" They also investigated whether school-community partnerships that promote equitable access for all students are being formed around the technology. Finding #1 While the Commonwealth's investments in education technology am evident in schools, the level of technology access is not yet adequate to meet the education system's learning goals. In addition, there are significant disparities in student access across school dMsions and among schools within divisions. The data from this study indicates a student-to-multimedia computer ratio of 10.9 to 1, slightly lower than the national statistic of 12:1 cited by Education Week in Technology Counts '98 (Source: Market Data Retrieval). REPORT TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 3 Mean Number of Students per Computer All School Type of Computer Media Center Areas Computer Lab Class Modern Computer (PC-486 or 68.8 better or MacLCIII or better) 12.5 13.8 20.1 Multimedia Computer 105.4 10.9 20.2 30.3 Computer connected to a Local 96.9 10.7 20.4 29.0 Area Network Computer connected to the Internet by modem or high speed 9.7 56.2 30.0 19.1 line 1 Total of all instructional 55.3 5.4 10.0 15.2 computers The data from this audit's surveys support national statistics indicating that approximately 60 percent of Virginia's classrooms have at least one computer connected to the Internet Unfortunately that percentage ranges from zero in some school divisions to 100 percent in others, with suburban schools averaging 75 percent of classrooms wired while rural schools report 46 percent and urban schools 36 percent Researchers conducting site visits reported that for some schools, the state technology funds are literally 100 percent of the technology funds available to that district, while at other schools the state funds constitute barely 10 percent of the total the district was investing in learning technology. Technology access and quality of experience varies dramatically they school where attend students depending on between in Virginia. Differences between Urban, Suburban, and Rural Schools on Availability and Use of Technology for Learning and Teaching 80% 70% 60% Urban 50% El Suburban 40% 30% 0 Rural 20% 10% 0% In-school Teaching Internet in Internet in with Tech. Class Lab Support Computers REPORT TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 4 Another key issue is the level of technical support, with 47 percent of principals citing this as a significant barrier to the effective use of technology. Recommendations Addressing Finding #1: To realize a full return on the initial investment in infrastructure, the Commonwealth should consider the following: the technology la. invest funds "Staying the course," continuing to in infrastructure to assure all students adequate access to technology. Continuing to provide funding from state bonds for technologies, networks and connectivity; Establishing affordable, high-speed access to electronic resources for all schools and school divisions (e.g., state-supported backbone, aggregated purchasing for connectivity services); Establishing technical assistance models and technical support systems for school divisions and school buildings; Updating and disseminating technology guidelines or standards related to networking, facilities and connectivity. lb. Instituting a funding formula that assures equity. Studying the equity issue and revising the funding formulas for learning technology from state and federal dollars, in order to achieve equity; Allowing schools to allocate state and federal funds to establish extended hours for community access to school labs and provide technology access for students in community centers and public libraries. 2. Learners and Learning Environments Researchers investigated the impact on learners and classroom environments from the educators' perspective, asking, "Are learners in Virginia's public schools using the technology in ways that deepen their understanding of academic at the same time, advance their knowledge of the world content and, around them?" Another key research question was: "Is the learning environment designed to achieve high academic performance by students through the effective use of technology?" Finding #2 The Commonwealth's K-12 students and educators are gaining expertise in basic computer skills but generally are not yet using technology effectively to improve student learning. A teacher in Region 3 stated, "I don't think we're integrating technology into more as remediation or independent learning." instruction. We're using it Virginia's investment in learning technologies has launched schools into a REPORT TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA complex innovation cycle. Innovations often start off slow, build toward rapid change and then level off as the practice becomes prevalent All data suggest that such innovation is in the very beginning stages in Virginia. Without more leadership and vision, the return on the Commonwealth's initial investment in hardware and connectivity will never be fully realized. Both the survey and the site-visit data suggest that the majority of the time teachers spend with computers is in preparation for lessons (word processing or doing research on the Internet), followed by instructing students, checking or recording student scores, and communicating with colleagues. The consensus among teachers and administrators in the focus groups was that students can benefit from the proper use of technology, especially in terms of problem-solving, organization, research skills and taking responsibility for their own learning. Most participants, however, do not believe that they are there yet. Recommendations addressing Finding #2: Virginia is in the excellent position of having contemporary technology and Internet connectivity available to some degree in most classrooms in the state. However, as the Virginia Six-Year Plan clearly states, the schools need more than boxes and wires. Educators need innovative, educationally sound models and approaches to teaching and learning with technology that enable students to excel at academic challenges. To accomplish this, the Commonwealth should consider 2a. Providing proactive state leadership. Broadening the vision of learning technology; Translating that vision into common classroom practice with the help of state- supported models and prototypes; and providing information on research and effective practice. 2b. Translating the state vision for technology into classroom practice in all academic content areas. Establishing state initiatives that include provision of the "essential conditions" necessary to engage educators and their students in effective uses of technology in schools (equipment, software, connectivity, teacher and student training, curriculum and lesson plan development, new designs for appropriate learning, new roles for students, goals, ties learning to assessments). 2c. Linking the state's future investments to effective practice. Establishing criteria for technology funding to schools that provides incentives for such funds to be used in ways that lead to higher student performance in intellectually challenging work across the content areas; Establishing support systems for educators in key areas, including technical support, as well as support for changing curriculum and instruction to make best use of technology. REPORT TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 6 1 0

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Dec 31, 1998 Today Microsoft, Intel, Compaq, Dell and Cisco are household students don't know a time without space travel, pagers, cell phones and the.
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