DOCUMENT RESUME IR 019 945 ED 439 676 Valdez, Gilbert; McNabb, Mary; Foertsch, Mary; Anderson, AUTHOR Mary; Hawkes, Mark; Raack, Lenaya Computer-Based Technology and Learning: Evolving Uses and TITLE Expectations. North Central Regional Educational Lab., Oak Brook, IL. INSTITUTION Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), SPONS AGENCY Washington, DC. Programs for the Improvement of Practice. ISBN-1-929800-00-2 ISBN 1999-00-00 PUB DATE NOTE 42p. RJ96006301 CONTRACT NCREL, 1900 Spring Rd., Suite 300, Oak Brook, IL 60523-1480. AVAILABLE FROM Tel: 800-356-2735 (Toll Free); Tel: 630-571-4700; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.ncrel.org. Evaluative (142) PUB TYPE Reports MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Computer Assisted Instruction; *Computer Uses in Education; DESCRIPTORS Decision Making; Educational Development; *Educational Technology; *Elementary Secondary Education; Instructional Effectiveness Technology Role IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT To understand the value and impact of technology, one must recognize that there have been three distinct phases in technology uses and expectations: Print Automation, Expansion of Learning Opportunities, and Data-Driven Virtual Learning. This report takes an in-depth look at these three phases and, for each, addresses two important and highly interrelated questions facing educators as they try to determine the best use of (1) What evidence is there that the use of technology in K-12 settings: computer-based technology in each phase has a positive effect on learning? and (2) What significance do the findings from each phase have for educators today as they try to make technology-related decisions that have an impact on student learning? The conclusions of this report provide cumulative findings over the three phases, which are intended to help informed educators, policymakers, school administrators, school technical coordinators, and researchers make research-based decisions regarding the most beneficial approaches to technology use in K-12 education. (Contains 106 references.) (AEF) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Computer-Based Technology and Learnin: ( U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Evolving Uses and Expectations °(3 Q NCREL ti By Gilbert Valdez, Mary McNabb, Mary Foertsch, Mary Anderson, Mark Hawkes, and Lenaya Raack North Central Regional Educational laboratory BEST COPY AVAILABLE Computer-Based Technology and Learn.'_ng: Evdv'_ng Uses and Expectatons By Gilbert Valdez, Mary McNabb, Mary Foertsch, Mary Anderson, Mark Hawkes, and Lenaya Raack North Central Regional Educational Laboratory NCREL North Central Regional Educational Laboratory 3 We mdsh to achnowiledge the contnibutiono of the foRilowfing NCIEL stalff: Margaret Tinzmann, Senior Program Associate Cathy Montbriand, Program Assistant Mary Ann Larson,Administrative Assistant Melissa Chapko, Graphic Designer Christopher Sabatino, Cover Design Stephanie Blaser, Communications Coordinator NCREL North Central Regional Educational Laboratory 1900 Spring Road, Suite 300 Oak Brook, Illinois 60523-1480 (800) 356-2735 (630) 571-4700 Copyright © 1999 by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. All rights reserved. This work was produced in whole or in part with funds from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education, under contract number RJ96006301. The content does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of OERI or the Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the federal government. ISBN1-929800-00-2 4 ry Executive Summ Phase III carries with it the additional expectation of making schools more effective through the use of data-driven decision making of a much more Introduction sophisticated nature than previously expected. Ideally both teachers and students have access 7he value and use of technology in K-12th- to the data and use it to meet accountability ii grade education continues to be debated expectations. even though computer-based technology is being credited as one of the major reasons for the Summary Conclusions increased work productivity and economic suc- cess of the United States. The conclusions of this report provide cumulative findings over the three phases, which are intended The authors believe that to understand the value to help informed educators, policymakers,school and impact of technology we must recognize that administrators,school technical coordinators, and there have been three distinct phases in technology researchers make research-based decisions uses and expectations: Print Automation, regarding the most beneficial approaches to tech- Expansion of Learning Opportunities, and Data- nology use in K-12 educational settings into the Driven Virtual Learning. 21st century. Technology innovations are increas- This report takes an in-depth look at these three ing the demand for reforms in teaching and phases and, for each, addresses two very impor- learning approaches that, in turn, are having a sig- tant and highly interrelated questions facing edu- nificant impact on technology use expectations. cators as they try to determine the best use of In addition, the linkage between teachers' profes- technology in K-12 settings: sional development in appropriate uses of tech- nology and increased student achievement is 1. What evidence is there that the use of very strong. computer-based technology in each phase has a positive effect on learning? The report finds that: 2. What significance do the findings from 1. Technology offers opportunities for each phase have for educators today as learner-control, increased motivation, they try to make technology-related deci- connections to the real world, and data- sions that have an impact on student driven assessments tied to content stan- learning? dards that,when implemented systemically, enhance student achievement as mea- In Phase I, instruction was characterized by the use sured in a variety of ways, including, but of behavioral-based branching software that relied not exclusively limited to, standardized heavily on drill and practice to teach segmented achievement tests. content and/or skills. During Phase II, computers became tools for learner-centered practices rather 2. Policymakers are demanding greater than content delivery systems, helping teachers accountability for technology use, both move from largely isolated learning activities to because of resource expenditures and applications that involved working in groups. because research shows that the ability Page iii Computer-Based Technology and Learning: Evolving Uses and Expectations to use technology effectively is now The success or failure of technology necessary for all lifelong learners. involves seeing it as a valuable resource. This requires determining where it can 3. Generalizing findings from technology have the highest payoff and then matching research has been difficult because it is the design of the application with the a rapidly moving target due to changes intended purpose and learning goal. The in technology and an educational success or failure of technology-enabled vision. learning experiences often depends on whether the software design and instruc- Looking more specifically at conclusions drawn tional methods surrounding its use are across findings, we find that technology has an congruent. important role to play in K-12 education, even though it will not solve all educational problems. The success of technology depends on Technology makes learning more interactive, having significant critical access to hard- enjoyable, and customizable, and this improves ware and applications that are appropri- students' attitudes toward the subject and their ate to the learning expectations of the interest in learning. activity. Research and best practice indi- cate that one computer for every four to Minimally, for technology to play a positive role, five students is necessary if students are the following factors must be considered: to be able to use technology in a manner The success or failure of technology is that will yield significant improvements more dependent on human and contex- in learning. tual factors than on hardware or software. Teachers' perception is that computers The extent to which teachers are given have improved the climate for learning, time and access to pertinent training to especially because technology increases use computers to support learning plays student motivation in subjects for which a major role in determining whether or they use computers. not technology has a positive impact on achievement. Students of teachers with more than ten hours of training signifi- cantly outperformed students whose teachers had five or fewer hours of training. Page iv Computer-Based Technology and Learning: Evo lv g Uses and Expectations ntents C ((1» Overview 1 Phases of Technology Use 1 Print Automation 2 Phase I: Questions on instructional use 6 Expansion of Learning Opportunities 9 Phase II: Questions on instructional use 12 Data-Driven Virtual Learning Phase III: 15 Questions on instructional use 18 26 Conclusions 29 References nd Le uter- iised Techn arm ing: C (le I1 mom 411 ti llving Uses 4,11nd Ex acct Ev,o mss Of» IPv technology's progress in schools. Today, all three Overview phases are alive and wellsometimes in the mhe value and use of technology in K-12th- same school. grade education continues to be debated even though computer-based technology is Phases of Technology Use being credited as one of the major reasons for the increased work productivity and economic We believe that to understand the value and success of the United States. It would seem that impact of technology in education, we must rec- these same computers should have a similar ognize that there have been three distinct phases impact on education; yet, debate about their in the evolution of its uses and expectations: value and cost-effectiveness continues. In fact, Print Automation, Expansion of Learning the debate has grown so important that even Opportunities, and Data-Driven Virtual Learning. major television network programs, such as As described in this report, each phase has differ- Night line, and several national journals have ent definitions and measures of success. And turned a spotlight on this issue. common terms such as "word processing: "con- tent software," "programming," "student and It is worth noting that the research on technology's teacher roles," and "learning task" have different effectiveness and educational uses is sparse and, expectations and describe different learning in some cases, disappointing in quality. This is opportunities in each of the three phases. You typical, however, of any new line of inquiry, and will note that these phases are not mutually there is every reason to believe that it will exclusive, and people may be in one phase on improve in term of both quantity and quality. one variable and in a different phase on another, One reason researchers have had a difficult time even in the same building. The phases are studying technology's impact on learning is that important as a means of discussing the "main- they have been studying a moving target. Rapid stream" evolution of the use of technology for technological changes and advances in software educational purposes. development have made some findings obsolete even before they were published. Furthermore, The three phases and the list of variables are contextual factors surrounding uses of technology noted in more detail in the chart below (see have made generalizing findings difficult. pages 3-4). The content of this chart is based on the concept of engaged learning, the focus of a This paper reviews a theoretically and empirically document written by NCREL staff, Plugging In: well-grounded body of research on how technol- Choosing and Using Educational Technology ogy can promote student learning. The discus- (Jones,Valdez, Nowakowski, & Rasmussen, 1995). sion focuses on the three phases in the evolution of technology uses and expectations in schools. Effective, or engaged, learning means students Evolution as defined here should be viewed as are responsible for their own learningthey take more than a flat historical time line charting Page I Computer-Based Technology and Learning: Evolving Uses and Expectations charge and are self-regulated. Plugging In used While we hope that this report will be useful to the best research available in 1995 to define many audiences, its primary target is informed what we knew about effective learning and effec- K-12 practitioners. Readers are assumed to have tive teaching and put those conclusions into a some knowledge of current learning and teach- planning framework. Numerous states based ing research as well as a general understanding their technology grant programs on this docu- of both curriculum and technology as it presently ment and, to some extent, it provided a common exists in K-12 settings. In addition, minimal effort language with which to agree or disagree about was given to defining research methodology; the uses of technology. however, we have included a reference section that identifies the extensive review of literature No attempt has been made within this report to that provided the basis for this report. address every aspect of the chart. Rather, the focus of this paper is on how certain indicators Print Automation Phase IN. or variables have changed over time. Also, the authors recognize that the chart seems to imply Though it was not very long ago, we need to that Phase III is the most desirable state. We remind ourselves that in the 1980s personal com- would caution that schools need considerable puters and their software were quite primitive. preparation before moving to Phase III. We Early personal computers were stand-alone, desk- believe they should do so only after they provide top machines with an average of 16,000 bytes of appropriate professional development and when memory. Today many personal computers are there is sufficient high-quality technology and networked to intranets and the global Internet; connectivity to make success probable. some are portable; and most have 128,000,000 bytes of memory that process multimedia forms There are many issues involved in implementing of information. Programming for personal com- effective use of computer-based technology, and puters was unstructured, and the limitations of no single report will clarify this topic for all read- languages, such as Basic, resulted in programs ers. This report, however, will address two very that were largely sequential routines limited by important and highly interrelated questions fac- "If Then" and "Go To" statements that allowed for ing educators as they try to determine the best designing sequential branching programs primarily use of technology in K-12 settings. These ques- based upon principles of programmed instruc- tions will be answered at the end of the descrip- tion. Educational software was mostly textbooks tions of each of the three phases. presented in electronic print formats. Often the 1. What evidence is there that the use of software was short, self -contained lessons created computer-based technology in each by noneducators with unintended results, such as phase has a positive effect on learning? third-grade math software with a tenth-grade read- ing level. Teacher roles consisted of finding time 2. What significance do the findings from in the day to send students to a computer lab for each phase have for educators today drill and practice or electronic tutorials; and stu- as they try to make technology-related dent roles usually consisted of selecting predeter- decisions that have an impact on stu- mined correct answers within such programs. dent learning? 9 Page 2 Computer-Based Technology and Learning: Evolving Uses and Expectations Phases off Computer-Based Technology and Learning Phase III - Data- Phase I - Print Phase II - Expansion Driven Virtual Learning of Learning Opportunities Automation Variables Students use technology to Students use technology to Students use technology Engaged Learning organize and produce explore diverse information that automates print- Instruction resources inside and outside reports, often using multi- based practices with some Student Roles school and produce informa- media formats. increase in active hands- tion for real-world tasks. on learning. Teachers continue to use Teachers use technology to Teachers have limits on Engaged Learning technology to guide and access information, model Instruction Teacher structuring the learning engage students in self- problem solving, and due to the closed-end Roles directed learning activities. develop simulations that design of the software. They model problem solving provide greater under- The quality of learning that reflects real work but standing of how technology depends on the intended focuses on areas that are is used in the work world. learning outcomes set by otherwise difficult to teach. software developers. Learning approach is a Learning approach is indivi- Amount and quality of Engaged Learning developmental process that dual, but the outcome is collaboration is highly Instruction is enhanced by working sharing a product with dependent on the design Grouping with others inside and out- classmates. of the software. side the classroom. Content reflects national Content reflects research Content is usually focused Engaged Learning and best practices but is standards, research, and on skills and inert knowl- Standards Content best practices.Technology usually not linked to national edge with little attention Based use is aligned with standards standards. Technology use to standards or research. to enhance application of focuses on finding and content learning to real-life presenting information. situations. Conceptual integrity is impor- Conceptual integrity is Segmented skills or knowl- Engaged Learning tant; key understandings are considered important, but edge are emphasized with- Conceptual Content defined; and a variety of out conceptual connections. analysis of key under- Integrity resources and strategies are standings is usually limited. linked to integrated concepts. Students have greater oppor- Students are given oppor- Design of the software Engaged Learning tunities to access up-to-date, Content Authentic tunities to make real-world determines whether work real-world resources and connections, but because reflects real-world problems Tasks experts, especially through access to outside-building and resources. Printed the Internet and other resources is limited, true resources convey establ- telecommunication resources; real-world connectivity is ished knowledge. focus is on solving authentic superficial and forced. tasks. BEST COPY AVAILABLE Page 3 Computer-Based Technology and Learning: Evolving Uses and Expectations I OD