Putting School Technology To the Test
October 1, 1998
- Education By the NumbersEven as the debate over the effectiveness of education technology rages, policymakers and educators are spending billions of dollars on hardware, software, and connectivity.Education How Technology Is Used State-by-StateHow technology is used may be the most important question of all, a growing body of research suggests.Education Below Full CapacityInvestments in education technology will fail to provide a return if schools lack the capacity to use it well. That capacity must be built into all levels of the education system. States and districts must take aggressive steps to plan for technology and evaluate its use. For their part, schools should have the technical support to make sure the technology functions as intended. And teachers must be given sufficient and rich opportunities to learn to use it in productive ways.Education Lessons From a Dirty RiverFor students at Lessenger Middle School, a glance at the nearby River Rouge is all it takes to gauge the health of the waterway that winds through this city. Even the littlest of observers can point to the broken beer bottles that line its eroded banks, the litter that floats alongside stray logs, and the jagged metal of a submerged car as evidence of the river's chronic pollution.Education 'Everyone Can Raise Their Hands'It's 10 p.m., and Maralee Clark's household is finally quiet. As her 8- and 10-year-old children sleep, she steals a moment to log on to the computer in her spare bedroom. At her fingertips, she finds a community of teachers with a shared interest: learning more about the standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. What connects them is Mathline, a professional development service offered by the Public Broadcasting Service.Education A Question of EffectivenessTwenty years and billions of dollars since the first personal computers were plugged into the nation's schools, policymakers and the public are finally starting to demand evidence that their investments in education technology have been worthwhile.Education A Goal in Itself or Means to an End?Almost all educators agree that schools have a responsibility to prepare students to function in a digital world. Technology is everywhere, the thinking goes, and if today's children don't know how to use it, they'll lack the skills they need for the jobs of the future.Education Teaching the BasicsWhen educators talk about using technology to teach basic academic skills, what they often have in mind is computerized "drill and practice."Education High-Tech Pathways to Better SchoolsTo a growing number of educators and policymakers, school reform without technology makes about as much sense as an Internet without computers.Education The World is Their TeacherFew of the children at A:shiwi Elementary School on this remote American Indian reservation have set foot outside their home state. But in mind and spirit, they've traveled all over the world.Education New Windows Into a Child's MindUnlocking the secrets of how children think when they're asked to solve a problem has long seemed as unrealistic as predicting the future in a crystal ball.Education The Link to Higher ScoresNew research on technology's effectiveness in teaching math appears to confirm what many educators have optimistically suspected: Computers can raise student achievement and even improve a school's climate.Education Technology as Motivational ToolZooming in on the face of fellow classmates, three members of Bob Schroeder's video communications class concentrate on holding their cameras with steady hands.Education For More Information, Press 1...For a certain group of parents, Judy Biancani's lightly tripping voice is Moon Mountain Elementary School. Announcements are part of an effort in 285 schools nationwide to increase parent involvement through a voice-messaging system called the Bridge Project. Moon Mountain teachers began using the system, which can be modified to allow parents to leave messages as well, last year.