Michael J. Kelly
Georgia Institute of Technology
The school environment has not changed significantly since the middle ages. The next century, however, will see schools and education radically redefined in response to information technology. The pressure on schools will come from outside the educational community. The workplace has already adjusted to benefit from the productivity gains which are the rewards of exploiting information technology. The job market is increasingly demanding computer-literate workers. The use of educational technology in the U.S. school system is increasing; however, the rate of improvement falls far short of the requirement. While the number of computers in the schools continues to increase, there is not much evidence that their introduction is having a significant effect on curricula or how teachers teach. This needs to change quickly if the U.S. workers are to be responsive to the challenges of the global economy.
The quality of educational software is constantly improving, the cost of computers is increasingly affordable, and information is readily available via networks from a multitude of sources. The use of computers in many businesses makes computer literacy a condition for employment, and the edutainment and home use market is growing very rapidly. For the most part, however, education is unaffected by technology.
In a Hudson Institute Briefing Paper (November 28, 1989), ``Closing Educations's Technology Gap'', Lewis J. Perelman pointed out that, ``the technology gap between the school environment and the real world is growing so wide, so fast that the educational experience is at risk of becoming not merely unproductive, but utterly irrelevant to normal human existence''. In the normal course of events, the school system should be preparing the graduates to enter the workforce. There is ample evidence that employers are seeking ``ready to use graduates'' who are prepared to use computer technology which is becoming ubiquitous to the workplace. The K through 12 educational system is significantly behind the commercial and government sectors in the exploitation of technology and employers are reluctant to hire high school graduates who have neither the skills or the knowledge to adapt to an environment which is increasingly driven by information technology. Why are the schools so slow to adapt to the information age?
Schools have a natural resistance to organizational changes that may affect their insulated environment. Educational technology is an agent of change and is therefore threatening. It is evident that community leaders, school boards, legislators, school administrators (who are often far removed from the classrooms), and parents are proclaiming the values of computer technology; however, they are not the people who feel threatened. Regrettably, there has been very limited attention to the people most affected by the introduction of technology into the classroom-the teachers. Educational technology must demonstrate that it will not be an added burden to the teacher, and, in fact, will enable teachers to do a better job. It is a recognized fact that the teacher aids most readily accepted in the schools are those that make the lives of teachers easier.
``Educators acknowledge that technology can enhance learning. Students learn from multimedia software and tap into powerful data bases, they can also participate in collaborative efforts such as the National Geographic Kids Network''. In too many schools, however, ``teachers think of computers as a subject rather than as a tool to learn other subjects'' [1]. Computers can provide a whole new dimension to learning. The focus needs to change from how to teach the same things better to what needs to be learned. The student of the past was educated to work in the local village. The worker of tomorrow is in school today and must be prepared to labor in the global village. Through technology, the four walls of the classroom can expand to encompass the whole world. Like the black board, the computer must be accepted as a basic tool for all teachers. If students are to be prepared for the real world, then a computer on every desk must be the goal. First, however, the educational system needs to change so that teachers become the facilitators of learning not simply the deliverers.
``Educational technologists have tended to produce solutions designed not to aid the teachers, but to recast, recapitulate, or replace her, either with machines or through the introduction of `teacher-proof' curricula'' [2]. The generation of children who have become familiar with computers through interactive software have compounded the problem of teacher acceptance of educational technology. The teacher's lack of familiarity with computers is a source of great concern to many teachers who fear being embarrassed in front of their computer-literate students.
The commercial sector wants to push technology into the classroom. The computers exist, software is readily available and continuously improving, information highways are expanding, and the cost of access to information is constantly being reduced. So why is the educational sector not embracing learning technology? Is it the ``technology push'' constraint versus the ``product pull'' advantage? Pushing technology into the schools without first preparing the teachers to accept technology may actually result in a continuation of the culture of technology rejection. Technology will continue to proliferate, but the educational system will continue to resist its introduction until the school personnel accept the need. At that point, the teachers will begin the process of ``product pull''-requesting learning technology because it is needed rather than having it thrust upon them.
We cannot underestimate the challenge of training teachers to incorporate the computers into their classes. Most educators have no idea where to begin or what to do. Many teachers have never used a computer and cannot afford to purchase their own. History is full of good intentioned examples of technology being bestowed upon schools with inadequate teacher support. There is a great deal of very high quality educational content already available at little or no cost; yet few teachers have the desire, know-how, energy, or time to incorporate it into their lessons. Without a focused effort on teacher preparation, technology will have little effect on education. Until teachers use computers themselves, they will have a very hard time imaging what students might do with one on their desk.
There is ample evidence that providing schools with computers is not having the desired effect. Pushing technology is not the answer. The faculty and administrators in the schools are often ill-prepared to effectively introduce technology into the curricula, and they are so overburdened by the pressures of the daily routines that there is neither time nor motivation to make the necessary effort to prepare for the introduction of the technology.
The following proposal is directed at the need to increase the number of school personnel who are qualified as users of computer technology. The recommendations are designed to establish a classroom environment where the teachers continue to control the learning process, but do so with the assistance of ``learning technologist'' who, as teacher aids, are available to help students to use the hardware, software and networks that the teachers deem appropriate to the curriculum.
Practically all students in post-secondary schools use computers extensively. For all students taking technical courses, computers are tools integral to the subject. Today's college students are comfortable with computers and information technology which is not only integral to their classwork but often their home entertainment as well. It is proposed that college students be used as a primary resource to complement the teachers in the classroom who are motivated to introduce learning technology into their curriculum. This can be accomplished by establishing a program similar to the traditional co-op or community service-apprenticeship programs that already exist in many colleges. College students will be encouraged to spend one or more quarters or semesters working in a school as ``learning technologist.'' Such a program has the following advantages:
The Learning Technologist Program should provide appropriate compensation for college students who elect to enter the program. Money should be allocated at the state level to initiate the program. Many of the college students may want to go back to their home school district which could minimize their out-of-pocket costs and make them more acceptable to teachers who may welcome the assistance of their former students. Because of the obvious advantages to the business community that will receive ``ready-to-use'' new hires, companies will be motivated to support this program for good business reasons.
The Learning Technologist Program provides a professional apprenticeship opportunity to college students, closer links between high schools and colleges, a means of accelerating use of learning technologies in the school system, a cost effective enabler for related educational investments in computers for the schools, and role models for students. The program can quickly be made available through every community college, college, and university in each state.
While recognizing the difficulties in funding hardware, software, networks, and facilities associated with learning technology, it is the people preparation, which in turn leads to a ``product pull'', that will transform the educational process. While more funding is needed for educational technology, the statistics do not appear to support the conclusion that more money will improve education. Total U.S. spending on education rose from $24.7 billion in 1960 to $425billion in 1992 [3]. In a 1988 report from the U.S. Congress' Office of Technology Assessment, ``OTA found that education is the most labor-intensive business in the economy, with labor costs equal to 93%of output value, compared to 54%for all private business [4]. It appears that education might greatly benefit by giving more attention to how money is being spent rather than increasing it.
An article in the Atlanta Journal quoted a recent report prepared by the Office of Technology Assessment which found that, ``With all the investment of time and money that has gone into putting hardware and software in place in schools, students will spend most of their school day as if these tools and information resources had never been invented''[5] . ``Technology push'' has failed. ``Product pull'' will be provided by those teachers who are adequately prepared to recognize learning technology as the enabler necessary to redefine education. Only then will the educational systems be capable of producing the educated workforce capable of competing in the global economy.
The earth has to be prepared to receive the seed or there will not be a good harvest. The infrastructure must be established in the schools or the introduction of technology will bear little fruit. We must train the teachers and administrators and then reward the new ``facilitators'' with the learning technology they require. It is the ``produce pull'' paradigm that will lead to successful reorientation of the educational process from ``chalk and talk'' to active learning. When the educational environment has changed from teacher focused delivery to student focused active learning, the process of continuous learning will have been effectively instituted. The harvest will be the intelligent worker who is ultimately the primary sustainable advantage that will assure both quality work and quality of life for the nation.