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Assessing the Value of Education Technology

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Assessing the Value of Education Technology

Notes from the 5/28/98 Policy and Best Practice Roundtable Series

Table of Contents

Contributors
I) The Questions
II) The Functions of Schools
III) Categorizing the Benefits of Technology in Education
IV) Objectives, Activity, and Benefits: The Chart

Contributors

The following material is a work in progress. Steve Miller has been the primary author, but the ideas were developed through group meetings among the following:

Joy Buhler (Hudson Public Schools)
John DeStefano (Bell Atlantic)
Stan Diamond (Mass Networks)
Barbara Dunham (Sharon School Department)
Marilyn Gardner (Mass Communications College)
Michael Goldstein (Dept. of Ed.)
Walter Haney (Boston College)
Dan Kehoe (BEST)
Ann Koufman (Brookline Public Schools)
John LeBaron (U.Mass Lowell)
Chris Martes (Medfield Public Schools, MASS-TTF)
Steve Miller (Mass Networks)
Greg Nadeau (Dept. of Ed.)
Liz Pape (Virtual H.S./Hudson)
Will Reed (Dept. of Ed.)
Barbara Selvitella (Newton Public Schools)
Katie Spinos (Newton Public Schools)
Isa Zimmerman (Acton-Boxborough Regional)

I) The Questions

This Roundtable was originally formed to respond to three questions:

1) What does the use of technology contribute that wouldn’t otherwise be possible, or that is simply better than what would otherwise be possible? And what evidence do we have to support our statements?

2) How do the benefits available from the use of education technology map into the most important educational outcome priorities? Are these central to the entire mission of the education system, or are they simply nice but marginal extras?

3) Is this the most cost-effective and do-able method of achieving these benefits?

The term "technology" is very broad. Our focus was on digital, on-line, computer-mediated technology. This means that some kinds of distance learning activities (i.e. using satellite-based video, cable, or VCRs) and other technology tools were generally outside our current range of discussion. But even within our more narrow focus, we felt that this kind of evaluative information was needed both to help us justify the funds we were requesting for investment in technology and to help us know when we are succeeding at achieving our own goals.

Our first step was to begin to define what we saw as the major benefits -- other than test scores (improvement in which are notoriously difficult to ascribe to any single input) -- that we think technology provides along with the types of technology that provides those benefits. This evolving report summarizes the current status of our discussions.

II) The Function of Schools

Southwest Airlines says that it "hires attitude and trains for skills." The technology and business practices it uses change so frequently that they no longer assume that their new hires will come ready to start work. Of course, they expect some basic level of competence – and schools hear loud complaints about graduates’ lack of these skills -- but companies are just as interested in the "type" of person, her willingness and ability to deal with the constant stream of new problems that challenge today’s workforce.

Therefore, a single-minded focus on facts, or even on academic skills, is not in the best interest of students, schools, or society. In the business world, it is a commonplace that people who single-mindedly set out to increase profits by cutting costs are often disappointed by the other consequences of their success; while people who set out to improve quality and service often not only succeed at those goals but also find their profits going up. In this vein, perhaps it is best to describe schools as having three functions, success at which will probably have the added benefit of raising test scores:

Nurturing: promoting the healthy development of individual personalities, encouraging students to be self-confident, curious, and enthusiastic. This is most clear in the pre-K and early elementary years, when the teacher obviously serves as a supplementary parent. But it is equally, even if more subtly, true in secondary and higher education when the most fortunate students find an inspirational mentor who helps them grow into adulthood. While this is a "high touch" function, technology can play a role by facilitating mentoring, providing positive feedback, and by helping motivate students.

Socialization: teaching children to work with others, to understand society’s rules and expectations, to internalize cultural myths and practical realities. Alvin Tofler called this the "covert curriculum" of showing up on time, obeying orders, and doing boringly routinized work. For low wage workers, this may still be all that future employers want from them, although even many of these jobs now require functional literacy of various kinds. But for the upper half of the workforce, the changing economy requires new skills. Information technology can play a role in helping young people learn how to organize themselves, coordinate their efforts, mobilize resources, deal with real problems, and communicate with others.

Mastery of Domain (Profession): teaching the facts, theories, methods of research, and other practices of various disciplines, from math to history, from metal working to architecture. In the past, the emphasis was on memorizing content: factology. Today, there is increased emphasis on knowing how to learn; what is traditionally called research and is now referred to as "inquiry-based" or "project-oriented" or "problem-solving" education: knowing how to find facts, evaluate them, integrate them into a meaningful answer, and then present this information to others. This is where computer networks -- as well as stand-alone media -- have been most frequently applied, often to good effect. Ironically, MCAS has focused attention on the content standards aspect of the Mass. Curriculum Frameworks rather than on its call for new instructional methods.

III) Categorizing the Benefits of Technology in Education

Nearly five years ago, the original Mass Ed On-Line state planning documents talked about three major areas in which technology can help the education process:

* Learning Opportunities;
* Professional Development;
* Administrative Efficiency.
In 1997 the Milikin Family Foundation’s Education Exchange described five new "learning goals" that schools needed to help students develop in order to be prepared for the 21st century, high-tech world. These mostly relate to the kinds of expanded "learning opportunities" mentioned by the MEOL documents. But they also provide insight on the kind of Professional Development that needs to be provided -- both its instructional methods and the skills participants should gain. Significantly, all of the following "learning goals" relate to skills developed via the instructional process itself rather than to any specific set of "subject area facts."

* Learn independently, accessing all appropriate resources.
* Navigate, evaluate, and organize information.
* Work collaboratively across distance and time.
* Solve unstructured problems using technology as a tool.
* Communicate about complex problems using all available media.

In our Roundtable discussions of what, beyond higher test scores, technology can contribute to the education process, we came up with seven major objectives that can be achieved through technology-supported activity. Complicating the categorization is the fact that the use of the tool alone is seldom enough to achieve the objective. Success comes when tool use is guided by a larger vision and when it is used within a coherent set of activities, many of which may not require technology. Furthermore, depending on the type of activity and the context in which it is being used, the same tool can be used to achieve several different objectives and several tools can be used to achieve the same objective.

1) IMPROVEMENTS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING: These are the uses of technology that enrich the learning experience without radically altering the traditional structure of the classroom or school. These are, in fact, the ways that most teachers use technology. The activities include expanding the available reference resources by using the Internet or CD-ROM encyclopedias for research; using word processors to facilitate the development of writing skills; using spreadsheets and graphing calculators to analyze data; etc.

2) RESTRUCTURING OF TEACHING AND LEARNING: These are the uses of technology to facilitate a basic change in the relationship between teacher and student, among students, and in the learning process. It includes all of the "improvements" but changes the context of their use. It also includes breaking out of the time and space constraints of the traditional classroom by setting up virtual teams or courses; giving students access to wider range of mentors who supplement the teacher’s role; paying more attention to communication and group leadership skills in the context of student-directed and more individualized approach to gaining subject mastery.

3) SCHOOL-TO-CAREER CONNECTIONS: These are the uses of technology intended to give students the skills needed to secure employment -- the work habits, social skills, technical literacy, as well as the traditional 3-Rs. It also includes using technology in the context of other efforts to facilitate cooperation between the school and employers.

4) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: These are the ways that technology can help educators learn about implementing new content standards and instructional approaches, helping educators grow professionally and providing support for the many challenges educators face.

5) PUBLIC SERVICE: These are the ways that technology can be used to connect the school to the community, using the school as an institutional resource for parent involvement and general adult education, for supporting families, for helping nonprofit and civic activity, and for building a supportive constituency for the school’s continued investment in technology.

6) INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION: This is the educational version of business productivity, including using technology to reduce paperwork, increase efficiency, make data more easily and quickly available to greater numbers of people, and improve the ability to learn from data trends.

7) STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION: Improving the school’s communication with the outside world, particularly parents, local decision-makers, and the media.

IV) Objectives, Activity, and Benefits: The Chart

We have found the following chart to be a crude but useful method of categorizing our thoughts. Obviously, there is much more to be added and probably better ways to express or organize what we already have.

1) Objective: Improvements in Teaching and Learning

2) Objective: Restructuring of Teaching and Learning

3) Objective: School-to-Career Connections

4) Objective: Professional Development

5) Objective: Community Service

6) Objective: Internal Administration

7) Objective: Stakeholder Outreach