kroot presentation

Educational Technology: The Challenges Ahead: 

Educational Technology: The Challenges Ahead NYC Policy and Leadership Forum: 360 Degrees of Digital Center for Digital Education October 24, 2006 Presentation by Irwin Kroot

A Short History of Educational Technology TO 1990: 

A Short History of Educational Technology TO 1990 30,000 B.C. – First rock paintings 3000 B.C. – Papyrus used by Egyptian scribes 300 B.C. – Earliest known Babylonian counting boards 1200 A.D. – Chinese abacus 1632 – Slide rule invented by W. Oughtred (England) 1662 – First mass-produced pencils (Germany) 1809 – First blackboard used in a school in Philadelphia 1938 – First ball point pen developed by Laszlo Biro (Hungary) 1970 – Sharp introduces first battery-powered hand calculator (Japan) 1972 – HP 9830, first all-in-one desktop computer 1977 – Apple II desktop computer introduced 1981 – IBM PC introduced 1984 – Apple Macintosh introduced 1989 – NEC Ultralite, first “notebook style” computer

Educational Technology SINCE 1990: 

Educational Technology SINCE 1990 Internet/World Wide Web MP-3 players Handheld computing devices SmartBoards High quality color printing Handheld video games DVD recorders/players Digital cable television Digital cameras Digital video recorders High-resolution graphics Collaboration tools Portable digital projectors Wireless broadband Plasma TVs Multi-player internet gaming Tablet computers IM Wikis Blogs Flash drives Quick-response devices Streaming video AND MORE!

What Does All this Technology Accomplish for Education?: 

What Does All this Technology Accomplish for Education? We all cite lots of advantages: Improved academic achievement Increased student engagement Preparing students for the 21st century workforce Closing the digital divide Encouraging student teaming and increased productivity Individualized learning experiences Immediate feedback

What Does All this Technology Accomplish for Education?: 

What Does All this Technology Accomplish for Education? But the truth is, WE DON’T REALLY KNOW (at least, not beyond the level of anecdotal results)

REQUIRED READING: 

REQUIRED READING Technology in Schools: What the Research Says (report by Cisco Systems and Metiri Group) http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/education/TechnologyinSchoolsReport.pdf (released October, 2006)

What Does All this Technology Accomplish for Education?: 

What Does All this Technology Accomplish for Education? “Extracting the full learning return from a technology investment requires much more than the mere introduction of technology with software and web resources aligned with the curriculum. It requires the triangulation of content, sound principles of learning, and high-quality teaching – all of which must be aligned with assessment and accountability.”

What Does All this Technology Accomplish for Education?: 

What Does All this Technology Accomplish for Education? Technology plays transformative roles in schools that use it effectively in education: It is a learning tool for more student-centric, relevant, rigorous learning It is a data tool to inform educational and instructional decision-making It is an enabling force to ultimately help students compete in a an era of globalization that rewards entrepreneurial knowledge workers

Where Do We Stand Today?: 

Where Do We Stand Today? The vast majority of research studies into the outcomes of the use of educational technology in the classroom are correlational and descriptive, rather than rigorous analyses using treatment and control groups. As a result, we cannot reliably draw conclusions as to the efficacy of technology tools.

What is Needed?: 

What is Needed? Making the business case – identifying the replicable value proposition that can show a real return on investment – e.g. improved academic achievement increased promotion/graduation rates better attendance higher enrollment in post-graduate education

What is Needed?: 

What is Needed? It’s not enough to say that students are more engaged, even if they self-report being so. We must demonstrate the real results of that improved level of engagement.

Why Do We Care?: 

Why Do We Care? NCLB (high-stakes testing) has changed the climate for public education There is increased focus on measuring student, class, and school outcomes based on other-than high-stakes test results Technology is costly, and funds are tight Federal funding is being reduced

Key Success Factors: 

Key Success Factors Visionary leadership Quality professional development Culture change Appropriate access to technology True integration into curriculum Collaboration Consistency of use Rigorous measurement of costs and results

The Challenge?: 

The Challenge? Moving educational technology from an approach and set of tools we “believe in” to a demonstrably efficacious approach to improving student academic performance under known conditions.