Technology — computers — is another component of education reform. The essential problem with computers is that they are not everywhere. They are expensive, and people do not have them at home because the telephone company has never offered a discount for two or three computers attached to one line like it does for telephones.
Until very recently, rich school districts and poor school districts had the same number of computers: none (see Diane Ravitch’s “The Language Police” on this issue. — Eds). The idea of spending money to buy computers for poor families was considered outrageous by many members of Congress as well as state legislators who were cutting budgets rather than increasing them.
This year there will be an estimated $2 billion available from the federal government and private foundations for computers in schools that can’t afford them. Poor districts that have to give a share of their grant to charter schools will have a larger share left to buy computers. But 25 percent of the poor children in this country still do not have access to a computer at home, and only 10 percent are linked up to the Internet.
The issue here is not whether or not technology has transformed learning everywhere it has been used. It clearly has, from small-scale laboratory experiments in hundreds of pilot projects around the country to large-scale installation of learning systems in dozens of school districts with several thousand students each. The question is how all students can gain access to advanced technologies given that many families cannot afford them even when they are given away free.
In addition, there are major questions about how many computers are needed, where they should be placed, and how they can best be used.
There are now millions of students using the Internet in school who have never seen a computer or used one at home. What is their level of proficiency? How will this change over time as more students take formal courses with computers? The move to technology can’t simply increase the digital divide between those who are already comfortable with computers and those who are not.
The issue here is that you cannot usefully replace teachers with technology, because it takes so much preparation by someone to do so (as Steve pointed out). It’s worth remembering that although this has been sold as something which “increases student engagement” through “personalized learning”, this is mostly a strawman: few people find these claims credible and persuasive, and no one who isn’t already ideologically supportive of the current trends in education reform is going to be moved by them.
Computers are essential for …
* distance learning;
* curriculum development and monitoring;
* teleconferencing and networking;
* data collection and management;
* training teachers to teach with technology;
* data analysis.
In addition, if computers are not accessible in all schools, then students in those schools cannot benefit from the many ways that they can use them for learning. For example, a study of US 5th-grade students found that students who had access to a computer used it…
The same applies when considering the impact of ICT on…
* teacher education and training;
* the role of ICT in pre-service teacher education. … under these circumstances professional development opportunities will be available only to those who have been teaching for some time.
Therefore, to maximize ICT’s potential impact on learning, access should be extended to all schools and students should be given the opportunity to use computers for learning.
* distance learning;
* curriculum development and monitoring;
* teleconferencing and networking;
* data collection and management;
* training teachers to teach with technology;
* data analysis;
It should be accessible in all schools. … then students in those schools cannot benefit from the many ways that they can use them for learning. For this reason, it is essential that access is extended to all schools so that students have an opportunity to
* assessment;
* psychological profiling of the child;
* risk assessment of the child;
* records generated by visits of the child to the school clinic or medical facilities;
* counseling of the child;
* workforce profiling of the child;
* any family assessment that is done;
* compilation and transmission of personally identifiable data on every child to other schools, the state, the federal government, and employers (electronic portfolio);
* compilation and transmission of the data needed by the state and federal government to assess accountability of teachers, administrators, schools and school districts to the system;
* compilation and transmission of the data needed by the state and federal government to assess problems and leverage corrective measures;
* overseeing, monitoring, and recording every facet of the education process.
It is easy to see technology plays a major role in the transformation of schools to systems philosophy.