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1991-09-17
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT
EDUCATION POLICY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES
JUNE 1991
EDITED BY:
Arthur D. Sheekey
July 24, 1990
INTRODUCTION
This report consists of eight papers that were prepared for two
conferences co-sponsored by the Office of Educational Research
and Improvement (OERI) in the Spring of 1990. The first five
papers were commissioned for the "1990 State Technology
Leadership Conference" conducted by the Council of
Chief State School Officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Each
provides an overview, an analysis of issues, and recommendations.
The remaining three papers resulted from a workshop on "Education
and Telecommunications Technologies" at the Annenberg School of
Communications' Washington Program.
All papers are directed at concerns of policy makers and focus on
critical issues and problems associated with the application of
new and advanced telecommunications technologies for improving
elementary and secondary education. The authors are
knowledgeable experts who draw upon recent research and policy
studies, as well as their own personal experiences in adopting
and adapting instructional technologies. Federal, state and
local policy makers should find these papers especially useful in
planning for the inevitable integration of schools and
telecommunications networks, and in identifying critical issues
associated with the application, management, financing and
governance of these alternative educational delivery systems.
(1) TECHNOLOGY AND STUDENTS AT RISK OF SCHOOL FAILURE
David W. Hornbeck begins his paper with a description of the
overall decline in the condition of poor children: economic,
non-academic, demographic and academic performances. He then
describes several practical ways of using technology, and claims:
"we have the means and the know-how" to use computers to teach
basic skills. Hornbeck observes that many "technologies are
available and they work," and, "when no satisfactory alternative
is available," they can do a satisfactory job. His five
recommendations for making use of technology to help improve the
performance and progress of at-risk youths are: monitoring
student performance, providing tracking and records of students,
identifying indicators of at-risk students, relieving teachers of
administrative burdens, and tracking individualized student
objectives.
(2) ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS
Suzanne G. Douglas and Louis Bransford provide an historical
perspective as well as up-to-date description of the technologies
which constitute the facilities necessary for offering "distance
learning." Transmission technologies, including, satellites,
fiber optics, and cables are now interdependent and readily
connected to low-cost reception technologies, which most schools
can afford. The authors provide descriptions of hardware
systems, including interactive audio and video technologies, that
lay persons should find understandable. Douglas and Bransford
emphasize systematic planning, early involvement of teachers and
the importance of a broad vision for applications of available
telecommunications technologies for transforming the nation's
educational system.
(3) POLICIES FOR EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY: A NATIONAL, STATE, AND
LOCAL AGENDA
Based on research supported by the Annenberg/CPB projects,
Richard T. Hezel urged states to develop policies to ensure the
equitable distribution of education and public service programs
offered by telecommunications. Hezel says planning at the state
level should be centralized and that states now have a host of
planning models from which to choose. Planning for a statewide
or regional network should begin with a thorough needs
assessment. States are urged to form new partnerships and
consortia, but governors and legislatures should recognize the
need for designating one agency with governance authority for
educational telecommunications. Other issues addressed by Hezel
include: management, program resources, staffing, and training
and evaluation.
(4) TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND RESTRUCTURING: SUPPORTING CHANGE OR
CREATING IT
Citing a quote from Bela Banathy, Saul Rockman reminds us that
"the current crisis in education is not a crisis of performance,
it is a crisis of vision." He provides an exceptionally good and
brief historical perspective on educational technology, reminding
readers that few if any of the technology demonstration projects
of the 60's and 70's succeeded in changing the structure of
schools or the delivery of instruction. Rockman cautions policy
makers against "technohype," which he describes as the repeated
efforts by advocates and commercial vendors to sell technology as
"the solution" for all or most educational problems. Rockman
suggests two options: to view educational technology as tools to
augment the existing system, or to recognize the full capacity of
telecommunications and interactive technologies "to create
restructuring," and in the process, transform the entire system.
Clearly, Rockman favors using technology to change the
fundamental way in which teachers teach and students learn.
(5) USING TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR
TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS: IMPLICATIONS OR STATE-LEVEL POLICY
AND PLANNING
The authors, Judson Hixson and Beau Fly Jones draw upon their
knowledge and experience in working with schools and systems
throughout the mid-west region of the nation. Their framework
for changing and improving school learning is based on five
strategic issues: (1) a recognition that schools and teachers
need to make use of a wide variety of instructional resources,
including those available from technology-based programs; (2) a
recognition that the design and delivery of instructional
programs must reflect changing demographics and needs of
individual students; (3) the need for a revised curricula and
more realistic assessment mechanisms; (4) an alteration of the
classroom environment to foster more personalized and
collaborative learning; and (5) the need to ensure linkages among
formal schools, work places, and the wider community.
Technology, they claim, could empower the teachers to communicate
with students in schools, and with other agencies, organizations
and individuals beyond school settings.
(6) THE MASS LEARNPIKE: EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMES TO
THE COMMONWEALTH
The "Mass Learnpike," a distance learning network involving the
use of 50 downlinks and some 400 schools, was launched by the
Massachusetts legislation in 1990 at a time when the state of
Massachusetts was experiencing serious declines in revenues.
Inabeth Miller, the new Executive Director of the Massachusetts
Corporation for Educational Telecommunications (MCET), describes
how a new statewide consortium got underway and how it quickly
progressed. She explains "the value in developing a positive
mythology in a organization" through the metaphor of the "Mass
Turnpike." Miller agrees with Hezel's recommendation to initiate
a statewide plan by identifying common needs and interests. And,
the critical importance of building coalitions of prospective
constituents--in this case local schools and teachers. Ms.
Miller identifies the practical and political processes, the
contacts necessary for building a new telecommunications
infrastructure, and how it can be designed to complement
both educational needs and political interests.
(7) A DEPICTION OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
This paper was prepared by Donald C. Holznagel for educators in
the Northwest region of the nation who have begun assessing
problems and issues associated with technology-delivered
educational programs in and across state boundaries. Some of the
distance education programs identified by Holznagel have been
operating successfully for more than five years. He explains
how the Northwest region is already using instructional programs
originating in other parts of the nation.
The author attributes much of the progress to rural interests and
to the availability of low-cost transmission systems (i.e.,
satellite networks). To progress further, he suggests the
establishment of a regional clearinghouse, a mechanism for
regional coordination, technical assistance research and
evaluation all of which could be assigned to Regional Education
Laboratories.
(8) TELECOMMUNICATIONS: THE CRITICAL RESOURCE FOR ACHIEVING
NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL GOALS
The final paper includes an overview summary of issues identified
as part of a workshop conducted by the Office of Educational
Research and Improvement in conjunction with the Annenberg School
of Communications' Washington Program and the Public Service
Satellite Consortium. More than twenty experts participated in
the workshop in an effort to identify and discuss critical policy
issues relating to the application of telecommunications
technologies and education.
Arthur Sheekey and Suzanne Douglas provide a context to
understanding the need to change policies and institutional
arrangements associated with formal education and the domestic
telecommunications infrastructure. Both may be outmoded. The
opportunity, according to the authors and expert consultants, is
in matching the interests and resources of educators addressing
national educational goals with those responsible for planning
and developing public and private telecommunications networks.
Telecommunications technologies, which combine fiber optics,
microwave, cable television, satellite linkages and a host of
newer and low-cost interactive and transmission devices, have
already transformed other sectors and many institutions in this
nation. We should expect technologies to have a similar effect
on schools and the delivery of education-related services in the
not-too-distant future. Educators need to participate in the
planning and development of these communications resources, and
to proposed strategies to ensure they complement, rather
than hinder, the efforts of teachers and school administrators.
To obtain a copy of this publication write to:
U.S. Department of Education
Education Information Branch
555 New Jersey Avenue N.W.
Room 300 Mail Stop 5641
Washington, DC 20208
or call (202-424-1616)
Copies are available on a FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS.
Please use reference number IS-91-989.