LearnLink Technical Advisory Group 1998 Meeting

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Evaluating the Impact of New Technologies on
Education Systems.
Are the Costly Investments in Educational
Technology Making a Difference in Teaching
Learning?
Eric Rusten (erusten_at_aed.org)The Academy for
Educational Development, LearnLinkhttp//www.ltne
t.org
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The Nature of the Beast!
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Educations Challenge!

• Quality, Equity Access
• Learner-Centered
• Higher-Order Cognitive Skills
• Inquiry, Research Analysis

• Reflective Learning Creativity
• Relevancy Employability
• Lifelong Learning

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Basic Question

• Do computers information technology have a
  significant impact on education?
• NO!

• Technology by itself does NOT have a significant
  impact on education!
• Therefore, we shouldnt focus on technology

• The way that we USE technology in teaching
  learning systems DOES have a significant impact
  on education!
• Therefore, we should focus on the use of
  technology

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The Impact Equation?

• Current State of Education

New State of Education

• Problem
• Technology is NOT a single use or single user
  input.
• Technology effects a complex web of elements
  relationships in an educational system.
• It is not possible to control for other variables.

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Measures of Change Impact

• Standardized tests to measure changes in
  learning
• Old measure for new approaches?
• Changes in Attitudes behavior towards teaching
  learning
• Changes in retention repetition rates
• Changes in perceptions
• Changes in rates of learning complex concepts

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Integrated Framework
Teacher Professional Development
Broad Educational Reform
School-Community Partnerships
School Classroom Management
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Teacher Professional Development

• New teaching practices reflect professional
  development activities
• Teachers access develop new learning resources
• Off hours use of technology
• Teachers join electronic networks
• Subject matter skills improve
• New approaches to teaching learning adopted and
  adapted
• Teachers happier more entrepreneurial
• Teachers discussions more educationaly
  substantive
• Greater investment in professional development
• Lower turnover of teaching staff

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School-Community Partnerships

• Greater parental participation satesfaction
• Community uses technology resources (Gurupi)
• PTAs Friends of the School programs support
  technology investments (Gurupi)
• Schools initiate innovative school-to-work
  learning programs
• Less vandalism

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School Management

• Improved collection, access and analysis of
  student records
• More time spent on higher-value school activities
• Changes in the types of information collected
• Information used in decision making
• Better financial mangement more autonomy
• Improved retention of administrative staff

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Broad Educational Reform

• How can technology projects bring about or
  support broad educational reform?

Building better teachers
Encouraging Policy Change
Partnering for better management
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Reform A Spectrum of Changes
Resources Materials
Administration
Professional Development
Partnerships
Teaching
Curricula
Assessment
Teacher training
Management
Salaries
Policies
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Teaching Learning

• Responsibility for learning
• Collaborative, multidisciplinary learning
• On-going, performance-based assessment
• Individualized interactive instruction
• Inquiry-based, constructive, problem solving
• Knowledge building empathetic
• Flexible, heterogeneous equitable teams
• Teachers as guides, facilitators
  co-investigators
• Hands-on, participatory exciting to stimulate
  creativity

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Better Teaching
Better Learning

• Teaching methods and behavior
• Facilitating interdisciplinary
• How? Project Approach, Users groups, build
  confidence, incentives

• Students and Curriculum
• Student-centered collaborative less
  laborious higher order thinking and problem
  solving
• Research and analysis access to up-to-date
  materials relevant
• How? Integrate Professional Development
  Networking Project Approach

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Special Needs Children

• Impact of technolgy on
• Children at risk SP hands-on museum
• Learning impared College Gardens
• Physically impared --
• Attention Defficit Dissorder College Gardens
• Emotional difficulties

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Is ProInfo Affecting Education?
Initial Indications of Change (6/98-3/00)

• Interdisciplinary learning
• Multipliers practicing their learning
• Learning becoming more active
• Multipliers becoming entrepreneurial
• Private schools recruiting ProInfo staff
• Growing teacher demand for ProInfo
• Greater job satisfaction by teachers
• Improved parental satisfaction
• Enthusiasm great, deep and broad
• Community commitment stimulated

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Project Focused Education Use

• Teachers learn as they will guide student
  learning
• Focuses on pedagogy problem solving
• Content drives technology learning
• Fosters multidisciplinary teaching learning
• Technology as a tool--not the focus
• Real world needs linked to theory
• Interactive and empowering
• Enables self-discovery reflection
• Teachers take-away practical skills tools

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(No Transcript)
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Integrating Learning language, research, art,
collaborating, new skills, decisions, civil
society