Educational Innovation and Digital Opportunity

1. Public FTAA.ecom/inf/104/Add.1/Rev.1 October 25, 2001 Original: English - Spanish Educational Innovation and Digital Opportunity Presented to: FTAA Joint Government-Private Sector Committee of Experts on Electronic Commerce 24/10/01, Panama City, Panama Lee M. Tablewski North-South Center University of Miami

2. Current Situation in the United States • Innovative programs exist in the U.S. to broaden the use of informational technology and the Internet in schools and libraries. • These programs have caused substantial growth in recent years (example: 98% of public schools now have Internet access) • There is a need to broaden research and development programs to improve and broaden the implementation of technology in educational environments.

3. Typical Problems Arising Related to Use of Technology in the Classroom • Some teachers do not have enough time to learn, practice and create lesson plans using computers and the Internet. • Student classroom time does not include sufficient time to use computers in the classroom. • There aren’t enough computers in the classroom. • There isn’t enough good educational software. • There is a lack of support for integrating information technology into the classroom curriculum. Source: national teacher survey, April 2000

4. Typical Problems Arising Related to Use of Technology in the Classroom • There aren’t enough teacher training opportunities. • Computers available are obsolete or incompatible. • Lack of technical support. • Lack of filters to restrict access to materials or information innapropriate for students. • It isn’t easy to access the Internet. • There is a lack of administrative support.

5. Typical Problems Arising Related to Use of Technology in the Classroom

6. Public and PrivatePrograms and Initiatives • President George W. Bush’s “No Child left Behind” Initiative stresses the following points: • More money allocated to schools for technology • Less paperwork and bureaucracy • Local standards for academic excellence in the use of information technology • Use of matching funds to create access centers in high poverty areas of the country.

7. Public and PrivatePrograms and Initiatives • Department of Education National Goals: • All students and teachers will have access to information technology in their classrooms, schools, communities, and homes. • All teachers will use technology effectively to help students achieve high academic standards. • All students will have technology and information literacy skills.

8. Public and PrivatePrograms and Initiatives • Department of Education National Goals: • Research and evaluation will improve the next generation of technology applications for teaching and learning. • Digital content and networked applications will transform teaching and learning.

9. Public and PrivatePrograms and Initiatives • “Generation www.Y” • “Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology” (PT3) • Programs of the Dante B. Fascell North-South Center, Univ. of Miami. Student-centered learning. • Artisan Enterprise Network • Dominican Republic: IT in the Classroom • Brazil: IT and small entrepreneurs

10. Public and PrivatePrograms and Initiatives • National Educational Technology Standards for students and teachers, NETS. Its goals: • Define educational standards for students and teachers. • Integrate IT into existing programs of study. • Technical support • Standards for evaluating the impact of IT on students.

11. Public and PrivatePrograms and Initiatives • Parents can deduct from their income taxes the cost of purchases of computers, educational software and Internet access. • $6.5 billion in purchases over 10 years • 5 million computers reaching K-12 students • Reducing the cost of technology through cooperative purchases by companies, associations, and educational groups (universities, schools, foundations).

12. Conditions for Effective Use of Technology in Education • Vision with support and proactive leadership from the education system. • Educators skilled in the use of technology for learning. • Content standards and curriculum resources. • Student-centered approaches to learning.

13. Conditions for Effective Use of Technology in Education • Assessment of the effectiveness of technology for learning. • Access to contemporary technologies, software, and telecommunications networks. • Technical assistance for maintaining and using technology resources. • Community partners who provide expertise, support, and real-life interactions.

14. Conditions for Effective Use of Technology in Education • Ongoing financial support for sustained technology use; and • Policies and standards supporting new learning environments.

15. Links from this Presentation • The E-rate program for schools and libraries is described at <www.sl.universalservice.org/> . • Center for Children and Technology, “Effective Technology Use in Low-Income Communities: Research Review for the America Connects Consortium.” April 2001. <www2.edc.org/CCT/cctweb//public/default.asp> • Pres. George W. Bush, “No Child Left Behind”: <www.ed.gov/inits/nclb/partx.html>.

16. Links from this Presentation • U.S. Department of Education Goals: <www.ed.gov/Technology/elearning/index.html>. • Generation www.Y: <www.genyes.org/genwwwy/>. • Larry Cuban, Oversold and Underused: Computers in Classrooms (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001). <www.hup.harvard.edu/reviews/CUBOVE_R.html>

17. Links from this Presentation • For 5-year statistics on Internet access in U.S. schools, see <nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/2001071.pdf> • 2000 survey on barriers to teachers’ usage of IT in the classroom: <nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000090>. • For an example of student-centered learning, see <www.artisanenterprisenetwork.org>.

18. Links from this Presentation • For the NETS standards, see International Society for Technology in Education, National Educational Technology Standards for Students: Connecting Curriculum and Technology (Eugene, Ore.: ISTE, 2000). <http://cnets.iste.org> • For the U.S. Department of Education’s “The Teacher’s Guide to International Collaboration on the Internet” see <www.ed.gov/technology/guide/international/index.html>

19. Links from this Presentation • For the PT3 teacher training program, see <www.ed.gov/teachtech/> • For background on the program of tax deductions for parents for IT purchases for their students, please see the webpage of its author: <allen.senate.gov/PressOffice/AllenEducationTaxReliefPassesCongress.htm>. • Lee Tablewski: <Ltablews@miami.edu>