As Chris Lehmann closed the recent International Society for Technology in Education鈥檚 annual conference, he implored the audience at his keynote address here to redraw the educational technology battle lines.
鈥淣o one is arguing we shouldn鈥檛 use technology in education anymore,鈥 said Mr. Lehmann, the founding principal of Philadelphia鈥檚 Science Leadership Academy, a public high school devoted to inquiry-based, project-driven learning. 鈥淭he question is how.鈥
The call for redefining debate echoed throughout the formal sessions at the conference last month and at informal events at nearby hotels, restaurants, and bars, and even in casual conversations among the more than 20,000 estimated attendees. And, perhaps more important, it was expressed in data released by Project Tomorrow, the Software and Information Industry Association, and technology company CDW-G.
The latest research by Project Tomorrow, an Irvine, Calif.-based nonprofit group, came in the annual online-learning-trends report as part of its , which surveys nearly 400,000 students, educators, and parents. It suggests school districts are becoming more sophisticated in their approach to implementing online education but are still struggling to meet the increasing need and desire of students to learn online.
Among its findings, the 鈥淟earning in the 21st Century: 2011 Trends Update鈥 says that two in five students believe online classes are an essential component of education and that administrators鈥 concerns about funding online courses are fading, while concerns about course quality are rising.
Teacher-Student Disconnect
But while the proportion of high school students who had taken an online course as of last fall tripled from fall 2008, from 10 percent to 30 percent, only about 26 percent of teachers surveyed expressed interest in diving into online teaching if they hadn鈥檛 already done so.
鈥淔rom the Speak Up data, what we鈥檙e seeing is a disconnect鈥 between students and educators, said Julie Evans, the president of Project Tomorrow. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a challenge here in terms of meeting those expectations.鈥
Education Week鈥榮 Digital Education bloggers attended the International Society for Technology in Education鈥檚 conference and reported on the news and discussions that emerged. Read their coverage:
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There also appear to be different perceptions about online learning within subgroups of students and educators, especially administrators. For example, district-level administrators were found to be more supportive of online learning than on-campus principals were.
鈥淭he district-level superintendents or administrators are much more visionary thinking [about] what the long-term implications are,鈥 Ms. Evans said. 鈥淧rincipals are more narrowly focused on living right now, today, and dealing with today鈥檚 issues.鈥
Meanwhile, data released by the Washington-based Software and Information Industry Association, and the Vernon Hills, Ill.-based CDW-G showed that the bar for educational technology goals appears to be always moving.
According to Karen Billings, the vice president of the SIIA鈥檚 education division, the release of preliminary findings from the 2011 edition of its SIIA鈥檚 鈥淰ision K-20 Survey鈥 show that educators don鈥檛 feel as if they are keeping up with technology, even if their actions would appear to show otherwise.
鈥淲hat [the findings] tell me is that because this is such a dynamic world out there, the end point keeps moving out on them,鈥 Ms. Billings said at a press briefing. 鈥淭he more they do, the more they鈥檙e aware of how much more they should be doing.鈥
After analyzing the self-evaluation by the first 273 respondents鈥攁ll but seven of whom were from K-12 schools or districts鈥攖he composite-score rating that samples technology integration on a scale of 1 to 100 was 60, 2 points below last year鈥檚 final score. Participants answered 20 multiple-choice questions indicating a school鈥檚 or district鈥檚 progress toward the SIIA鈥檚 seven Vision K-20 goals, and five measures of progress. Ms. Billings predicted that the final overall score, to be released July 26 with the final report, would edge up slightly as more results were evaluated.
Perception Gap
Meanwhile, CDW-G鈥檚 report shed some light on just how and where that bar appears to be moving by examining how students, teachers, and information technology administrators define the concept of a 鈥21st-century classroom.鈥
According to this year鈥檚 report, wireless Internet, an interactive whiteboard, and digital content are all part of that concept, a leap in technology and specificity from the 2010 study. That version defined any Internet connection, teacher computing device, and LCD projector as characteristics of a modern classroom.
The survey also pointed to a gap in perceptions between the school and district levels. While 64 percent of it administrators rated their districts鈥 technology as 鈥渃utting edge,鈥 only 45 percent of faculty members and 39 percent of students reported being satisfied with their classroom technology.
